PLEASE NOTE: This article discusses suicide, a topic that can be triggering for many individuals. If you or someone you know is struggling from suicidal thoughts or idealities, please know that it is okay to reach out for support. There are many resources to assist you. & they are all confidential.
Right now, the world is facing some scary moments. Wether it be the coronavirus pandemic, fighting for racial injustices within our system, or personal struggles — we all need a place to turn, a place to keep our mind off what is going on.
With that being said, this week, we discovered a short documentary that follows the stories of several people but they all have one thing in common, suicide. Suicides rates steadily increasing over the last few years, and also more than likely even more with the current state of the world.
Having been personally affected by suicide in more ways than one, we wanted to catch up with one of the many people behind this documentary to findout more about the film, the inspirations for the film, and a little bit more about “Wake Up“.
PopWrapped (PW): This film is based around suicide and the pain, struggle, etc that one faces before making that decision. Why suicide & why do you think now was the best time to release?
Danny Kerth (DK): A group of students at the University of Missouri came together in 2014 to start an organization called Project Wake Up. It was in response to the second suicide within that friend group in two years. Our friend’s name was Ryan Candice, one of those gregarious, life of the party personalities that was magnetic in social circles. The last person you would ever imagine this happening to. One of our friends, Alex Lindley, brought us together after delivering both of our friends’ eulogies before his 21st birthday. To him, enough was enough. We started with the idea about making a documentary about Ryan’s life to show others that they are loved and how much pain suicide can cause. We launched a GoFundMe campaign at the end of 2014, and raised $10,000 overnight. That plateaued at $35,000 that month, and we brought on a film student who we all knew from growing up together in St. Louis. He went on to direct a number of shorts for us as well as the feature length documentary. All the time in between, we used our nonprofit status to fundraise for the film, and ended up raising more than half a million dollars in the process. We chose to release this film now because mental health issues are getting worse, and quickly. We were shopping the film on the festival circuit when COVID-19 hit, and that made us realize we had to scramble to get this in front of the world. If a documentary like Tiger King can get a captive audience buzzing, why not one that lifts the veil on the stigmas surrounding mental illness and suicide? Luckily, the We Are One festival, an unprecedented, all-digital film fest curated by YouTube, Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca and many other prestigious festivals, came at the right time. We felt that giving anyone with an Internet connection the opportunity to watch this film might lead to as many lives saved as possible.
PW: As someone who has been impacted by suicide, hearing these stories brings back the emotions of losing a friend to suicide. When people shared their stories, how did you obtain strength while staying professional developing this film?
DK: Stories are what humanize us, what bring people together from separate walks of life who may have preconceived notions about us. Knowing that we wanted to gather stories from the LGBTQ community, veterans, gun rights activists and college students, we’d give every viewer a glimpse into a world they’re likely unfamiliar with. That’s a good thing. Knowing that we were using our platform to break down divisions was something that just kept us going. There isn’t another film on this topic that’s like this, which is why I’m so excited for everyone to see this.
PW: Suicide rates continue to climb even when the world isn’t slowly crumbling. What do you want viewers to take away from this?
DK: There are themes of resiliency, hope and compassion that I am confident will make viewers more empathetic to those around them. But on an individual level, I want people who are struggling to remember that they are never alone. Help is out there and we highlight those resources. My favorite mantras we stick by are: Remember, you are needed (which is RYAN in acronym form) and Check on your strong friends. So many people are carrying burdens right now. Even a “Hey, haven’t heard from you in awhile. How’s everything going?” text message can potentially save a life.
PW: You executive produced this film. What was that like and what have you taken personally from the film that you might not have had you not been apart of something so beautiful?
DK: It was certainly a labor of love. Alex and I worked full time jobs through the process, but we always knew that we had a commitment to our donors and even to the doubters who didn’t believe that a group of first time filmmakers in their mid-20s could do something to this scale. To me, this film is about people dealing with loss in ways that can change the world by working to turn the suicide rate trend in the opposite direction. If the efforts and energy of this film take off, I think we can make that happen.
PW: What is next for you as a creative and what plans/collaborations/goals have you set for yourself that you hope to achieve?
DK: I work in public relations full time, and it’s pretty much my dream job. But I want to keep using this platform to make change. As an organization, Project Wake Up was birthed on a college campus and I think we can make a real impact by educating college students about the risks of mental health that come with being a college student. They’re growing. We just want to be a part of the positive change that takes place, so if I can say that I contributed in a meaningful way to that, I think I did my job.
The “Wake Up” Documentary is available for streaming (FREE!!!) until 6/11. The film is written and directed by Nate Townsend, Produced by Chelsea Bo & Sean Drummond. Executive Produced by Danny Kerth & Alex Lindley, This documentary is apart of the We Are One: A Global Film Festival, a 10 day online film festival exclusively on Youtube. Co-curated by over 20 film festivals from across the world. All funds raised during the festival will benefit COVID-19 relief funds.
