BY WENDY ELLIOTT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

Look for the Valley premiere this week of the NFB film Cottonland, made by Nance Ackerman of Annapolis County and Glace Bay's Eddy Buchanan. With its pointed focus on addiction in a troubled community, this documentary also examines the deeper roots of widespread social problems. It will screen at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.

When the last of Cape Breton's once thriving coal mines shut down in the late 1990s, the shrinking population of Glace Bay faced chronic unemployment. While covering the crisis, celebrated photographer Ackerman saw what she describes as the human cost of cultural genocide in a white community struggling to come to terms with its loss. It was a tragedy that haunted her long after her assignment was over.

In her film, Ackerman reveals how easy it is for a social dependency on the state to carry over into a personal dependency on a potent little pill, the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

With the collaboration of a recovering addict, Eddie Buchanan, Cottonland guides us through a culture of despair. We encounter a number of smart, self-aware men and women at different stages of dependency. Some have managed to shift to the detoxifying effects of methadone; others remain in thrall to the power of their addiction. All speak candidly and unflinchingly of the ritual of the fix.

Ackerman's analysis is as sharp as the end of a needle. Her film demystifies the world of the addict while showing us the complex social nexus that contributes to such severe dependency.

She asks, how does an entire community fall into despair? What happens when the social order is weakened by forces beyond its control?

No absolution

Cottonland draws a coherent line between economic and social depression. The film doesn't absolve the addict of responsibility, but it does illuminate the conditions under which the addict thrives.

It also reminds us of the spiral of social ills that follow addiction as families break down and crime increases. Tragically, it’s the people upon whom the state once depended for its robust economy that now need help the most.

If a combination of social and economic factors increase the likelihood of dependency, a strong and cohesive social network can help people to resist. Ironically, this network exists in the neighbouring native community of Membertou, where the economy is flourishing and a culture of hope thrives after generations of despair.

Ackerman, who lives in Tupperville, directed, wrote, photographed and contributed music for the 53-minute film. Edward Buchanan served as collaborating director, photography and narrator.

For further information, see www.fundyfilm.ca or call 542-5157. Tickets ($8) are available 30 minutes prior to the film.

Ironically, just last week a Halifax lawyer began proceedings toward a class-action suit against the makers of the painkiller OxyContin, with five people signed on to represent addicts in the Atlantic.