A new Irish film attempting to highlight the impact of suicide on wider society is being streamed free online in an effort to encourage those at risk to seek help. 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 last weekend, 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.
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 at this time.
“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.
Ireland has the second highest suicide rate in Europe. 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.
‘Davin’ director Graham Jones was responsible for ‘How to Cheat in the Leaving Cert’. The cast includes David Murray (‘Amber’), Frances Healy (‘Fair City’), John Cronin (‘Legend’) and Marie Ruane (‘Raw’).
