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Through the lens
Young filmmaker takes on mental health Erin Kavanagh-Hall It’s never an easy topic to broach – but, whether it’s over the airwaves or behind a video camera, Seni-Isaia Iasona is determined to continue the conversation on youth mental health. Seni, a Year 13 student at Makoura College, has started filming Student Issues, a video documentary series in which Wairarapa teens share their struggles with anxiety and depression, gender identity, sexuality, ethnic prejudice, interpersonal relationships, and maintaining a positive self-image in the age of social media. The first episode, published on Facebook, focuses on student wellbeing, and features three of his classmates discussing their experience of mental illness. The video, which has generated thousands of views, also explores the weight of adults’ expectations on young people, particularly the pressures within the education system. This is not the first time Seni has raised the issue of mental health with the community. Last year, he hosted a 24-hour radio marathon on East FM, Makoura’s radio station, featuring discussions with students, staff, local leaders, and politicians, and raising funds for the Mental Health Foundation. He is also one of a group of secondary students working with the Wairarapa District Health Board, alongside health services and
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community groups, to help design a new suicide prevention plan. Seni hoped his documentary series would shine a light on some of the battles young Kiwis faced. “A lot of young people feel like adults aren’t willing to have a conversation with them about their mental health,” Seni said. “They feel like adults aren’t listening to them – and, if they are, they’re listening to answer back, to judge them and tell them to suck it up. “The documentary gives people a chance to listen in to the conversations teenagers are having with each other, and hopefully, be more understanding. “If we want to end the stigma around mental health, we have to keep having these conversations.” Seni, an aspiring broadcast journalist who does weekly work experience with Newshub in Continued on page 4
Makoura College student SeniIsaia Iasona. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
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