Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper is a documentary film following Yukio Shige, a retired police detective, who patrols Tojinbo Cliffs, a notorious destination for suicides in Japan. Shige talks individuals away from the treacherous cliff-sides and brings them back to his unassuming café, where he and his team of volunteers work tirelessly to help suicide attempters recuperate and find their way in a society that stigmatizes mental illness and depression. Shige has spent the last 10 years on a selfless mission to stop potential jumpers from leaping to their deaths. Still, he faces deep odds: Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world; almost double that of Canada. An average of 70 people kill themselves every day. The national suicide in 2014 totaled nearly 25,000 people. These high numbers can be attributed in part to the country's long history of romanticizing suicide. The historical practice of the Samurais seppuku, a ritual suicide by disembowelment, was celebrated as an honorable gesture of sacrifice and loyalty. This perception, that suicide is honorable, purifying and loyal, persists in contemporary Japanese society. Yukio Shige sees it differently. He recognizes that the cultural mythology attributed to suicide glazes over core universal contributors: economic strife, debt, unemployment, sexual abuse, and mental illness. Shine was driven by his frustration with government inaction to found his own non-profit organization. Similar to other governments around the world, especially in Asia, there continues to be minimal support given to suicide prevention and mental health awareness in Japan. An intimate, observational film, Gatekeeper explores one person's passion to change society's misconceptions of suicide. Driven by a deep guilt and an obsession to save lives, Yukio Shige's story also takes us into a layered exploration of modern Japanese society.
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