OZONE FILM COMING IN OUT OF THE COLD BY DAMIAN INWOOD NOVEMBER 9, 1993 It took Vancouver film-maker Geoffrey Rogers more than seven years to finish his first documentary. In fact, you'd think that a medical treatment that claims to safely suppress the effects of both cancer and AIDS would start a stampede of interest. But the controversial use of ozone treatments is scoffed at in North America, despite the fact that millions of people have used it in Europe. "The general feeling is that they look at this and go, 'I've never heard of this medical treatment so why would you want to make a documentary about it?'" says Rogers of his efforts to find backers for the film. But, despite being thousands of dollars in debt, the 30 year old Rogers dream will be realized tonight when his film Ozone and the Politics of Medicine gets its Canadian premiere at the Pacific Cinematheque. And the subject matter has become as much of a crusade as making the film itself for Rogers. "The word's got to get out," he says. "I didn't set out to make money." Rogers says ozone-- oxygen with an extra molecule--has had a bad rap from people who associate it with urban smog pollution. His east side apartment is strewn with documents and reports relating to the benefits of ozone treatment. Today he's excited by news that Italy has agreed to conduct a human trial using ozone against AIDS. He says he first got interested in the subject when he was in his final year of film school "and the pressure was on to get something done." Both his parents are medical doctors and his father, Dr. R. H. Rogers, was the first to use the treatment eight years ago. Rogers says his father saved a Vancouver developer's gangrenous leg from being amputated by using ozone. Rogers says his father has stopped using ozone after receiving a warning from local medical authorities. "I thought, 'Why haven't I heard about this-something that treats 40 different conditions?'" he says. The treatment is used in Europe, particularly in Germany, and the film quotes doctors on its effectiveness in helping cancer and AIDS patients. But it's banned in North America and clinical tests have yet to be done on its effects. Some ozone treatment methods are shown in the documentary, ranging from the controlled injection of ozone directly into the bloodstream to mixing ozone with a patient's blood and then re- infusing it into the body. Ozone has long been used in Europe for sterilizing water and can kill bacteria and germs in a short time. Rogers' film says it has the same effect in the bloodstream, as well as promoting the immune system. The film's budget, including deferments, is about $170,000, with $60,000 still owing, says Rogers. He keeps the wolf from the door by working as a cameraman on documentaries and commercials. He's also worked as a camera assistant on "mainstream" shows like McGyver and Wiseguy. Since the world premiere in San Francisco two months ago, he says, he's sold about 500 copies in New York and L.A. "We're scouting around for a famous narrator--we've sent it to Oliver Stone and Mel Gibson and Dustin Hoffman will get one," says Rogers, who adds that he's run up $8,000 on his VISA to pay for the film. "I think someone will sign on because the story is big," he says. FILMMAKER'S FUNDS LOST IN OZONE BY CHRIS WONG NOVEMBER 5, 1993 What's Vancouver filmmaker Geoffrey Rogers been up to the last seven and a half years? Apart from working as a freelance camera operator for productions in the Look Who's Talking/Wiseguy mode, he's been piecing together a documentary on a controversial medical treatment; ozone therapy. Rogers finally completed the 30 minutes film--Ozone and the Politics of Medicine--about 24 hours before its premiere last September in San Francisco. Vancouverites will get a chance to view the documentary when it is screened at the Pacific Cimematheque on Tuesday November 9, at 7:30 and 9 p.m. Stylistically speaking, Ozone and the Politics of Medicine doesn't have a special appeal; it's no This Blue Line. In this documentary, which Rogers produced and directed, it's the information that counts. The film provides evidence that suggests ozone therapy--which essentially involves mixing blood with ozone--is an effective treatment for people suffering from a long list of conditions, including AIDS related illnesses and cancer. "The statistics are staggering," says Rogers. "Ten million people have used this in continental Europe, Millions of people are getting effective results." Rogers traveled to locations in Europe, Mexico, the U.S. and Canada to interview numerous researchers, doctors, and patients who attested to ozone therapy's value in combating disease. Among those captured on camera was Capt. Mike Shannon, director of medical operations for the Canadian Department of National Defence. Shannon said tests have yielded a "profound demonstration" of ozone's potential to act as a antiviral agent against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is widely believed to cause AIDS. Specifically, the Canadian military was involved in a study that showed that monkeys receiving blood plasma contaminated with SIV (the simian equivalent of HIV), but treated with ozone, remained healthy. Despite such studies, the therapy is illegal in North America; its