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Now free online. Bevel Up: A groundbreaking professional learning resource for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the overdose crisis. Created by the outreach nursing team from the BC Centre for Disease Control and co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada.

PRESS RELEASE
06/05/2019

May 6, 2019 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Bevel Up, an award-winning documentary and learning resource to help healthcare workers deliver compassionate care to people who use drugs, is available for the first time as free online harm-reduction content at NFB.ca.

Created in 2007 by the outreach nursing team from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Bevel Up is designed to give students and instructors in the healthcare field access to the knowledge and experience of pioneering practitioners, as street nurses in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside deliver nonjudgmental, compassionate and trauma-informed healthcare to people who use drugs.

More relevant than ever in light of Canada’s current overdose crisis, Bevel Up has been designed in a multifaceted format ideally suited to the web and social media sharing, with 10 educational playlists that include:

  • the original 45-minute documentary;
  • 40 additional clips that illustrate key issues and contain interviews with the experts—people who use drugs, as well as healthcare practitioners;
  • a 100-page Teacher’s Guide;
  • a total of 4.5 hours of content.

Honours for Bevel Up to date include the British Columbia Provincial Health Officer’s Award for Excellence in Public Health, the American Academy of Nursing Media Award, and the award for Best Original DVD at the Entertainment Industries Council Prism Awards, recognizing efforts to raise awareness about recovery, addiction and treatment.

Bevel Up is a co-production of the BCCDC and the NFB, with financial support from Health Canada (HC) and the BC Nurses’ Union. It was created in collaboration with Canada Wild Productions Ltd. and directed by acclaimed award-winning filmmaker Nettie Wild.

This digital relaunch of Bevel Up has been made possible by the original partners and with the additional support of the British Columbia Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, as well as the participation of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) and the Vancouver Community College (VCC).

A note on language:

People who use drugs often experience stigma in the healthcare system, and this creates barriers that prevent them from accessing care. Since the film was created, we’ve come to better understand that language matters when it comes to stigma. To deliver effective care, healthcare professionals should use non-stigmatizing and people-first language such as “person who uses drugs” instead of drug “user,” a term that appears in the original film’s sub-title: Bevel Up – Drugs, Users & Outreach Nursing.

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Related Products

Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailer, synopses: Bevel-Up

Associated Links

BC Centre for Disease Control
Health Canada

BC Nurses’ Union
Canada Wild Productions Ltd.
British Columbia Women’s Hospital & Health Centre
University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research
Vancouver Community College

 

Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.