Aussie screening of Shane’s film on MarineWatch
A documentary about the life-saving Wexford MarineWatch organisation was viewed by audiences on the other side of the world at the Canberra Mental Health Film Festival in Australia.
The film ‘A Light in the Darkness’, was made by a Wexford student at the Institute of Technology Carlow and recently won the award for Best Short Film at the recent Wexford Documentary Film Festival in Kilmore Quay.
Shane Campbell from Ballymurn was delighted that the 18-minute film was selected for the recent film festival down under.
‘I’m thrilled with the reaction to the film and I was really pleased to have been accepted by Canberra as it is a festival focused on films about mental health and this is very much what my film is about’, said Shane, who is a 4th year TV & Media Production student at IT Carlow.
The 18-minute film which Shane produced for his 3rd year project, tells the story of Wexford MarineWatch, an extraordinarily successful voluntary organisation whose members make nightly patrols along Wexford quays, estuary and harbour to to prevent incidents of suicide and offer assistance to people in crisis.
Wexford MarineWatch has 110 volunteers who give up one night of their time on a rota basis each month to help prevent loss of life, to make people aware of the dangers of the water and to provide assistance to anyone who may be in difficulty. Since the organisation was established in 2012, not one person has lost their life in Wexford Harbour through suicide.
Shane said he would like to thank his lecturers for their advice and guidance, in particular Marcus Lehman.
Canberra Film Festival provides a voice for social justice and human rights for people with mental illness, helping to fight the stigma association with mental illness.
‘A Light in the Darkness’ won Best Short Film at the Wexford Documentary Film Festival which screens award-winning national and international documentary films and has a strong emphasis on films that explore social, political and environmental issues.
The film can be viewed on on https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=uC9XAjsQZSw.