White Rock documentary tells real life recovery story<\/p>\n
Published 6:30 pm Tuesday, April 21, 2026<\/p>\n
South Rock Social Justice Society \u2013 which showcases outstanding and timely documentary films at White Rock Community Centre (15154 Russell Ave.) each month \u2013 is offering something different this Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
It chronicles local resident Ryan Nielsen\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Others featured in the documentary include George Passmore and Nielsen\u2019s father, Darin, to provide their own perspective on Nielsen\u2019s often raw first-person testimony.<\/p>\n
It also explores the roots of Nielsen\u2019s addiction in Darin\u2019s own addictions \u2013 which had progressed from early exposure to alcohol to cocaine use by the age of 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpioids provide a temporary sense of euphoric bliss,\u201d Nielsen recalls during the documentary, while noting that the pain of withdrawal from the drugs was \u201clike the worst you\u2019ve ever felt, times 100 \u2013 it felt like torture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pain of his addiction drove him to suicide attempts which began at 13, he notes.<\/p>\n
Ahmed noted that The Spiral is different from other documentaries on the subject, in illuminating a side of addiction that doesn\u2019t conform to the common image of street drug use.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s talking about family and \u2018silent\u2019 usage,\u201d he said, adding that it\u2019s a common problem in society, one that often stays hidden behind doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Ryan went through included using in the workplace, hiding it from his co-workers, from management,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was only when he overdosed that the problem came out into the open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahmed said that what he wanted to do was tell a story that ultimately offered hope for those with similar problems \u2013 or those who know and love them.<\/p>\n
Rather than focusing exclusively on Nielsen\u2019s addiction, The Spiral has been created to offer insights into his personal experience of recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Ahmed said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd maybe, was there a chance that this person could come back and rejoin society, as a recovering addict? I wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d find the right person.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I met Ryan, and I was like, \u2018Oh my God!\u2019 \u2013 he was just who I was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes both ways. In the film poster we show Ryan walking up a spiral staircase. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a straight journey \u2013 there are some hard turns you have to take. It\u2019s not a straight path to recovery \u2013 there are a lot of hard choices to be made and there can be relapses along the way.<\/p>\n
One of the themes that emerges is the love of Darin for his son \u2013 and his coming to terms with the fact that he might have lost him.<\/p>\n
That forced him to address his own addiction issues, Ahmed said, which gave impetus to Ryan\u2019s efforts to recover.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was looking at \u2018the man in the mirror\u2019\u201d he said, adding that Darin becoming a positive role model played a vital role in in Ryan\u2019s own recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very emotional story, about a father and son joining together, and how they stuck together in a very dark place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Admission is by donation.<\/p>\n
For further information, visit southrocksocialjustice.ca.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"White Rock documentary tells real life recovery story Published 6:30 pm Tuesday, April 21, 2026 South Rock Social…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":{"0":"post-620188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-surrey","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-surrey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}