use is restricted to the alternative medicine underground. David Bates, former dean of the UBC Faculty of Medicine, goes so far as to say in the documentary that "this is lunatic medicine, and I really won't pay any attention to it." Regulatory agencies, particularly the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S., have rejected applications to legalize ozone-generating equipment used in the therapy. That's in large part because of the potential risks involved is using ozone. A major message of the film, however, is that the underlying reason for opposition to the therapy is the vas influence large pharmaceutical companies have over the medical establishment. Those companies wouldn't stand to make much of a profit on something as inexpensive to produce as ozone. Why was Rogers, who has no medical training, so consumed with making a film about ozone therapy? Back in 1986, when Rogers was finishing his film studies at UBC, he first heard about the therapy from his father. (Both his parents are doctors.) After interviewing some of the key proponents of ozone use, Rogers became convinced that the therapy represents a major, but neglected, medical breakthrough. At the same time, Rogers learned about the grim realities of independent film production. A major grant from the 1945 Foundation, which supports research on alternative cancer treatments, and a minor one from the National Film Board of Canada helped Rogers cover only part of the film's $150,000 budget. The 30 year old says he has ended up $40,000 in debt. "It's been a nightmare in my life trying to raise the money," he says. "I've been handling the financing through my Visa card." As a result, there are no funds left for promoting the film. Still, Rogers is working on getting the documentary a major airing; he's hoping broadcasters such as the CBC, PBS, or the BBC will pick it up. OZONE THERAPY SHOULDN'T BE OVERLOOKED BY REBECCA WIGOD NOV. 12, 1993 - VANCOUVER SUN Oxygen mixed with ozone is used in Europe to treat everything from acne and asthma to cancer, stroke and AIDS. Geoffrey Rogers, a Vancouver documentary film-maker, believes it is time North American medicine took a serious look at ozone therapy. Ten million Europeans have benefited from it, said Rogers, who spent the last seven years making Ozone and the Politics of Medicine. The 30-minute documentary had its first Canadian showing Tuesday at the Pacific Cinematheque. Rogers, 30, traveled to Mexico and Germany while making his film with co-director Reiner Derdau. He believes ozone therapy, which is illegal and dismissed as quackery in North America, is a profoundly important medical breakthrough. "Why has the top management of scientific research on this continent not taken this up?" he asked. Ozone is produced from medical grade oxygen using a machine called an ozone generator. Oxygen, mixed with a small amount of ozone, is administered by injection or enema. The theory is that oxygen produces energy fro healthy cell activity and acts against toxins in the body. In Germany, where the therapy is widely used, doctors say it successfully combats 40 disorders. Many cities water supplies are sterilized with ozone, and the gas also has the potential to sterilize donated blood. But representatives of the medical establishment, including B.C. Cancer Agency's Dr. Hulbert Silver, say it's a long way from sterilizing water or blood to giving ozone to living cancer patients. Silver said ozone therapy is totally unproven and is more likely to cause cancer than cure it. Rogers acquired his passion for the subject after seeing work done by his father, longtime Vancouver family practitioner Dr. Roger Rogers. In the 1980s, the senior Rogers used ozone therapy with about a dozen patients before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. advised him to stop. The doctor, who believes in exploring promising therapies outside the scope of conventional medicine, said it worked remarkably well with a male patient who was about to have his foot amputated. Describing the case, he said: "A chap was in deep trouble with a large gangrenous ulcer on the bottom of his foot, and inflamed heart and unstable diabetes, and was very down emotionally." With the agreement of the patient's vascular surgeon, Dr. Rogers attempted ozone therapy. "His depression went. The inflammation of his heart went within a week. His foot showed positive signs of healing within two weeks." Ultimately, the mane's foot healed completely "and you couldn't even see where he had had this dangerous wound." Dr. Rogers attempted to get Vancouver hospitals interested in a clinical trial of ozone therapy but failed. Dr. Jack Harrigan, deputy registrar of the doctors' college, said that before a therapy is used, it must undergo a controlled study in a properly supervised setting. The results must be objectively evaluated and approval gained from research and ethics committees. Film-maker Rogers said the main roadblock to ozone's being used in North America is people's feeling that the gas treatment is "too weird." His father said that with ozone, "everybody has this vision of something sinister, something toxic." They don't realize "it's like a chainsaw. You don't let just anybody use it. It takes intelligence, experience and proper care."