![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/10513_SKEMERSON-Pietie-Beyers-Picture-credit-Courtesy-of-Indigenous-Film-Distribution.jpg?resize=450%2C225\")
In South Africa, 1 in 3 people will have a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. There are 23 completed suicides in South Africa every day, and a further 460 attempted suicides every 24 hours\u00b9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mental illness, and the stigma surrounding it, is a critical issue. It\u2019s the central theme of \u2018Skemerson\u2019 (\u2018Sun Cry Moon\u2019), the new film directed by Phillip Rademeyer and written by Pietie Beyers, which opens nationwide on Friday 3 May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film tells the story of a young man, Sella (Beyers) who decides to take his own life. He stands on the 216m high Bloukrans Bridge, the iconic arch bridge located near Nature’s Valley, about to meet his fate, when he hears a young woman\u2019s laugh. When Emma (Anneke Weidemann), her frail mother (acclaimed actress Elize Cawood) and Sella meet serendipitously on the bridge, it\u2019s the beginning of a weekend that changes three lives forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film was made with financial assistance from pharmaceutical company Cipla South Africa, which produces a range of medicines for the treatment of depressive disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wouter Lombard, Cipla\u2019s Associate Director of Marketing in the Central Nervous System portfolio, says many people are not seeking help or getting treatment out of fear of being stereotyped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve created a campaign to destigmatise mental health. The brain is an organ, and like any other organ in the body, your brain can also become \u2018ill\u2019. We want to create awareness that help is available, and most importantly, that there is hope. Depression is a medical condition that can be diagnosed and treated. Depression does not simply go away, and there is no shame in seeking help for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Skemerson\u2019 helps promote the message that depression can be treated effectively, and that help is always at hand. \u201cWe were keen to help fund the movie as part of our goal to fight the stigmas related to mental health conditions,\u201d Lombard adds. \u201cWhen Neil van Deventer and Pietie Beyers approached us we immediately realised that we had the same objectives \u2013 to get the message out there that \u2018It\u2019s ok not to be ok\u2019, and that it\u2019s ok to talk about mental health, a subject that needs to be highlighted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Skemerson\u2019 is a personal story for Beyers and is inspired by true events. \u201cIt’s not entirely my own story, but my own experience with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) motivated me to write the script and have the film made. Expressing my emotions in a healthy and productive way proved to be a healing experience for me and I hope that the story will help others too. A key theme of the film is that mental health issues are normal, common, and nothing to be ashamed of,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men are four times more likely to die by suicide, which suggests that many of them suffer from undiagnosed mental health issues. Instances of undiagnosed depression are also substantially higher in men, and it has been shown that they seek mental health help far less than women.2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rademeyer says he has at times struggled with his own mental health and knows the feelings of shame and isolation it can cause. \u201cHelping to bring this story to life was important,\u201d he says. \u201cWith \u2018Skemerson\u2019 we hope to convey to audiences the message that mental health issues are common, and nothing to be ashamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the signs and symptoms of depression include problems concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions, fatigue, feelings of guilt, hopelessness, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, loss of interest in things once pleasurable, overeating or appetite loss, persistent feelings of sadness and suicidal thoughts3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Skemerson\u2019 is produced by Niel van Deventer (Dis Ek, Anna) and Pietie Beyers. The film stars Pietie Beyers (Binneland, Sy Klink Soos Lente), Elize Cawood (Vir Altyd, Die Wonderwerker) and Anneke Weidemann (Die Wonderwerker, Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom). It is directed by Philip Rademeyer (Wild, Klippe wat Val).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To assist in destigmatising mental illness in South Africa, Cipla launched a free counselling helpline in collaboration with the South African Depression and Anxiety Support Group (SADAG).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are helping a friend, or need help yourself, contact the SADAG Cipla Mental Health Helpline on 0800 456 789, WhatsApp on 076 88 22 77 5, or visit www.sadag.org for more information and help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Skemerson\u2019 is distributed in South Africa by Indigenous Film Distribution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n