It was no surprise that local filmmaker Jake Miskin got a warm welcome last week at the Boston-area premiere of his film “Shattered Ice” at the Dedham Community Theater. Many of his Needham friends and family members — the community he grew up with — were there. The level of emotion, however, was uncommon. The film, the story of the aftermath of a high school hockey athlete’s suicide, is set in the Massachusetts town of “Nehoiden” and, while the town is more generic New England than Needham-specific, many of the scenes were shot in Needham and many in the audience remembered actual events — Needham athlete suicides — that started Miskin’s quest to both tell the story and initiate conversations about an emotional topic.
The local premiere included most of the key cast members including Charlie Gillespie, Kyla Kennedy and Sterling Beaumon, director Alex Ranarivelo, and Miskin himself. There was a backdrop for opening night photos. But there was also a post-showing panel of experts on suicide and its impacts along with socially engaged sports representatives Bob Sweeney of the Boston Bruins Foundation and another former Bruin, NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft.
“What we’ve always wanted with these impact screenings is to check three boxes,” Miskin said. “Connect the mental health world, the athletic world, and the entertainment world. Through storytelling and filmmaking, connecting those three things can create a powerful conversation.”
Miskin’s good at making connections. He was a soccer player from a family of soccer players. But while still in high school (NHS 2009), watching “Friday Night Lights,” the television series about Texas high school football, Miskin began thinking that New England’s hockey world offered a similarly intense, defined community of hopes, dreams, wins and losses. Then the actual losses happened when the older brother of one of his close friends succumbed to suicide and the Miskin family became part of the social support the community offered the families and each other. “We’re still very close family friends,” Miskin said. “We’re always in touch.”
Miskin began writing. Rewriting. Pitching. Raising money. He supported himself with all kinds of jobs, from bartending to “working Fenway” to assistant teaching at Sunita Williams Elementary School. His wife, he said, has been very supportive.
Almost 15 years later, his film is out and its mission — raising awareness and encouraging conversation about suicide and mental health in general — is in full swing. “Our main focus is college students,” said Miskin. High schools, he said, seem to be leery of inviting conversations about suicide. Instead, he and his team are bringing the film and conversation to college campuses and inviting high school leaders to attend. As he negotiates for wide distribution, he is planning similar events throughout New England. Worcester is next up.
While a suicide is the major turning point in the film, its impact on friends and family is what brings out the emotions of the audience. “I never wanted to just talk about [suicide],” said Miskin. “Even the character who dies by suicide in the movie, you never know the reason. It’s not his story. It’s the story about the community afterwards. The conversations that people are trying to have that can start the conversation in a broader aspect.” Just what “Shattered Ice” is meant to do.
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