Kevin Berthia and Kevin Briggs’ story of hope is one that has captivated people across the globe. The duo has turned a pivotal moment in both of their lives into the opportunity to spread awareness of suicide prevention and mental health through sharing their story.
Fotolanthropy – an organisation that creates powerful documentary films that share true stories of strength and hope, with projects featured on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV – are working on a film titled 92 Minutes, which will bring Berthia and Briggs’ story to the “big screen.”
The 92 Council – a group of 16 experts on suicide created to help consult and guide the creation of 92 minutes – will have four members of the LivingWorks team helping to make the film as safe for viewers as possible.
Hear from members of the LivingWorks team who helped to guide the film’s producers:
Dr. Pete Gutierrez, Executive Vice President, Innovation – “I’m pleased the producers recognise the importance of having suicide subject matter experts available to consult with and they have put together a group with diverse expertise. I am also pleased they recognised LivingWorks as a source of subject matter expertise and we are very happy to be contributing to this important work.”
Mandy Armstrong, Suicide Prevention Manager, Western USA – “Kevin Berthia and Kevin Briggs’ story is really the convergence of two stories- where Kevin Briggs’ life intersected with Kevin Berthia’s. Their story is a real life example of everything we speak about and teach. Suicide intervention is not reserved for clinicians. It’s about real people intentionally creating an interaction between themselves and another person. This story highlights the need for everyone to be trained to intervene and to start a conversation, but it also shows what can happen when you do. Interventions happen all the time and we don’t always know where the person we’ve connected with ends up in life. This story takes us forward in time and shows us the impact of an intervention, in the long term. The Kevins’ real life example is an inspiration to every person who has ever intervened to help save a life (or who has wanted to) and to everyone who has found a reason for hope and a pathway to life. It literally shows us that living, works!
Niff Howard, Suicide Prevention Manager, APAC – “I would love there to be two outcomes from the release of this production: One, I hope that this production will help broader audiences gain the confidence to learn the skills to help keep people safer from suicide. Learning suicide intervention skills is easily accessed. LivingWorks workshops are available globally, and we also have LivingWorks Start available in several languages. Its everyone’s business to know how to talk about suicide because suicide doesn’t discriminate. Two; making a safer production doesn’t mean it’s less entertaining, actually I would argue the opposite! I hope this encourages more production companies to lean into this style of support to aid in increased engagement and broader, collective learning about the important topics around suicide and suicide prevention.”
