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Limerick to Host Premiere of Award-Winning Film Unseen

The film Unseen will be premiering at Mary Immaculate College on March 7th
 
Limerick to Host Premiere of Award-Winning Film Unseen
 
By ilovelimerick correspondent Ciara Maria Hayes
 
Mary Immaculate College will be host to one the first premieres of the award-winning new short film Unseen – a film produced in Ireland that explores the effects of suicide on the country’s culture, particularly in young people. To watch the trailer, go here.
 
The film Unseen was filmed in Ireland in March 2017 and won the Best Short Film in Ireland at the Richard Harris Film festival in October 2017 and was also a nominated finalist in the 2017 Galway film festival. The film, produced by the charity CIY, features Irish actors Bob Carley and Desmond Eastwood and was developed by a mostly Irish-based crew.
 
Film Unseen
 
Jasper Rutherford, CIY’s European Director says “This film is an incredibly powerful tool to help young people and young adults talk about their own mental health. We wanted to de-stigmatize mental health and make it easier for young people to talk about. This film enables that to happen in a positive way, whether in the classroom, in youth groups, at University, or even in the home.”
 
Carley plays the part of Alexander, who finds his grandson, Owen (played by Eastwood) preparing to take his own life. The film illustrates there are no easy answers for “perfectly imperfect” people, but there is undoubtedly hope.
 
In 2014, The Irish Times reported that Ireland had the second highest suicide rate in Europe. A more recent report confirmed that suicide is the leading cause of death in young men between the ages of 15-34 across Ireland. As a charity, CIY works with youth through events, trips and resources – all with an effort to help initiate difficult conversations around social justice issues or cultural issues, such as mental health and suicide.
 
Throughout the week of March 5th, CIY are piloting the film in a number of secondary schools in an effort to raise awareness of mental health in young people and it is expected to be shown to around 2000 pupils during that week in 6 different schools.
 
The film Unseen will be shown at 7 p.m., March 7 at the Mary Immaculate College, with a follow-up screening on March 8 in Belfast.
 
To find out more – including behind-the-scenes features and resources to further the discussion around mental health – and to get a free ticket to the screening and view the trailer, please go here.
 
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