October 24

Special Presentation at the Heritage Playhouse!
Producer & Director Erik Paulsson in attendance!

Admission $8.00; Doors open at 7:00pm; Film begins at 7:30pm
Heritage Playhouse, 662 North Rd., Gibsons

Advance tickets available at Gaia's Fair Trade Gifts, WindSong Gallery,
Black Cat Cinema, and at the door.

Island of Shadows
D'Arcy Island Leper Colony: 1891-1924
CANADA, 2000, 48 minutes
Director & Producer: Erik Paulsson

Few people know of British Columbia's forgotten leper colony. Between 1891 and 1924. D'Arcy Island in the Georgia Straight was prison to a handful of men and one woman who were banished there to die. There were never more than nine people exiled at any given time, and once a single man was left alone for fifteen months. Though the disease is crippling in its later stages, no one was left on the island to provide care. Their only contact with the outside world was a supply ship that came every three months to drop off food, opium and coffins. Medical officers of the time reported that conditions on the island were deplorable, yet for years nothing was done. Why? They had leprosy, they were Chinese and no government would take responsibility.

Narrated by Sook-Yin Lee, "Island of Shadows" takes you on a sorrowful journey to D'Arcy Island in the 1890's. It examines the factors contributing to its creation and to the inhumane treatment of the Chinese people that were abandoned there.

Awards:
Winner - Gemini Award - Best Special Effects Make-up
Winner - Leo Award - Best Director, Documentary
Winner - Leo Award - Best Editing, Documentary
Winner - Leo Award - Best Overall Sound, Documentary

Film Website

Also Screening: The Edge of the World: BC's Early Years