The Promise

I am genuinely inspired by Jye Currie's documentary The Promise. This is a profoundly important and beautifully crafted film that approaches the topic of suicide prevention with honesty, care, and deep humanity.

What stands out most is Jye's ability to tell personal, raw stories while maintaining respect and sensitivity a balance that many filmmakers struggle to achieve. The film never feels heavy-handed or exploitative; instead, it offers space for reflection, understanding, and, most importantly, hope.

The Promise carries a vital message that needs to be shared widely across Australia. In a time when mental health challenges touch so many lives, this documentary has the power not only to raise awareness but to genuinely save lives. It is the kind of work I would recommend not only to my students but to colleagues, community leaders, and policymakers alike.

Currie has proven himself to be a filmmaker unafraid to take on urgent social issues and with The Promise, he has made something truly impactful.

I had the privilege of attending a Q&A night with Craig and Jye. It's been four days now and I haven't stopped thinking about this movie.

There's really a lot to unpack here, there are a lot of layers and a lot of emotions, on the night of the screening I found a quite challenging to hear some of the stories in the documentary but I know how important stories like this are.

I can see this film becoming the next "rabbit proof fence" which they teach in schools.

If you are going through any mental health challenges I suggest watching this with a friend. If you have someone in your life you can decode this film with after that would be quite the experience.

It's very rarely that I'll watch a documentary. I stumbled across this after watching the director's first feature film. For a young man I find it quite fascinating how he's drawn to such complex social issues but I give it to him that he tackles him head on.

This documentary is not a fun watch, but it is a very necessary watch. My heart goes out to anyone who has struggled with mental health and even more so now after watching this. I have a deeper understanding of mental health and suicidal tendencies, so yes I think this documentary has done its job.

Very impressed with the quality of this documentary. The picture and sound is just phenomenal. I felt like I was watching a Hollywood film at times.

This is more than a movie. I encourage everyone to watch this and make The Promise with a loved one.

I feel nowadays a lot of movies and documentaries highlight issues but don't give an option moving forward. The message in The Promise is really clear and might not be the answer but it's something to move forward with.

For a movie on such a heavy topic it was actually quite beautiful. The pictures were stunning, at times I laughed and forgot I was watching a documentary. The people featured in this movie add depth and ground the story in a complete kind of way. It's a complex issue but I feel this was done really well and told in a mature way.

Yep, I'm calling this Australia's best documentary and for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the importance of documenting the mental health landscape in Australia at this time in history is truly important and for such a large, complex topic taking on a story like this is extremely bold. The Promise couldn't have tackled this topic any better and I think it's in the way it's been created.

For such a heavy topic I can't believe there were times I actually laughed. The pacing and balance of lighthearted moments to the serious and heart moving bits was perfect. I felt like I was taken on a journey and was guided with love the entire time.

The work that Craig Hamilton has done is trailblazing. He has paved the way for many Australians and now telling his story on screen really speaks to his dedication and loyalty for rewriting the narrative around the Australian health crisis

I'm so happy this documentary was made.