NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY

presents

Title: 1-800-Suicide

Year of Production: 2005

Country of Production: USA

Running Time: 9 minutes

Genre: Narrative Short

Cast:

Paul Brown

Ellen Bollert

Director: Pawel Pawelczak

Writer: Pawel Pawelczak

Director of Photography: Diede in’t Veld

Sound Design: Bogdan Tyburczy

Camera Assistant: Adam Hong

Production Company: New York Film Academy

Jimmy’s ready to end it all.

But at the last moment he calls 1-800-Suicide.

He may live to regret it.

Think things can’t get any worse?

Guess again.

“Worth re-shooting.” – Timothy Naylor,

NYFA cinematography instructor

(The best student film review

you can hope for…)

Thank you for calling 1-800-SUICIDE. We’re here to help…For English, press 2…If you know your party’s extension press 3…For a list of the top ten suicide warning signals, press 4…To volunteer with the hotline, press 5…How did you find out about us? From a radio or TV ad? Press 1… You pressed 4, indicating that you have been diagnosed with depression…If this is correct, press the pound sign. If this is not correct, press star…We’re sorry, but that is not a valid selection… All of our counselors are currently assisting other callers. Please stay on the line and the next available counselor will be with you shortly… With a nine in ten success rate, we’ve been ranked as the nation’s #1 crisis intervention hotline…Your estimated wait time is …

“In 1-800-Suicide, ‘can’t take it anymore’ runs up against ‘better, faster, cheaper’ in a new twist on the old theme of dehumanization by a corporate-run society. The outcome is doubly ironic: The system inadvertently does what it promises – it effectively prevents a suicide. At the same time, it creates an enemy who will live to fight it.

In the end, the character lives, because his sense of frustration and defeat is replaced by his overwhelming rage at the utter absurdity of the system. Sometimes the best cure for passivity is sheer anger.”

– Pawel Pawelczak, 1-800 Suicide Director

© 2007 Hand Hammered Films