When you tell your story, you change the story, a packed audience heard at the premiere of feature-length film Solstice at Albury on Sunday.
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More than 130 people attended the screening of the 60-minute documentary, by Albury film-maker Helen Newman, which tenderly tells the stories of those who have lost loved ones to suicide and their campaign to start conversations and advocate for change.
The film - described as "devastating and triumphant" - should be "compulsory viewing for all Australians", says former Australian of the Year and renowned mental health expert Professor Patrick McGorry.
It begins with the loss of 15-year-old Albury schoolgirl Mary Baker and her parents Annette and Stuart's journey to "shine a light on the darkest night of their lives".
The film, four years in the making, expands across Australia and internationally, documenting the stories of survivors of suicide and their fight for better mental health care.
In a panel discussion after the premiere, Newman said she wanted the film to help drive change to ensure funding for mental health "is given the same gravitas we give cancer".
Mr Baker said staying "open and honest" about what happened to Mary and the family's journey to break the stigma and silence of suicide "has helped us with our own healing".
"My hope is there will be more understanding and empathy," he said.
Albury-Wodonga Mental Health operations director Leah Wiseman described Solstice as an incredibly important part of the public conversation on mental health.
"This is not just one story, one family ... it's how we can contribute to this conversation as a community," she said.
"It's a collaborative effort; we need to ask what we can all contribute to ensuring mental health and the stigma of suicide is talked about."
Ms Wiseman acknowledged "we are still dealing with massive taboos" when someone is lost to suicide.
"We love them, they don't just disappear from our memory because they have died," she said.
There was "release and relief" at the recommendations to come out of the recent Royal Commission into Victoria's mental health system.
"Finally, it's (recognition of) what we have been saying, what consumers and those with lived experience have been saying," Ms Wiseman said.
But she added it was important to also celebrate the successes - "rather than just the things that don't work" - to ensure people continued to reach out for help.
"We want people to feel confident to access services," she said.
- A short version of Solstice will screen on ABC Compass on June 26; the film will also feature at The Border Mail International Festival in August.
