It’s not often I spend a Monday evening contemplating suicide, but that’s what I did this week. 

After attending a screening of the Newcastle-born film The Promise at Event Cinemas in Kotara, I was left feeling a powerful need to do all I could to help change what the film’s creators describe as “a pandemic” – suicide. 

As a journalist I have written stories about statistics and the increasing need for support services like Lifeline for years.

Only this time, I drove home feeling it was a subject we could and should all get involved in if we want to make a difference. 

In 95-minutes my pre-conceived ideas about mental health were challenged. 

Suicide is not a weakness, it’s not a selfish act or a public cry for help, it’s a deep sense of feeling there is no other way to rid your life of pain. 

It’s a loss of connection, and connection is something we all need to take responsibility for. 

I left the screening of the Green Frog Productions documentary feeling strangely hopeful, as if there is a change coming, and that now is the time to remove the stigma surrounding suicide. 

This is an ailment that so many of us cross paths with on a daily basis and may not be aware of. 

A paramedic in the film describes the pain of mental illness like any other chronic pain she treats during a shift.

Broken limbs, trouble breathing, struggling to clear suicidal thoughts. 

We could all be that person experiencing that pain, and we should all be that person that shows genuine care and concern. 

I can’t imagine what it was like for the film’s director Jye Currie to sift through hours of footage of loved ones recalling the most horrific time in their lives. 

Rather than feeling saturated though, I felt the shared stories were like listening to a friend or relative that had experienced the depths of loss. 

The fact that Currie had made every sound in the film so crisp and close, meant I felt it in my heart too.

Every tear, every golf ball, every wooden block, every birdsong, every ocean spray.

And, then there’s Craig Hamilton. 

Not only is he one of the most likeable characters in Newcastle, but Currie managed to take the audience along with the former ABC sports broadcaster through all his emotions, until we felt victorious when we learned to appreciate the very fact this inspirational speaker was still around to share his powerful message with others. 

The honesty and the raw emotion captured in the film is so powerful you could feel it.

The people brave enough to share their own experiences, their loss, and their fears is something that will stay with me for a very long time, if not because they looked just like you and I.  

And, that is the point.  

While Hamilton has been sharing his own mental health experience with audiences for more than 20 years, this new collaboration with talented Novocastrian Currie has brought the experience to life and, hopefully, to every lounge room, school classroom and workplace in the Hunter region and far, far beyond. 

This is a topic too powerful to keep within our inner circle. 

I challenge every Novocastrian to seek out The Promise and not only be touched by its message but commit to playing a role in spreading its message – that it’s time we talked about suicide.  

The Promise is undertaking a Q&A screening tour for the month of October, screening at venues across the country.

Every screening holds the promise of impacting lives, with all proceeds dedicated to Lifeline.

The 95-minute film features many well-known identities including:

• Professor Frances KAY-LAMBKIN: Psychologist, Mental Health Researcher & Director of the HMRI.
• Wayne BENNETT: 7 x Winning NRL Coach.
• Tim TSZYU: World Champion Boxer.
• Paul HARRAGON: Former NRL Player & Mental Health Advocate.
• Dr Alan WEISS: Psychiatric Doctor.
• Justin BERGHOLCS: Mental Health Consultant.
• Joe WILLIAMS: Mental Health Advocate and Former Professional Boxer & NRL Player.
• Jessica ROWE: Author, Journalist, Mental Health Advocate.
• Bailey SEAMER:  Mental Health Advocate.

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