Cinema Libre announced this past week that Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker David Freid’s Tell My Story will be making its DVD debut on Mar. 23.
This is a “message” film … a sad story; a wake-up call. Jason Reid and his wife were on vacation in Puerto Vallarta in the spring of 2018. A time to relax, enjoy the moment, but that all changed in a heartbeat when the phone call came … their son Ryan, just 14-years old, was dead.
No parent wants to out-live their children, but in Reid’s case, it wasn’t that his son was dying of a disease or was an accident victim, but rather, he took his own life; a suicide. Sure, maybe the signs were there. But, Ryan was a teenager, in Reid’s own words, he has four teenagers, they get moody, silent, strange … they are teenagers. You think nothing of the moods, the silence, until the day when it comes into your life and changes everything.
The note was found, and Ryan’s tortured world was an eye-opener to his father. Ryan wasn’t alone in taking his own life; suicide by teenagers and young adults accounts for more fatalities among this age group than pneumonia, influenza, cancer, heart disease, AIDS, chronic birth defects, stroke and lung disease combined. 3,700 attempts per day on average; 4,600 die each year (CDC). Stunning!
Jason Reid decided to share his story, his pain, and in doing so, perhaps, just perhaps, give other parents an insight; an understanding into what might be right in front of them. To do this, he teamed up with documentary filmmaker David Freid (Guns Found Here, True Colors, High Chaparral) and Freid’s long-time collaborating cameraman Andrew Pfeifer to document Jason and his son Ryan’s story. Included are interviews with health professionals.
Tell My Story, on DVD from Cinema Libre on Mar. 23, is effective, educational, heartbreaking and, yet, hopeful. A call to reach out, connect, listen … especially in these times of isolation.
Bonus features include extended interviews.
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