White Rock documentary tells real life recovery story
Published 6:30 pm Tuesday, April 21, 2026
South Rock Social Justice Society – which showcases outstanding and timely documentary films at White Rock Community Centre (15154 Russell Ave.) each month – is offering something different this Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m.
It’s the Canadian premiere of a locally produced documentary, The Spiral (2026), directed by Peninsula-based filmmaker Syed Zeshan Ahmed, and presented by Black Productions Films, in association with Tides of Change (CAT), Sources Community Resources and South Rock Social Justice.
It chronicles local resident Ryan Nielsen’s real-life journey from severe substance addiction to recovery, and ultimately becoming a harm reduction coordinator, dedicating himself to helping others caught in the same vicious cycle.
Others featured in the documentary include George Passmore and Nielsen’s father, Darin, to provide their own perspective on Nielsen’s often raw first-person testimony.
It also explores the roots of Nielsen’s addiction in Darin’s own addictions – which had progressed from early exposure to alcohol to cocaine use by the age of 10.
“Opioids provide a temporary sense of euphoric bliss,” Nielsen recalls during the documentary, while noting that the pain of withdrawal from the drugs was “like the worst you’ve ever felt, times 100 – it felt like torture.”
The pain of his addiction drove him to suicide attempts which began at 13, he notes.
Ahmed noted that The Spiral is different from other documentaries on the subject, in illuminating a side of addiction that doesn’t conform to the common image of street drug use.
“It’s talking about family and ‘silent’ usage,” he said, adding that it’s a common problem in society, one that often stays hidden behind doors.
“What Ryan went through included using in the workplace, hiding it from his co-workers, from management,” he said.
“It was only when he overdosed that the problem came out into the open.”
Ahmed said that what he wanted to do was tell a story that ultimately offered hope for those with similar problems – or those who know and love them.
Rather than focusing exclusively on Nielsen’s addiction, The Spiral has been created to offer insights into his personal experience of recovery.
“When I was planning to make this film I had the idea I wanted to follow someone who had been a great student in school, but due to circumstances, one thing led to another, and the potential he or she had was taken away by substance abuse,” Ahmed said.
“And maybe, was there a chance that this person could come back and rejoin society, as a recovering addict? I wasn’t sure I’d find the right person.”
He said that when he approached Sources, he was surprised when they then they told him they the perfect candidate to become the focal point of the documentary.
“Then I met Ryan, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ – he was just who I was looking for.”
Ahmed said that part of the reason that the film is named The Spiral is that, while the path into addiction can be described as a spiral, so can the path out of it.
“It goes both ways. In the film poster we show Ryan walking up a spiral staircase.
“It’s not a straight journey – there are some hard turns you have to take. It’s not a straight path to recovery – there are a lot of hard choices to be made and there can be relapses along the way.
One of the themes that emerges is the love of Darin for his son – and his coming to terms with the fact that he might have lost him.
That forced him to address his own addiction issues, Ahmed said, which gave impetus to Ryan’s efforts to recover.
“It was looking at ‘the man in the mirror’” he said, adding that Darin becoming a positive role model played a vital role in in Ryan’s own recovery.
“It’s a very emotional story, about a father and son joining together, and how they stuck together in a very dark place,” he said.
Admission is by donation.
For further information, visit southrocksocialjustice.ca.