Irish film on impact of suicide streamed free online
The feature-length film, Davin, has been produced for free by multi-award winning Dublin director, Graham Jones, and a cast of Irish actors in the lead-up to World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10.
Since being streamed free to air on Saturday morning, the production — which tells the story of friends and family members travelling to the memorial service of a young man called Davin — has already been viewed more than 37,000 times on Youtube.
And coming after the shock death of acclaimed comedian and actor Robin Williams on Monday night from a suspected suicide, Mr Jones said one of his film’s key messages — that “most of the time it’s people who acted perfect who are under the most mental pressure” — is all the more important to take on board.
“The character Davin is fictional, but suicide has touched my life and most people’s lives either directly or indirectly,” the 40-year-old Dún Laoghaire native explained.
“One of the actors who worked on the film, who is from a rural county I won’t name, said he was personally aware of 26 people he knows through friends or family who have died this way.
“Often after a particular awareness campaign or date, the issue goes away a bit and we all just get on with our lives... [but] people can be more inclined to connect with a character than with cold, hard facts.”
“What happened to Robin Williams was a shock to me as much as to everyone else. Saying he died by suicide is something I never thought I’d say. But it shows that suicide does not just happen to certain people, it’s not confined,” he said.
More than 400 people officially die by suicide every year in Ireland, with campaign groups repeatedly stating a significant number of other fatalities are likely to have involved the same circumstances but have been categorised in a different way.
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