Active Minds & Project Wake Up
present
A Groundbreaking Suicide Prevention Documentary Film Screening, Discussion Guide and Q&A
Wake Up does not sensationalize or overstate problems but rather brings a personal perspective and a feeling of hope and connection.
FILM SYNOPSIS:
After losing two close friends to suicide, a group of college students from the University of Missouri was determined to enact positive change. They quickly formed a nonprofit, Wake Up, premised on spreading awareness: their educational initiatives were designed to encourage a massive cultural shift away from social stigmas surrounding mental illness, depression, and suicide.
Wake Up: Stories from the Frontlines of Suicide Prevention emerged from this collective movement. The film sheds light on four different groups with varied stories to tell about suicide—American veterans, members of the LGBT community, university students, and gun owners. Through their testimony, the film weaves a diverse tapestry of experiences into a multifaceted narrative of the heroes on the frontlines. As it delves deeper into their experiences, Wake Up confronts tragedy with a call to action: by exploring ways to start thoughtful conversations and push for systemic legislative change, it foregrounds steps to a better world.
Available Packages:
It is important to safely debrief with your students or community after screening a film that discusses suicide. Active Minds and Project Wake Up offers the following film screening packages and post-event discussions that ensure your audience receives action-oriented education about suicide and answers to sensitive questions. Post-film discussion guides and resources are customized towards schools, workplaces, and other types of organizations.
- Virtual Film Screening & Discussion Guide
- In-Person Film Screening & Discussion Guide
- Virtual Film Screening, Discussion Guide, & Q&A
- In-Person Film Screening, Discussion Guide, & Q&A
Host a post-film Q&A with the Wake Up team after your film screening to engage in powerful discussions about suicide prevention and discover how to take action in your community.
Alex Lindley
Founder of Project Wake Up
By his 22nd birthday, Alex Lindley had already delivered two eulogies, both for best friends who had tragically died by suicide while attending the University of Missouri. Grieving and looking for a way to convert the painful bereavement into a hopeful and passionate mission to save lives, Alex Lindley founded Project Wake Up in 2014. Lindley, now an attorney in St. Louis, MO, spent the better part of five years raising funds to produce Wake Up: Stories from the Frontlines of Suicide Prevention, a labor of love in honor of his fallen friends. Alex is a seasoned public speaker who is eager to share the story of the origins of Project Wake Up and all he’s learned about mental health, suicide, grief, bereavement, and hope during his mission to bring this film to life.
Nate Townsend
Co-Writer & Director
Two years after losing his uncle to suicide, Nate Townsend partnered with Project Wake Up to write and direct the comprehensive documentary about the subject. During the research and filming of the documentary, Townsend became intimately close with some of the biggest organizations and institutions in the country, including the Harvard School of Public Health, Intermountain Healthcare, the Nat’l Center for Veterans Studies, and Active Minds. His colleagues at those institutions have remained close friends, and Townsend continues to stay involved in the field in various ways.
Danny Kerth
President of Project Wake Up
Danny Kerth is an account supervisor at FleishmanHillard and the President of Project Wake Up. Mr. Kerth joined Project Wake Up as a member of the core fundraising team, helping coordinate events, develop grant proposals and expand visibility through media interviews. Having lost his father and two friends to suicide, Danny can provide significant insight into the loss of a parent and the stigma faced by the bereaved.
Michael Zibilich
Active Minds Speaker, Featured Story
Over the last four years, Michael has spoken about suicide awareness to thousands of university students throughout the United States. His message is simple – In the fight against suicide, all of us must consider ourselves as first responders, in our own lives and in the lives of those we know and love.
Michael is a commercial real estate executive who resides with his wife, Gayle, in Atlanta, Georgia. Tragically, on April 21, 2012, they lost their only child, Michael “Keller” Zibilich – a second semester Sigma Chi freshman at LSU – to suicide.
Townsend and company have skillfully crafted a heartrending teaching tool that should be mandatory viewing for clinicians, academics, legislators and laymen.
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.