SHOULDER ANGEL: A Film About Women’s Mental Health

Why Fund This Project?

Mental ill health among women is on the rise. One in five women (19%) experience a Common Mental Disorder (such as anxiety or depression), compared with one in eight (12%) men. Three-quarters (75%) of mental health issues are established before the age of 24, and young women have emerged as the highest-risk group for mental ill health. A quarter of young women (25.7%) have self-harmed – more than twice the rate for young men. There is evidence this could be higher and is growing. 26% of young women experience a Common Mental Disorder, such as anxiety or depression – almost three times more than young men. 1 in 7 young women (16-24) have PTSD (compared with 3.6% of young men). 72% of those in suicide counseling with NSPCC are girls. Suicide is the third most common reason for girls to contact Childline and the fifth most common for boys. — Agenda Alliance.

Every year 703 000 people take their own life and there are many more people who attempt suicide. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities, and entire countries and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and was the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds globally in 2019. Suicide does not just occur in high-income countries, but is a global phenomenon in all regions of the world. In fact, over 77% of global suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2019. Suicide is a serious public health problem; however, suicides are preventable with timely, evidence-based, and often low-cost interventions. For national responses to be effective, a comprehensive multisectoral suicide prevention strategy is needed. — WHO

This Film Project As a Strategy:

SHOULDER ANGEL is a film project about women's mental health that I created and now crowdfunding to turn it into a movie. It's a story about a young woman who decides to take her life, but her shoulder angel battles against the devil and saves her life. This story includes characters who display resilience and positive coping strategies that enable people to deal with life stressors, feelings of sadness, and/or suicidal thoughts. It depicts the efforts to access relevant services, of overcoming stressors or crises, and of coping with stress and recovery. It conveys a message that 'change is possible,' even in seemingly desperate circumstances. It also outlines how to obtain help from support services. It depicts or provides contact details for support services that can provide support to anyone affected by the same situation as that in the story’s content. It also shows the potential positive value of support from friends, family, and others. It provides an example of how friends, family members, and the wider community can help and support vulnerable persons by responding to expressions of sadness and/or a wish to harm oneself, and how to encouraging the person to seek professional help and to use helplines and other available community help. It also has potential warning signs of suicide and how to cope with them. It includes behaviors that are potentially indicative of a person’s plan to take their own life. This help educate audiences on the potential warning signs to look out for, including changes in mood, heightened engagement in risky behaviors, self-harm, talking about taking one’s life, and feelings of hopelessness.

THE STORY:

The story follows a young woman Emily who suffers from depression due to life problems. The devil tells her to give in to her impulses and take her life. Emily attempts to write a suicide note and open a bottle of pills, but the shoulder angel tries to reassure her through her difficult time and reminds her of the people she'll leave behind and how she can still ask them for help. Emily calls up a crisis hotline and tells them she’s suicidal. A social worker gets in and tries to put her at ease by relying on the idea that we all have an angel and devil on our shoulders. The angel encourages us with harsh truths while the devil gives us easy answers. The social worker tells her that she's going to take her for medication and counseling. Emily calls her family, and she goes with the social worker.

About Me:

I'm Joseph Kitone, professionally known as Jose Tone, and I'm a scriptwriter and a film producer living in Kampala, Uganda. I created this film project called 'SHOULDER ANGEL' that touches on women's mental health, after observing and hearing about some women in different societies going through stress, anxiety, and isolation due to being caregivers, living in poverty, and facing abuse and violence. And when I read about the actual global statistics on the epidemic of women’s mental health issues, I wanted to do something on behalf of those women both through a film and the money that the film might raise. This campaign is so important to me because it's such a piece of work that I created. It's basically a story about a young woman who decides to take her life, but her shoulder angel battles against the devil and saves her life. Your contributions will help tell this story about women's mental health.

What We Need:

I am needing $2000. The rest of the money is coming out of my savings. I am needing this amount of money because it's a 15-page script, and I need to film it for at minimum 5 days, which means I'll need to pay the cast and crew their rates for 5 days of work.

This is our budget breakdown:

Equipment - $1546

Cast and Crew - $1657

Access to Locations - $1349

Props and Costume - $535

Insurance (Equipment insurance) - $425

Contingency Funds (for any additional needs that may come up) - $535

Distribution (Publicity, Markets, and Film Festival Entrance Fees) - $593

Food and Transportation $580

Donation to women's mental health organizations - $1185 (that's 15% of the campaign goal)

Your support will be assuring a production for our film.

Money Raised & Revenue:

a) I will donate 15% of the money raised by this crowdfunding campaign to women's mental health organizations around the world.

b) I will donate 50% of whatever money this film makes in distribution to women's mental health organizations around the world.

What You'll Get:

1) Donate $25 and get a Link to 'SHOULDER ANGEL' Movie (You'll get a private link to this movie to watch it online or download it).

2) Donate $45 and get Your Name in the End Credits (You will be awarded a credit on this film under the "List of Contributors" Acknowledgement).

3) Donate $100 and get a Special Thanks Credit (Your name will be credited in the film under the "Special Thanks" section)

4) Donate $1000 and get an Executive Producer Credit (You will be awarded a credit of an Executive Producer on this film and on IMDb).

Joseph, what if you don't reach your goal? Well, we'll use whatever we do have towards the project. It'll still be made, guarantee you that!

Other Ways You Can Help:

Look, I get it. Not everyone is in the position to contribute, but that doesn't mean you can't still be involved and be part of the SHOULDER ANGEL community: Share widely to your networks. Use the "share" features on GoGetFunding and share to your social media. Whatever it is you can do, I appreciate you being here, reading, and wanting to help. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.