Bushkill Township student filmmaker releases documentary targeting depression, teen suicide
From âThe Express-Timesâ
Left to right: Graham Vasquez, Laurel Wenson, Kyle Mahaney, Becca Tomlinson and Anthony Vonelli make up the crew that worked on âOut of Sight.â (Submitted Photo)
 A DeSales University aspiring independent filmmaker is hoping to send a message through his latest documentary:
Depression and self harm shouldnât be swept under the rug.
In October 2012, Kyle Mahaney, 21, a senior at DeSales in Upper Saucon Township and living in Bushkill Township, met up with childhood friend, Jessica Minor, of Allentown.
The pair recalled stories about teen depression and suicide in their circle of friends who attended a weekly cooperative education program for home-schooled students. Minor herself also battled depression, according to the documentary.
In one case, Mahaney says, a girl felt her parents didnât understand her depressed state and they had told her to âbasically snap out of it,â he said.
âYou really see different things,â Mahaney said. âYou see parents unaware and donât know how to deal with it or parents who handle it in a negative way. In the cases that weâve seen, in most cases, itâs a communication problem.â
Mahaney and Minor, a junior attending Cedar Crest College in Allentown, decided to put their effort in spreading more awareness about mental illness to film. The pair formed a group with about 20 other students, as well as educators, and began videotaping interviews.
The result was a nearly two-hour documentary, titled âOut of Sight,â featuring 50 adults, adolescents, educators, parents and mental health professionals. The majority are living in the Lehigh Valley and all have been touched by mental illness.
It explores ongoing conflicts within families that often accompany mental health disorders. It also touches on what Mahaney describes as âthe dangerous, but very common consequences of denial.â
âWe examine the cultural reaction surrounding the recognition of mental illness in young adults and the silent representations of teen depression,â he said. âIt also delves into how society can break down these stigmas and work toward making care more accessible.â
Following six months of editing, a 12-minute trailer of the documentary on Dec. 8 was shown before hundreds at the Carmike Promenade Theater in Upper Saucon Township. The showing was part of the universityâs âTV-Film Senior Showcase.â
Those attending walked away with a deeper understanding of the way society handles mental illness of young people, Mahaney said. At least one viewer, he said, relayed he really wasnât aware of all the issues surrounding mental illness until he saw the documentary.
ââOut of Sightâ explores the effects on how our society treats adolescents at-risk of suicide or suffering from depression â and its dire consequences,â Mahaney said. âIt addresses the idea that such issues are best kept âout of sight.â This is how the documentary got its title.â
Bushkill Township parents Jim Presto and Laurette Johnson-Presto are subjects in Mahaneyâs film.
The couple says they could have pretended what had happened to their 19-year-old son in February didnât really occur. And Johnson-Presto admits that would be the âeasy way out.â
âThere are many parents who donât say it because itâs a dirty word,â she said. âThey donât tell you their child committed suicide. For us, in doing the documentary, we hope to have empowered other parents to speak up. Itâs not a secret. You canât pretend it didnât happen.â
Josh Johnson, 19, had been a lively teenager and a member of Nazareth Area High Schoolâs 2011 championship football team, and he was eager to play for St. Francis Universityâs team in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
He attended both high school proms, had been on the honor roll a couple times and aspired to be a doctor. But something happened following a meniscus tear in his knee that left Josh Johnson on rest from playing as a college freshman.
His parents say the once vibrant, popular blond-haired-blue-eyed teen began struggling with anxiety and depression so deep that he was too ashamed to seek help.
Josh Johnson later took his own life.
âWe never once heard him use the word âdepressed,'â Johnson-Presto said. âHe hid it so well. He was embarrassed; he thought he was a failure for feeling that way.â
The couple has since become advocates for suicide prevention in the months following Josh Johnsonâs death. Jim Presto has been lobbying Northampton County school districts to adopt improved age-appropriate, youth suicide awareness and prevention policies. Johnson-Presto has been reaching out to other families battling mental illness.
Both say they were eager to be part of âOut of Sight.â
Presto on the documentary urges parents to get involved, saying in his day, suicide was looked at as âcowardly.â His message specifically targets parents to take action if they see their child is in crisis.
âWe were given the gift of life for these children. They are not here for us. We are here for them,â Presto states on the video. âIf they are in crisis of any kind, it is our responsibility to do the very best we can.â
Allentown resident Aimee Bender, a senior at Cedar Crest College who worked on the documentary, initially began feeling down in her early teen years, but said she didnât know why.
While attending high school, Bender says she was bullied by her peers.
âKids are mean,â she said. âSome allow it to roll off their backs more easily. I was not one of those kids that could take minor bullying; it really got me down.â
What Bender regrets is not telling her mother about it sooner, saying she feared she would let her down. Bender says: âI didnât want her to think I was a failure.â
âI was terrified that I had let her down in some way,â she said. âI thought it was better to hide it. In hindsight, I know now that was probably the worst thing I could do.â
After finally discussing it with her mother, Bender instead found support. She later was diagnosed with depression and through therapy, has found positive ways to channel her feelings, she said.
Laurel Wenson, a mother, educator and prior family counselor, had helped the students with the documentary.
As a counselor, Wenson recalled being the person many teenagers would come to when they feared telling their parents about possible mental illness. Many still approach her regularly, she said.
She tells the teens everything they discuss is confidential, unless they plan to harm themselves, Wenson said. And she noted teens battling have come from all walks of life, breaking down stereotypes.
When comedian Robin Williams took his own life in August it sent a culture shock that mental illness can impact anyone, she said.
âI look at Robin Williams and itâs huge that such an icon for so many of us could be battling. I grew up with (watching) him,â Wenson said. âItâs anybody.â
One in four adults â about 61.5 million Americans â experiences mental illness annually, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Mahaney said he hopes âOut of Sightâ will help to stop some of the stigmas surrounding depression and prompt more people battling to âstart a conversationâ about it â instead of hiding it.
âI hope that as we talk about these matters, more people will come forward and seek the help they need,â Mahaney said.
The promo of âOut of Sightâ has since gone viral and within a week, had been viewed more than 5,000 times on the documentaryâs website. It also has received response from social media and YouTube, garnering viewership in 62 countries, Mahaney said.
Mahaney and his crew have ambitions to bring the documentary to independent film festivals in the spring. They are planning a local showing this summer and currently are working with area movie theaters.
âWeâre absolutely amazed at the opportunities this gives us, Mahaney said.
For more information about âOut of Sight,â visit outofsightdocumentary.com.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find Nazareth area news on Facebook.
Bushkill Township student filmmaker releases documentary targeting depression, teen suicide was originally published on Out of Sight
