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Life on Victor Street
Description
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
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