The DVD I've been working on most of this year is now ready to go to press.
This is a sneak preview - the actual DVD has seven films on different themes, so it was a little tricky to capture into just one trailer, but I think you'll get the idea.
Most of the content is aimed at professionals - therapists, MH workers, doctors, A&E staff etc.
The DVD also features a reading by Caroline Smailes and an interview about In Search of Adam, which is lovely.
I'm dead chuffed with all the people who took part - they were honest, authentic and shared in a really generous way.
If you'd like to spread the word that would be appreciated. All proceeds are going to fund services for people who self harm. DVDs are available from harmless.org.uk
Thanks to Badger and to Ms M for their efforts too - watching hour after hour of rough-cuts and never telling me they were bored...
Soooo. Um. Only say nice things please because I'm not really interested in editorial criticism at this point, with it having been finalised and all that, and I tend to take it to heart.
26 comments:
Wow - well done all of you! Let's hope it makes a big difference...
Karen
x
It made me cry.
There is such emotion within it.
I am so proud of you!
x
ps- I saw baby Poppy on the clip :)
Fantastic. Important. Well done! And, aw gosh, hugs and stuff :-)
Thanks Karen - yes, it would be nice if it reached the people who it can really make a difference to.
Caroline honey, you're a sweetie. It makes me cry sometimes too - and we don't even have anyone crying on camera!
Baby Poppy is gorgeous and there is something wonderfully congruent about that background.
Jean - thanks! Hugs too :)
Very interesting, Stray. Even just those few minutes makes you re-evaluate what you previously thought.
Working in a homeless shelter I came across this a few times it is scary and a really hard thing to help them with, we were not trained to deal with it and we just had to treat it like an addiction really.
I was moved by the film thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Misssy M - re-evaluation is definitely what we're looking for :)
Hi Ken - thanks for your comments. I think self harm certainly has aspects which are similar to addiction - 'change how I feel right now, instantly ... ' being the most concrete probably. At the same time I think self harm is also often communication. A kind of way of screaming without actually raising your voice. It needn't be communication with others - often I think it is one part of ourselves trying to get the attention of the part that is 'in charge' at that time.
I was involved in a complex needs project which included addictions, mental health needs and homelessness. Self harm was a common problem and luckily some of the counselors brought their own personal experience of it, as well as of recovery from the other issues they were helping people with.
Lack of training is a big barrier to dealing with self harm. It's only human to be scared, confused, even angry. The organisation I've made the film for delivers high quality training on this issue, and we're hoping the DVD will let that training spread further and faster.
Sx
Well done, it is very moving. It is an important document for something which is not very well understood. I am sure it will be an enormous help.
Kx
Yes, a kind of screaming without raising your voice... a dialogue without words but full of meaning to the person expressing/hearing it.
Let's hope the DVD get's watched not just added to a library of resources. Such a very long way to go before 'offerings' are more than stale crumbs left over from myth and fear.
What's to fear or rebuff I wonder when all that is being presented is another human being finding a way through to understanding and being in their moment. That the moment may be messy in all senses of that word doesn't seem to me reason to ring the leper bell, more to take the ear plugs out and try to catch a word or two of the dialogue.
I hope that many DVD's will be sold and find their way in to open hands and minds.
Good project. Good person... take care
What a fantastic film, I hope it makes people aware of the problems. I have a very young relative who has recently self harmed and I for one do not know how to cope. Keep up the good work
I watched it over at Caroline's. It's wonderful. Well done.
What an important subject to raise people's awareness of. Well done you honey.
Hulla
xx
I am going to buy a copy and pass it on to my old branch of Samaritans. After I've watched it myself.
thanks for doing this xxx
Attention grabbed!
I like the comment in the film about there being no such thing as a professional human. I'll remember that one.
I'm about to order a copy, Stray. I hope that speaks for me. Thank you.
It moved me and interested me and gave me an inkling of the depth and significance of the issue. Hoping i get to see the full version...
xx
I would say very nice things about this. I've been visiting here every so often since you posted this, to see if I have any nice things to say about it.
Well I'm finding it difficult. This is, I hasten to add, just a reflection on where I'm at, I just don't seem to have the words this week: I seem to be in a bit of a state of information overload thanks to various things - and therefore it's in no way a reflection on what I think about your film. There are no doubt plenty of positive words locked up there somewhere in my head which could most definitely be formed into sentences and sent in this direction. I just haven't been able to wade through all the mush to get to them.
So, at the expense of the thoughtfulness and (perhaps) eloquence which I would hope to employ to talk about this with you (and it's a shame, because self harm issues are very relevant to my work, and it's hardly difficult to get a debate going about such a subject is it?), I'll have to plump for the following, at least for now:
It seriously looks fantastic, and it looks like it needed to be made. Great stuff.
Fantastic and beautifully shot. I've whacked out the link in as many different directions as I could think of: hope it get all the exposure it deserves
I saw this and thought of your film
http://sirenvoices.blogspot.com/2008/11/full-moon.html
Scout - thank you!
D-W - it's amazing which frequencies some people can't hear though, isn't it?
drastic - I think listening is a good place to start, always, but often very difficult for people who care deeply about the individual. I think you're never too young for counseling of some kind.
JJ - thank you, and thanks for your comments at Caroline's too.
Hullaballoo - ta, it feels really lovely that so many professionals have said good things about it.
B - you're a star, that's exactly what I'd hoped.
Noddy - thank you for blogging it! And for getting it.
AnneDroid - it's a lovely comment isn't it? It has stayed with me as well.
Ms Signs - it does. Thank you too.
Miss Tickle - I wonder what the yoof you work with would think of it?
trousers - thanks for persevering, despite the lack of flowing words you were experiencing. Your comment really touched me, so I appreciate you coming back.
UHDD - you are a star. A few people have come through you and I really love that you wanted to spread the word. That link is lovely - I'm glad they took care of her.
Help! the order form is telling me it's corrupted. can we not just order it online now it's out? I am impatient! :o)
Gosh! I said that bit! The bt about professional humans. *goes all shy*
Moving, very very moving...
Hope you get some more exposure from this post too http://randomreality.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/11/25/3995085.html
Stray, hello my dear! Sorry for the infrequent visits, I don't have a valid excuse, except maybe a bit of blog fatigue.
Your film is excellent on every level and is moving without being sentimental. All the people are honest, real, articulate and also sensitively photographed. I hope it gets loads of feedback and attention - could it go on to BBC or Channel 4?
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