With tomorrow’s R U OK? Day to highlight the importance of mental health conversations, Home and Away actor Jacqui Purvis is set to release a short on YouTube inspired by one such exchange.
Purvis produced, wrote, and starred in Voicemails Last Forever, which picks up with two housemates grappling with the sudden loss of their dearest friend and boyfriend by suicide. In her grief, his girlfriend (Purvis) continues to listen to her loved ones’ voicemail greeting while at the same time trying to piece together the tragic event.
The film was directed by Brandon Keenan, with Bradley Walsh and Adam Rowland rounding out the cast.
Purvis told IF it was a conversation with Walsh during the 2020 Melbourne lockdown that served as the genesis for the idea.
“He just opened up to me one day about what he was going through, and it really affected me,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe my friend was feeling this way and one of the things he really wanted to bring awareness to the fact that sometimes it’s not actually the people you think that are suffering or hurting; it’s the ones that you would never suspect because they hide it so well.”
Over the course of the next year, Purvis would continue developing the story, sending it out to “as many people as possible” to get feedback.
Among them was Keenan, whom she had studied with at a Melbourne actor’s lab. While known primarily for his work in front of the camera, he was encouraged to make his directing debut after sharing Purvis’ vision for the project.
“That connection is really rare,” she said.
“The fact that they see it exactly how you see it, so I just knew from that point on.”
Filming for Voicemails Last Forever took place across two days at Purvis’ dad’s house in Melbourne in the middle of last year with a cast and crew of 12 people, backed by $15,000 from AusCo.
The writing process coincided with the growth of her profile as an actress via the role of Felicity Newman, the sister of local police officer Cash Newman, on Home and Away, who has appeared in long-running soap for the past two years.
“I was in this really incredible position where I could kind of use my platform as well to help promote or to bring awareness to [this issue],” Purvis told IF.
“So it kind of all just works really well.”
While there is no official connection with R U OK? Day, Purvis hoped the project would help break the stigma on mental health, specifically suicidal thoughts.
“It’s just as important for us to know how to deal with those things as it is for the actual person who is going through those feelings,” she said.
“At the heart of it, [I want people to] reach out and make sure they create an open space for their friends and family.”
Voicemails Last Forever will be released on YouTube tomorrow.
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