MHAW’21 Guest Talk: “‘I Can’t’ Suicide Prevention Short Film and Panel Interview”

Speakers: Ian Teng, Janelle Tan, Izzul Adham, Wang Junwu, and Ms. Alexis Lion

by Mirella Ang

The group of 6 friendly faces popped up onto the screen. Many of them were smiling, eager to share their story of bringing stories to life through film. It was, however, slightly ironic. For the last, and final, talk of Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) 2021 helmed by Raffles Institution’s Peer Helpers Programme, the topic was on the aftermath of suicide and how the people left behind are victims, too.

The talk kicked off with a short panel discussion led by the lead counsellor for the film, Ms Alexis Lion. The group of Y6s consisting of Ian Teng, Janelle Tan, Izzul Adham, and Wang Junwu each took turns to introduce themselves and to talk about the film they had created late last year. Titled “I Can’t”, the short film won the Audience Choice Award at the Singapore Mental Health Film Festival 2021, showing how it had indeed captured the essence and heartbreak of suicide in our daily lives.

The team reminisced about the production process, often adding little quirky anecdotes about their filming experience in a time of safe-distancing measures. Being mere students themselves, they didn’t have access to a filming studio or professional filming devices — rather, they ended up having to adapt quickly and make do with what they had. As for the heavy subject of their film, they cited several suicide prevention organisations such as CHAT and SOS as their main research bases. Being a touchy topic, especially in Singapore today, they made sure to have done their research thoroughly to portray suicide in as real a manner as possible in their film. The lead actor, Ian, spoke about how filming the emotionally-charged scenes were the most difficult for him. “Usually, I can snap right out of it,” he said, “but this time, it was so hard. I couldn’t stop crying.”

Finally, after an insightful discussion of the film, attendees were treated to a screening of the award-winning film. Although it lacked the same grandiosity as it would have had it been screened in a proper cinema, and despite its intensity being worn down from the occasional lagging issues, the film’s themes and message were ever-present in the acting and the writing. It is no wonder that they were able to win the Audience Choice Award and win over the hearts of their audiences.

However, for some viewers, the motifs used in the film were slightly confusing, if not completely distracting. There were certain symbols portrayed that were never properly explained; neither were they an obvious metaphor for an aspect of suicide’s impacts on its survivors. While a minor point, it was helpful to have a Q&A session after the film, to address any lingering question marks audiences had.

Overall, it was a poignant and conclusive reminder of how suicide is a silent killer, and how the people who are left behind are its victims and survivors as well. And congratulations to the team for being able to tackle such a sensitive subject in such a sensitive manner.