Love in the Time of Fentanyl

Directed by: Colin Askey Released: 2023 (educational) Year of Production: 2022 Running Time: 80 min Language: English Subtitle Options: English Closed Captions, English Subtitles Subjects:  Physical and Mental Health Studies          When the opioid crisis in BC escalated to the heights of a public emergency in 2016, folks at the Overdose Prevention Society (OPS) set up a tent in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside as a critical frontline response. Technically illegal despite its necessity, the OPS was—and continues to be—a site rooted in harm reduction, where people are able to use drugs safely with supervision.  An intimate observation of the OPS over a number of years, Love in the Time of Fentanyl witnesses the exhausting but essential work required to keep the site running, and the people dedicated to its continuance. We follow Sarah, a founding OPS member and activist, as well as Trey, a former heroin user who memorializes the lives lost to overdose through graffiti art.