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 on Monday night, 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.”

Raintree property owner Stephen Birkbeck gave the evening’s opening address, and shone a light on the hardships WA farmers have faced in the past five years and beyond, how important it was to come together to support farmers and have conversations around mental health.

“Experts will give you insights into farmers’ suicide, what worries me is that the rates have always been high but they have increased by 50 per cent in the last 10 years.

“I have never seen anything like the stress our farming community face today,” he said.

“We need an SOS to go out, farmers need help if you want us to keep growing your food.

“We need help and we need to be listened to.

“I conclude by asking for society to put a higher value on our farming community and its vulnerable souls.”

Black Dog Ride director Bev Seeney said the film was a perfect opportunity to bring WA communities together to talk about mental health.

“I believe telling our stories gives us a sense of empowerment with our stories,” she said.

“If we keep quiet about our own experiences, nobody else knows that there is a way through.

“So many people come up and just start sharing, and for many of them it’s the first time they have, and then we can encourage them to go and get support, it’s a very powerful thing.”

Lifeline: 13 11 14.