LOCAL high school students were encouraged to speak out about their mental health last week in a special R U OK? film workshop run by acclaimed Australian actor Steve Bastoni.
Held at Tenison Woods College, the workshop facilitated by Mr Bastoni and film director Brendan Young gave students a chance to not only learn about the process of film making, but how to share their own message and personal story.
“I think it is incredibly important for young people to talk about their mental health, especially as most are using social media,” Mr Bastoni said.
“It can be quite isolating, is used for bullying and a lot of people compare their own lives to what they see on there even though for most social media shows the hits of a persons life and not the hard times.”
Losing a friend to suicide when he was younger, Mr Bastoni has been a strong advocate for mental health awareness for a number of years with Lifeline and now R U OK?
Creating both the Peninsula Film Festival and the Broken Hill Perfect Light Film Festival, he said he thoroughly enjoyed teaching students in Mount Gambier about film making and script writing.
“The students were really engaged and were able to share their stories, whether it be themselves that has struggled with mental health or a family member or friend,” he said.
Local singer and R U OK? ambassador Louise Adams also took part in the event, performing one of her songs and speaking about her own experience.
Students who took part in the workshop are now eligible to enter their films in the 2018 Peninsula Film Festival, win a VIP package and have their film screened in front of thousands of people.
