Lalita Krishna scores with film on diabetes.
(Canscene) — Scheduled for New Year screening to OMNI viewers is the documentary I Have a Little Sugar, written and directed by Lalita Krishna. This cutting edge profile of diabetes is a no-holds-barred look a the threat diabetes types 1 and II pose to Canadians.
The film, 100 percent funded by OMNI Independent Producers’ Initiative, begins at the museum-home of Dr. Frederick Banting in London Ontario, where visitors are seen being introduced to the dramatic breakthrough Banting made one night in n 1921, He was in 1923, along with colleague Professor John Macleod of the University of Toronto. to become Canada’s first Nobel Prize winner.
The narrative moves forward introducing us to a number of Canadians with Type !! diabetes.
We meet Arthur, an Ojibwa in his late fifties and product of residential schools whose whole life has been a a struggle to live without a right foot, lost to the disease. vicim toType2 diabetes. The on screen appearances of Arthur run as a thread for the narrative; we suffer with him as he puts on his uncomfortable prosthesis and tells us of his struggles to find a job. Somehow, Arthur’s inner spirit as enabled him to retain his dignity.
We meet, Siwa, a beautiful young woman dietitian and chef whose work on behalf of the CDA has led her to chair the South Asian section. She warns that too many of her fellow immigrants retain rich diets that lead to diabetes as she prepares handsome but nutritious dishes.
Gwilliamina is from Jamaica; living below the poverty Line is continually at wit’s end to keep her purchases of insulin to the required dosage. Jiuliano, from Toronto’s gay community gets by with the aid of sympathetic friends. And Leslie, a physician and diabetes specialist describes with wit his own experiences as well as those guiding others.
The film acknowledges that immigrants from Europe are not as vulnerable as those from Asian countries and that there is some relationship between low incomes, community and dietary ignorance.
Lalita Krishna whose recent documentaries have dealt with such important topical issues as multiculturalism and
the rehabilitation of at risk youth in ghetto neighborhoods, hs scored again with a trenchant dilm that once released for screening by OMNI will certainly generate repeat performances.
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