Ric Beairsto

Runaway teens, hustlers and drug addicts on the streets of Canada in the mid-80's. A young teen boy new to the streets, a seasoned gay hustler and a girl who escapes sexual abuse from home. A local newswoman interviews the kids for a documentary. We see some real street footage as she pieces together her story. Adding to this mix of fiction and non-fiction is the casting of some real social workers trying to help out these lost souls. We see them interact with the actors as well as being interviewed by the newswoman.

IS THERE A PICTURE tells the remarkable-and improbable-story of a unique group of artists who used photography to launch a far-flung city into the fine arts stratosphere. An outgrowth of our earlier production, PICTURE START, this 95-minute documentary tracks the rise of Marian Penner Bancroft, Christos Dikeakos, Rodney Graham, Jeff Wall and Ian Wallace from the rich countercultural milieu of 1960s Vancouver, to their place of global prominence today. Drawing back the curtain on this extraordinary set of artists, IS THERE A PICTURE offers rare insight into their work, their relationships with one another, and how it is they emerged in a city until recently known more for its surrounding forests than its art.