Anthony Riordan talks openly and candidly about his struggles with mental health in the ‘#MakeSomeNoise For Mental Health’ documentary.
AN IT Tralee student has shot and created a very personal and emotional mental health documentary entitled #MakeSomeNoise For Mental Health and which forms part of her college projects.
Zara O’Dowd, from Castlemaine, made the film as part of her Masters (MA) in Creative Media in which a number of Tralee people share their own intimate stories regarding their struggles with mental health.
“Mental illness became a significant part of my life a few years ago and starting out with my Masters project I knew it would always remain close, but I didn’t realise just how close it would become,” said Zara speaking about the video on her social media account.
“When my dad unfortunately took his own life in February, it would have been easy to change topic or just give up the whole MA altogether. But my dad wouldn’t have wanted that and it’s definitely not something I was prepared to do. I made him a promise and I stuck to it,” she continued.
“It is about real people sharing real stories, from four different perspectives. The documentary follows the life of a vlogger and three other participants who are all connected by one thing; mental illness. It takes on a raw, no frills approach to editing and storytelling which shows the highs and lows of each individual on their own journey,” she finished.
In the video, Alanna Diggin, Fiona McSweeney, Sharon Roche and Anthony Riordan talk about their various experiences with mental health issues, with Anthony at one point talking about how he was reduced to staying in bed for four days straight due to his struggle, while Sharon talks about the pain and suffering of living in the aftermath of her son Sean’s suicide.
Zara’s aim is clear with this documentary; to spread the awareness of mental health and the importance of having open discussions on the topic.
Check out the video below…
Great to hear four brave people telling their stories. This will help so many others through the toughest times of their lives. This could be anyone.