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Brent Thomas sits on the steps of his family’s West End Winnipeg home, offering a lesson in local gang geography: “There’s Crips over there, Indian Posse over there, MAC [meth and crack] houses all around, and Outlaws over there.”

Fred, Brent’s father, moved here from the Lac Seul Reserve to provide opportunities for his kids. He kicked his addictions and has gone back to school, making a heroic effort to set a good example for his children.

Life on Victor Street follows Brent and his father over a critical two-year period. When we first meet Brent at the age of 16, he’s laughing and waving around a water pistol. But with each passing year, the challenges mount. Over time, the family home increasingly comes under siege, as gang members burn down the garage and repeatedly smash windows.

And as Brent enters his last year of high school, trouble seems to loom. “I hope he doesn’t fall through the cracks,” Fred says. “That’s what I’m trying to prevent.”

Life on Victor Street is a moving portrait of one family trying to break the cycle of addiction, violence and poverty in an environment filled with anger and despair.

2012, 29 min 55 s

La vie, rue Victor