A few years ago, writer Rufus Love was working at a theatre when he got chatting to a colleague. The man told him he used to be a university caretaker, but had to resign his post after, on more than one occasion, he had discovered students in their rooms who had died by suicide. The pain and trauma was too much to stay in the job. “He told me, ‘I had to be the one who knocked on the doors that hadn’t opened in a while,’” Love recalled to The Independent.
This story has inspired Contact Hours, a searing short film written by Love and directed by Harry Richards. The film stars Kris Hitchen (as seen in Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You) as a caretaker, and model-turned-actor George Osborne as his son. With quiet power, the psychological drama follows the caretaker as he discovers a student who has taken their life in their room. In the fall out, he finds himself confronting and reevaluating his relationship with his own son, who has been struggling in silence.
Between them, Love and Richards know six young people in their cohort at Edinburgh University who died by suicide. “We’ve both also got friends up and down the country either mourning their losses or thanking their lucky stars for the near misses,” Love said, “so it feels like a really important time to tell this story.”
The statistics are stark. One in five people will suffer from suicidal ideation in their lives. Suicide has also affected members of the film’s production: “Many of our cast and crew have been very sadly affected by suicide,” said Richards, “and while we were in post-production of the film, one of our very close friends and crew members lost someone they knew to suicide. It reminded us all of the urgency to get this film made and out to as many people as possible as soon as we can.”
For Love, the point of Contact Hours is to normalise these feelings and try to “destigmatise them and take away the shame”.
“It’s saying that the fact you’re having these thoughts doesn’t make you a bad person and doesn’t make you wrong in any way,” he said. “It’s incredibly common and it’s something that can be worked through, and the way to work through it is by getting it off your chest and letting other people see your pain.”
The film’s unique perspective, being from the person who discovers a student, is also important. “We wanted to give an insight into how brave these people are,” said Love, “and how difficult the fall out can be. We wanted to shine a light on that to thank them for their work and support them in getting through whatever emotional impact there might be.
“Where possible, we want to ignite this conversation so universities and colleges and other institutions can put their best foot forward in terms of prevention, but also postvention, making sure these first line responders, students nearby, and university culture as a whole manages to respond in the best way possible that keeps people safe. Looking after people around the suicide is of upmost importance to the film and to us.”
Contact Hours had its first exclusive preview in London this week, with more events set to be held over the coming months. “Next year we will be taking the film out to universities,” said Richards. They plan to show the film with live Q&As to try to start lifesaving conversations among students, parents and universities.
“We hope people come away feeling hopeful,” Love said, adding that, unexpectedly, they found their research process and conversations with people affected by suicide, as well as frontline professionals, “life-affirming and joyous”.
“It’s difficult as well, of course, but in those spaces where people share their struggles, or those of their friend or family, everyone can come away feeling warm and full and with a renewed gratitude for the sanctity of life.”
Find out more about Contact Hours here.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
