The International Network of People Who Use Drugs and Drugreporter are glad to announce the winners of the #Morethan video contest!
The video contest, launched in September by INPUD and Drugreporter, is part of the #Morethan campaign, highlighting that people who use drugs are more than the sum of all labels attached to them by society. We received 22 submissions from 17 countries to our call – all great videos highlighting amazing human stories told by people who use drugs, so it was not easy to select the 5 best videos to be awarded (by favour of the Robert Carr Civil Society Network Fund’s grant). We asked a 5 members independent board, a diverse group of community activists, to rate the videos according to 5 criteria: eligibility, appropriateness, relevance, message and quality (0 – very poor, 5 – very good).
We present the five best videos according to their decision below – congratulations to the winners!
1) Delirium a choice
Directed by Sania Zehra & Aisha Kasiri, Pakistan | 1st award at the #MoreThan Video Contest – 3000 USD
This short film is based on the life events of a woman who by profession is a nurse and we have tried to give a portrayal of her struggles during the pandemic, how isolated she became even after having family and friends due to the negative connotation attached to drug use. The fact that she was juggling her responsibilities of home and work life were simply negated because of her inclination towards drug use as a way to cope daily-life challenges and the havoc that covid-19 pandemic brought on her mental health.
2) 6 Women, 1 Seed
directed by Larissa Lewandovski, Portugal | 2nd award at the #MoreThan Video Contest – 2000 USD
This documentary features violence against women who use drugs and sex workers. The documentary was made as part of the campaign against violence on women using drugs (WUD) launched by WHRIN and EuroNPUD – SisterWUD. Since then, a new group, GAMEM (Peer support group among women experiencing violence) has been created, representing WUD, including migrants, sex workers, homeless women and non-binary people. GAMEM has a weekly meeting at a safe space provided by a cultural association, Sirigaita, at a neighbourhood where drugs, sex work and tourism coexist in Lisbon.
3) Living With Stigma
directed by Dhojo Wahengbam, India | 3rd award at the #MoreThan Video Contest – 1000 USD
This is a short documentary film about a person who use drugs in Manipur, India, narrating his personal real life experience.
4) Confession
directed by Tengku Raka, Indonesia | 4t award at the #MoreThan Video Contest – 750 USD
This short documentary video is about stigma and discrimination experienced by woman who use drugs. We meet a mother and daughter, who both suffered the consequences of Draconian drug laws and mass incarceration from different perspectives.
5) Should I say that I use other drugs?
directed by Raúl Lescano Méndez and Dana Bonilla | 5th award – 500 USD
This short film, based on Carl Hart’s essay ‘Get Out of the Closet: Stop Behaving Like Children’, calls on drug users to use self-examination and the power of their own voice as an urgent step to fight the stigmata related to drug use. Instead of waiting for the world to change, it might be time for ourselves to start changing.
