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As I Fall (Når jeg faller)

Due to COVID-19 concerns this screening is now cancelled. Please accept our apologies for the prescheduled reminder that was automatically sent out.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 7:30pm
Norway 2018 Dir: Magnus Meyer Arnesen. 91 DCP

Vancouver Premiere! Although a heroin addict for years, 29-year-old Joachim (Preben Hodneland) manages to hold down a restaurant job and attend regular appointments with his court-appointed psychiatrist. When the cravings come, it’s easy to score, and Joachim’s life has become a mind-numbing routine of sleep, work, and drugs. This all changes when he is contacted from prison by ex-girlfriend Maria (Alexandra Gjerpen), who faces who faces drug charges. She desperately needs Joachim to care for their young son Lukas (Marius Aandal Pedersen), whom Joachim abandoned at birth. Resistant to this unwanted responsibility, Joachim comes to value his role as a father, but finds the enduring pull of heroin too strong to withstand for long. In keeping with Norway’s evolved attitude towards drug use, writer-director Arnesen eschews the sensational and censorious for a more compassionate view of addiction as a disease that can (and should) be treated.

Post-screening discussion with Dr. Nick Mathew, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC. Dr. Mathew is a practicing addiction and forensic psychiatrist, working with patients with severe mental illness and addiction.

Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.

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