Denmark screening of Just a Farmer film opens conversation about mental health in rural communities

Denmark restaurant The Dam screened new film Just A Farmer, with the evening presented by Black Dog Ride and aiming to open conversations about mental health and suicide in rural Australia.

An Australian farmer takes their own life every 10 days.

This was the eye-opening statistic presented to the gathered audience at the end of the film, as the room full of more than 100 people sat in sombre silence after watching the deeply moving film.

Just A Farmer follows main character Allison and her young farming family in rural Victoria and their journey of grief and healing after she loses her husband Alec to suicide.

Leila McDougall wrote, produced, and starred in the film, with she and her husband mortgaging their cattle farm in Victoria to finish the $2 million production.

She attended the screening at The Dam and said growing up and living in farming communities opened her eyes to the devastating and growing impacts of the mental health crisis in rural Australia.

"It is still quite taboo in a farming community, but it's time we started having those conversations," she said.

"Making a movie was my a way of subconsciously getting people to see what's going on in farming communities, and I honestly don't regret a single minute or dollar we spent doing it."

- Albany Advertiser

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE