“POLE POLE” - A Documentary
the documentary
POLE POLE: [POH-lay POH-lay] - Swahili Adverb - slowly or carefully; a concept towards achieving acclimatization
This is about the physical challenge of climbing one of the world’s tallest mountains — battling altitude, exhaustion, and the elements. But what it’s really about is the emotional climb so many of us face: learning to slow down, confront the weight we carry within, and keep going even when the summit doesn’t bring us the peace we hoped for. It’s about the quiet, difficult work of healing — and realizing the journey down is sometimes the hardest part. We will follow stories involving grief, mental illness, substance misuse, veterans’ mental health, mental health struggles within the entertainment world, and the healing the outdoors and pushing one’s self can bring.
The occupation sector with the highest rate of suicide among women is the arts, entertainment, sports, media and design sector (including musicians).
Distribution
We plan to make this documentary accessible to all through YouTube - due to 95% of the world watching videos on this platform.
We also plan to submit this documentary to film festivals around the world.
Why this story?
In the United States 1 person dies every 11 minutes to suicide and an attempt is made every 21 seconds.
Individuals with depressive and substance use disorders make up the majority of suicides in the US — 40-60% will relapse — pointing towards the truth that recovering from addiction is a lifelong journey.
70% of individuals with Bipolar Disorder were initially misdiagnosed and mismedicated — this film will touch on the struggle surrounding finding the right diagnosis and maintaining a medication routine.
US Veterans make up 17% of the country’s suicides.
People with PTSD are 3-4 times more likely to attempt suicide.
MOUNTAINS FOR MENTAL HEALTH IS SUPPORTING
THE JED FOUNDATION
The History
In 1998 Donna & Phil Satow lost their son, Jed, to suicide. Through their time of grief and questions, they developed the JED Foundation in 2000 to honor their son by fighting against the tragedy of suicide in our nation. It continues to be the 2nd leading cause of death for people ages 10-34 partially due to the shame and stigma that surrounds mental health.
The Mission
The JED foundation is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization that is dedicated to protecting the emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults around the United States. They believe in doing this through arming students with the knowledge and skills to combat life’s hardships and partnering with schools and colleges to improve their programs dedicated to mental health.
JED's Impact
Has reached 63.8 million with campaigns nation wide
More than 2 million teens and their families have used JED’s Set to Go high school program to prepare emotionally for the transition to college and adult life.
400 institutes of higher education with 4.8 million students utilizing the JED Campus program to improve their approach to mental health
1,600 colleges using ULifeline – an online program dedicated to providing resources
SUPPORT THE CAUSE.