inpud and drug reporter

TAKING BACK WHAT’S OURS! An Oral History of the Movement of People who Use Drugs – Documentary Series by INPUD and Drugreporter

by 2020Films & VideosPRESS RELEASES FROM OTHERS

Dear members,

we invite you to watch the documentary series “Taking back what’s ours!” made by INPUD and Drugreporter:

 

The Rights Reporter Foundation (Drugreporter) and the International Network of People who use Drugs (INPUD) produced a new documentary film series titled “TAKING BACK WHAT’S OURS! An Oral History of the Movement of People who Use Drugs” that aims to document how the movement of people who use drugs have formed around the world, how they maintain momentum and mobilise, and how they undertake their work and show resilience in a context of criminalisation, marginalisation and oppression.

The episodes follow the timeline of the development of the movement of people who use drugs from Amsterdam to Afghanistan and globally. The production of the series has been a great adventure. We conducted 34 video interviews in 20 countries around the world. 8 interviews were filmed by the Rights Reporter Foundation, the rest by members of the Drugreporter Video Advocacy Network, video activists, and freelance videographers worldwide. The documentary series was also part of the online conference “HIV 2020: Community Reclaiming the Global Response” which ran from July through October of 2020.

You can watch or download each of the episodes by clicking here, or by clicking on the images below:
Episode 1. The Netherlands, Belgium and France – The first episode uncovers the history of the movement in the Netherlands, and how it inspired activists in Belgium and France. The episode features Theo van Dam, Tonny van Montfoort and Miguel Velazquez Gorsse.
Episode 2. Canada – The second chapter is about Canada, featuring Ann Livingston, Zoë Dodd and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) team.
Episode 3. Germany, Denmark and Norway – This episode is about the achievement of drug user groups in Germany, Denmark, and Norway, featuring Dirk Schäffer, Jørgen Kjær and Arild Knutsen.
Episode 4. South Africa – This time we discover the vibrant user movement in South Africa, featuring Angela McBride, Nelson Medeiros, and Shaun Shelly of SANPUD.
Episode 5. United States of America – Activists from the United States look back on the history of the movement of people who use drugs in the fifth episode, featuring Louise Vincent, Hollis, Robert Suarez and many more.
Episode 6. Australia and New Zealand – In this episode of the oral history of the movement of people who use drugs, we learn about the successes and challenges in Australia, from four veterans of the user movement, Jude Byrne, Annie Madden, Geoff Ward and Charles Henderson.
Episode 7. Asia – Despite criminalisation, torturous forced labour camps, capital punishment and state sanctioned murder of people who use drugs, the movement of people who use drugs in Asia remains strong and resilient. Watch the new episode of our series telling the oral history of the movement of people who use drugs in Asian countries, with Simon Beddoe, Bikas Gurung, Anand Chabungbam and Edo Agustian. 
Episode 8. Afghanistan, Tanzania and Mexico – In this episode of the oral history of the movement of people who use drugs, we introduce three countries with new and emerging user movements, featuring Happy Assan, Abdur Raheem Rejaey and Brun González.
Episode 9. Russia, Georgia and Ukraine – In this episode of the oral history of the movement of people who use drugs, we travel to three Eastern-European countries, where activists effectively fight very restrictive drug policies. The episodes feature Anya Sarang, Sasha Volgina, Olga Byelyayeva, Anton Basenko, Paata Sabelashvili, David Subiliani and Koka Labartkava.
Episode 10. The United Kingdom and the International Network of People who Use Drugs – In the final episode of our documentary series on the history of the rights movement of people who use drugs, we introduce activists from the UK and from the International Network of People Who Use Drugs, featuring Judy Chang, Andria Efthimiou-Mordaunt and Mat Southwell