Farmer-made film sparks open conversation about mental health

A FARMER and mental health advocate has turned to filmmaking to help shine a light on the critical mental health issues facing Australia’s farming communities and the lack of comprehensive medical support available to them.

The statistics are alarming, with an Australian farmer dying by suicide, on average, every 10 days.

The suicide rate for the cohort is up to 95 per cent higher than for non-farmers, and yet despite experiencing mental health challenges, almost one-in-five are unwilling to seek help.

The development of Just A Farmer, which explores the aftermath of suicide on a family and community, followed its creator Leila McDougall’s own experience with suicide.

“After my mother’s attempt at suicide, and [my husband] Sean losing his uncle to suicide, in all the work that we’d done around preventing suicide or getting people to talk about their mental health, in that instant we realised that there’s very little support for people post-suicide,” she said.

“When my mum attempted suicide, they just gave us a pamphlet and that was it… we realised that there was this massive gap for people that had lost someone to suicide.”

It was during COVID, when communities across the country were sourcing their human connection from streaming platforms like Netflix, that McDougall, with no prior film industry experience, decided to make a film.

She wanted to show people “what it’s like to be on the land”, “the sacrifices farmers make to put food on the table”, and most importantly, to raise awareness and start a conversation.

“The conversation around mental health has come a long way… but it’s that word ‘suicide’ [that], I think, is still so taboo,” McDougall said.

“The family are the ones that are left behind with this burden and shame around the way their loved one died because they’re not allowed to actually publicly say they died by suicide.

“I heard a really great quote the other day that it’s ‘too ugly for polite conversation’, which is ridiculous.

“We live in an age where we’re so open about everything else. People tell us everything about them, but suicide is still ‘too ugly’.”

McDougall said she was encouraged by the impact that Just A Farmer, which hit cinemas in March, already seemed to be having on those who have seen the film.

“In some of the screenings that I’ve attended in communities, it’s amazing the conversations that open up afterwards.”

She said it was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

“People are really willing to talk, and I think it’s because they’ve all actually gone on a journey together in the audience and experienced what the family experience.

“That’s why we wanted to go with a film, rather than a documentary, because a documentary just tells you how someone felt rather than show you.

“Farmers are just resilient in their ability to pick themselves up when they’re down, but there is a point where you can ask for help, so our future generations know that they can ask for help, that they can turn to their parents and have an open conversation about how they’re feeling.”

In an attempt to increase the film’s impact, Just A Farmer is now available for audiences to stream online. McDougall hopes to eventually be able to stream the film for free but said some of the $2 million in privately funded costs that went into the creation of the film needed to be recuperated before this would be possible.

To find out more, or to stream Just a Farmer online, head to justafarmermovie.com