45 minutes / Color
Release: 2007
Copyright: 2005
Methamphetamine, or "crystal meth" as it is sometimes known, is the third most abused street drug in the world, and has become the drug of choice for teenagers in small towns across North America. Highly addictive, cheap, and easy to get, meth is also an incredibly dangerous drug that can cause psychosis, permanent brain damage, and even death. Crystal Fear, Crystal Clear documents a year in the lives of three families devastated by this powerful, seductive drug.
Kelsie had stopped using meth, but when she chooses to move in with her drug-dealing boyfriend her parents almost give up on her - then she becomes pregnant. Will her coming baby give her the motivation to stay clean? Despite evidence to the contrary, LeRae hotly denies using drugs, and becomes estranged from her mother who, she finds out, has read her diary. She even refuses to let her mother attend her high school graduation.
Aaron is an aspiring young musician. His mother, Michelle, is a nurse who sees meth abusers coming into her emergency room on a regular basis, so she's no stranger to what's going on with her son - she's had to ask him to leave the house because of his violent behavior toward her other kids. For now, he's cutting a demo with a local producer, and he's stopped using - or has he?
The program also features the dedicated principal of the alternative school the teens attend. He provides important emotional support and counseling to Aaron and Kelsie, and is clearly an important influence in their lives. Crystal Fear, Crystal Clear sheds light on a rapidly growing problem that affects communities of all sizes across Canada and the United States.
Select Accolades
A stark, graphic warning about crystal meth aimed especially at pre-teens and younger children who might be influenced by older kids to "experiment." Classroom scenes show students practicing "refusal skills," and a plain-talking physician asks "What part of your brain would you like to do without?"
Eva Wunderman | 2007 | 11 minutes | Color | English
An unusual relationship develops between a Chinese couple struggling with heroin and a filmmaker chronicling their addiction, in this provocative documenrtary on drug abuse, filmmaking and friendship.
ZHOU Hao | 2008 | 105 minutes | Color | English; Mandarin | English subtitles
