Bishop Harold endorses short film ‘Unseen’
‘Unseen’ is about the devastating effect of suicide among young people. It can be used very powerfully in schools and youth groups and enable young people to talk about the issues concerning them.
Earlier this month, Bishop Harold attended the Northern Ireland premier of the film which is produced by an organisation called ‘Christ in Youth’, and filmed in Ireland. It won the best short film prize at the Richard Harris Film Festival in October 2017, and was also a nominated finalist at the 2017 Galway Film Festival.
Bishop Harold said:
“A few weeks ago, we heard the frightening statistic that more people had died by suicide in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement than had died through terrorism during the entirety of the Troubles. That puts things in perspective. What a tragic loss of life, so often inexplicable and sudden.
“It also made me reflect on the fact that my own uncle died by suicide not long before I was born. In those days, it was rarely spoken of, but it left a sense of deep sadness in my mother, which I don’t think she ever entirely got over.
“My prayers are with all those who have suffered the collateral effect of the suicide of a loved one, who are left with unanswered and unanswerable questions, and with hurts so deep that they are unspoken.
“I hope ‘Unseen’ will enable us all to see what is a massive issue in all our communities, taking away the lives of so many people loved by God, and with a future which they cannot see, but which we grieve the loss of.
“We are left with the question, ‘What can we do to change this?’ This short film can be part of the answer.”
Unseen and some accompanying resources are now available to download for free. Visit the Unseen website here.
The ‘Get Help‘ section on the website also sign–posts professional organisations who work within the field of mental health and suicide.
The story
Unseen is a short film narrative about the relationship of a 17–year–old boy with his Grandfather who discovers him trying to take his own life by suicide. It later unfolds that the Grandfathers wife, the boy’s Grandmother, had also died by suicide 17 years earlier, however, no one ever talks about it. Hence the boy and his Grandfather’s mental health has gone Unseen.