Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2019 – Haunted Witness
Well-known Vancouver journalist Jeremy Hainsworth reveals how years of police and crime reporting left him suffering in silence while management showed a shocking lack of support for his mental health and wellbeing.
Interview with Director/Producer/Editor Daniel Clarke
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
During my time as a police reporter at a major Australian newspaper, I experienced no formal training in attending horrific scenes of death and destruction. Neither was I given advice on the types of things I would witness and how to deal with them on an emotional level. From the age of 19 I was sent to fatal road accidents, murders and suicides – often without a photographer. Through the honesty and openness of Jeremy Hainsworth, a well-known and respected Canadian journalist, my hope is that this film shines a light on the issues of mental illness experienced in the workplace that can have devastating effects on the lives of so many people who suffer in silence.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The trauma suffered by crime reporters is an under-reported and stigmatised issue. It is often forgotten or widely unacknowledged that like policeman and paramedics, journalists are first responders to daily scenes of horror. Admitting to experiencing trauma to newsroom colleagues, however, is widely denounced within the industry.
The overwhelming majority of news people whose lives and careers are touched by post-traumatic stress are not covering brutal wars or natural disasters in distant lands. They are mostly domestic journalists who witness car accidents, murder scenes, suicides and plane crashes. The film will dispel some of the glamorous myths that exist about journalism and reveal a distinct lack of managerial support that will surprise and shock many viewers.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Anyone who has suffered mental illness or experienced PTSD – either themselves or friends or family - will gain strength from this film. Many viewers will have personal experience with depression and drug and alcohol problems caused by workplace stress. This film has universal themes that delve into the rights of employees to feel safe and fully equipped with the skills to deal with the trauma they witness or are directly affected by. Emergency service employees, humanitarian workers and those within the media industry will find Jeremy’s story particularly poignant.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We conducted a number of interviews with Jeremy during the course of production; some on-camera, others off. We wanted to understand Jeremy’s full story before attempting to tell it in the most engaging way within a concise 10-minute piece. It quickly became apparent that the trial of Canada’s worst serial murderer Robert Pickton was a major tipping point for Jeremy’s spiral into drug abuse and depression. With Jeremy’s full cooperation, we delved into this period of his life to reveal a harrowing and ultimately courageous narrative.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have received positive feedback from many people who work in the media and others who were unaware of the stigma associated with admitting mental illness in the industry. Viewers have noted how they never considered the trauma that police and court reporters might endure during years and years of reporting on daily death and horror. Media unions and those charged with protecting journalist’s rights have encouraged us to take the story further, which we hope to do if we can find the funding support.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
We are yet to receive any real challenging feedback about the film but we have not heard from media organisations themselves about what they have done or are doing to prevent these types of stories from reoccurring in their workforce. One viewer commented that the trauma of a journalist cannot be compared to that of a police officer or ambulance worker who are required to be hands-on during such scenes. We endorse this statement and we are not looking to compare the work of those employees with that of journalists. We do, however, want to make clear that trauma training and counselling within the emergency services far and away exceeds anything offered within media organisations. Considering the size and budget of these huge media companies, this situation needs to change.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Ultimately we would love to make a 1-hour version of this film that exposes a number of different stories from journalists who have suffered a similar fate around the world. There is certainly no shortage of examples or reporters willing to speak. We believe the film could be used not only for campaigning purposes but as a great educational tool that can be sold into universities that teach journalism courses.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are looking for sales agents and distributors to assist us in finding production funding and a market for a 1-hour version of the film. We are also keen to see this 10-minute film shown in film forums around the world to build awareness of the issue; we’d love to hear from more film festival directors who are interested in future programming. We thank the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival for backing it in 2019.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We would love the film to cause a direct change in trauma training policy within media organisations who need to start taking this issue seriously. The health and wellbeing of their employees should be their first and foremost concern and we hope this documentary can act as a catalyst for a change in newsroom culture. On a more immediate, intimate scale, we just want the film to get people talking about the issue and assist with building comradery and understanding between domestic crime reporters around the world.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How many more careers and lives must be ruined before media organisations come to grips with the damage that post-traumatic stress disorder is doing to their crime and court reporters?
Would you like to add anything else?
We want to give special thanks to the star of this documentary Jeremy Hainsworth. He was cooperative and supportive through the whole process and given the very personal nature of some of the content in the film, Jeremy has been incredibly brave in revealing his fascinating story. Without voices like his, these issues are never made public. Jeremy is completely supportive of this project for its educational qualities and potential to make an impact within the media industry. We loved working with him and we owe him our gratitude in having the chance to make this powerful film.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are currently working on a biographical feature documentary about Australia’s most controversial environmentalist. It’s a fascinating tale about a brave conservation warrior who ignored death threats, political intimidation, conspiracy theories and financial ruin to save his beloved threatened species. We have secured about half of the production funding but we’re still searching for the rest to ensure its world premiere in late 2020.
Interview: June 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Haunted Witness
Well-known Vancouver journalist Jeremy Hainsworth reveals how years of police and crime reporting left him suffering in silence while management showed a shocking lack of support for his mental health and wellbeing.
Length: 10:12
Director: Daniel Clarke
Producer: Daniel Clarke
Writer: Daniel Clarke
About the writer, director and producer:
DANIEL CLARKE is an award-winning Australian journalist and independent filmmaker who manages media companies Ad Hoc Docs and Ninti Media with his photographer/videographer partner Amy Pysden. Together they have produced over a dozen documentaries broadcast on national television in Australia. Their films have screened at festivals in the US, Canada, France, India, New Zealand, Sydney and Melbourne.
Key cast: Jeremy Hainsworth
Looking for: sales agents, journalists, film festival directors, distributors, buyers
Facebook: Ad Hoc Docs
Website: www.adhocdocs.org
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Melbourne Documentary Film Festival/Australia - 21 July, 2019