4 days ago
Broken Hill father who lost daughter to suicide sets out to honour her through film
When Jason King lost his 18-year-old daughter to suicide in March 2023, he says his life was shattered.
"It's such a difficult, challenging, sensitive, messy, horrendous subject, and to be confronted by that in your own life is something that you really can't prepare for unless it happens to you," the 46-year-old said.
The Broken Hill dad wants to honour the memory of his daughter's life through film, The Jordan Liberty Project, to open up the conversation about mental health, parenting and healing.
An award-winning regional filmmaker, Mr King is used to crafting stories, so decided to harness these skills for a very personal project.
"Let's paint a picture of this beautiful person who, for reasons … that may have never become known, chose to end their own life," he said.
"Maybe there's stuff that other people can take out of this that can help them in their journeys."
Mr King has produced a short trailer of his film concept in an effort to raise $50,000 to begin filming the documentary.
The father of three said the film would be based around a 17-hour road trip from Broken Hill to Jordan's birthplace of Alice Springs/Mparntwe.
There, he plans to return to spread her ashes with both sides of the family.
Jordan's parents separated before she was born, and navigated co-parenting between Perth and Broken Hill.
"I actually did take the journey as part of my healing process about six months after she died.
"Really, it was the first time I'd sort of been by myself.
"I had that chance and space for myself to … start the really difficult steps of letting go of the physical relationship and embracing a different relationship now that she'd gone."
For the past 18 months, Mr King said he had also embraced sobriety as he found healthier ways to cope with the grief.
Mr King hopes the film will be able to bring the two separate families together.
Jordan's maternal grandmother, Jen Ebsary, said she and Mr King kept in touch after Jordan's death.
For the film, Mr King hopes to return to Alice Springs to spread his daughter's ashes with her grarndmother.
"I think [the film] is a lovely idea. I would hope that it would bring Jason some peace and me some peace and that we would feel that Jordan … would be at peace as well," she said.
"I wouldn't want any family to go through what our family's been through.
"And if Jason can prevent just one child from taking their own life, or one adult from taking their own life, then the project's more than worthwhile."
Mr King said he wanted to make the film he wished he had a chance to watch while Jordan was still alive.
So far, he has been overwhelmed by support from the far west community — in particular, Jordan's friends.
Mollie Behrens met Jordan while working for Mr King at the milk bar he used to own.
"I really appreciate how much effort he's putting into everyone around that's surrounded Jordan and he's letting us have input into this and opinions and ideas," she said.
Maddy Maguire worked with Jordan in a large retail store and said they hit it off immediately and started hanging out after work.
"It means a lot because I hope that nobody ever has to go through what we did," she said.
"If we can get Jordan's story out there to help others that are feeling the same way she did, it would save lives, 100 per cent."
