BTS Breakdown – The Farm and Rural Stress Hotline
Suicide rates in agriculture are higher than in any other occupation. Let that sink in for just a moment. In an industry defined by the image of the lone, stoic farmer enduring and persevering through every challenge, the burdens can—and all too often do—become too much for people to bear. With that painful reality in mind, Karl Oelhke started the Farm and Rural Stress Hotline in the spring of 2019. The goal is to provide hope, healing, and support to farmers facing the mental health struggles caused by an industry to which they’ve given everything they have.
Passenger was honored to be able to help share the story of the Farm and Rural Stress Hotline and the positive impact it is making on farmers throughout the Midwest. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what went into this project and the spirit behind it, courtesy of director Joe Hubers.
For starters, how did this project develop?
Well the Bush Foundation, who we’ve worked with on several projects over the years, wanted to serve non-profits in the region with a more specific focus on agriculture and racial issues. With that in mind, they commissioned Passenger to identify impactful projects for non-profits in the region and offer to do a pro-bono film piece to help them more effectively share their message. While several of these projects will be crafted in the coming months, Avera’s Farm and Rural Stress Hotline is the first piece that was commissioned.
What was your thought process going into this piece?
To be honest, it was a little daunting to try to identify a number of these non-profits on our own. The Farm and Rural Stress Hotline actually caught my eye because of their billboards around town. It just popped up while I was sitting at a stoplight. I’ve always had a strong interest in rural issues and I felt that Passenger could bring value to telling that story through a film piece. I was intrigued by the idea of creating something that would show people both the problem farmers are facing and the solution the hotline provides in a real, honest way.
Once we got approval for the project, we began interviewing people at Avera who worked with the Hotline and we did some pre-interviews with Karl Oelhke who founded the hotline and currently oversees it. From there, we gathered info and took it back to figure out a plan of attack. We knew there were key things we had to do—specifically speaking to the rural community to make sure it didn’t feel like a commercial, or worse, like these were just actors who didn’t truly understand what farming is about. I knew that if we didn’t offer that authenticity, we’d lose believability and possibly break the trust that the Hotline has worked so hard to build within that community. We wanted an authentic portrayal of the problem and solution.
With that being the case, we landed on a darker tone to give people a feel for the mindset someone would be in if they called this hotline. We wanted to create a sense of isolation. We also wanted to address the stigmatism that comes with mental health in the farming community. We wanted people who saw this to have it resonate with them emotionally and create a conduit for them to call if it applied to their own situation.
What about this project were you really excited about or looking forward to?
I was really intrigued by the idea of capturing and communicating this raw, real problem visually. Because I shot most of this project myself, I had an opportunity to dream up shots, hunt for them, and ultimately bring all of it together in a way that was incredibly rewarding. Rewarding not just because of the visual style, but more how the visuals translate to reaching a person in need of the hotline’s services.
What was the biggest challenge you faced while making this piece?
Honestly, the biggest challenge was time. We filmed a lot of the visuals at dawn or dusk, which meant we only had an hour (an hour and a half at most) of good light. So it ended up being a lot of early mornings and late afternoons back-to-back-to-back. When everything was done, I think we had 9 different shoot days trying to get the right lighting, when normally you would try to get it all done in a handful of days. Having more time gave us a unique opportunity to be selective about the shots we wanted.
What was an unexpected outcome from this project?
As this project developed with so many moving pieces, it was starting to feel like we may not have a cohesive enough finished film, but getting into the editing suite and realizing we really hit the mood and tone we wanted to hit was a huge win. After that, our longtime musical collaborator Joel Pickard came in and really sewed it all up nicely with a custom music score, so it was awesome to see it come together in the way it was supposed to.
Another reason it worked so well is because, along with the pre-interviews we did for preparation, we built out a mood board where we took images from other movies, photographers, etc. to help visually represent what we were going for and that was vital for the shoot. It was helpful to have something that kept the ship on course as we moved forward.
What stood out to you about working with the client?
The Farm and Rural Stress Hotline is part of Avera, and Avera grasps the importance of the hotline and what it means for our communities. For them to trust us and give us a good amount of freedom in the project meant a lot. It gave us confidence to go out and be even more ambitious.
Is there anything else you’d like to add about this project?
I think it’s important to mention that, even if you’re not tied to a farm lifestyle, my hope is that people would be able to empathize with the people facing these difficulties. This project presents an example of how we can use images to tell a story that can really build bridges, whether you’re in the farming community or not, whether you have a mental health issue or not. Films allow you to walk in another person’s shoes, even if those shoes don’t seem familiar. That’s something that’s really needed right now. We need the ability to see outside of our own bubble. That allows us to make sure people get the help they need. It helps us foster understanding and dialogue around issues that might not be familiar to us. And ultimately it helps us become a better community and culture as a result.