ara McDermott needs her newest documentary concerning the loss of life of Gaia Pope-Sutherland to be added to her portfolio of movies that result in “bigger conversations” for younger folks inside households and faculties.
The TV presenter, 26, stated she was “incredibly proud” of her upcoming three-part BBC Three sequence Gaia: A Death On Dancing Ledge.
It goals to shed a light-weight on the circumstances surrounding the loss of life of the 19-year-old who ran away from house whereas experiencing a psychological well being disaster in 2017, after reporting she had been drugged and sexually attacked by a person when she was 16.
Ms Pope-Sutherland died after struggling hypothermia and was present in undergrowth between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point alongside the Dorset shoreline 11 days after she went lacking.
At the time of her disappearance, she was anxious concerning the accused rapist’s imminent launch from jail the place he was serving time for different sexual offences.
McDermott’s “raw and candid” movie explores the sequence of occasions that led to Ms Pope-Sutherland’s loss of life, together with “oversight” from officers concerned in her care, in addition to highlighting the households’ seek for fact and justice.
The presenter stated she actually hopes the principle final result of the movie is that folks begin having “difficult conversations”.
She instructed the PA news company: “I think as much as it’s important to tell a story of tragedy, because it definitely will hopefully capture the emotion, the important part as always in any documentary that I make is to see a little light at the end, regardless of how small or big that light is, just to see a little bit of light.
“Every documentary that I make, I want there to be that kind of ending where people feel hopefully something can change.
“In order for that change to be made, people watching the documentary can start to hopefully have those conversations, even just a conversation within your family, it might make someone open up about something that happened to them.”
She continued: “For me, it’s about making a difference and making a change… A lot of my documentaries are shown in schools, and for me a massive aim is to create a portfolio of films that can be used as part of PSHE lessons in schools and just bringing bigger conversations.
“I think that it’s really hard sometimes for parents to speak about some of the topics that are in some of my documentaries, with Gaia the sexual assault element, disordered eating, rape culture in schools, revenge porn – these are tough conversations with your kids.
“So sometimes having that icebreaker of being able to sit down watch a programme and then say, ‘What did you learn from that’, that for me is the main thing and I think that’s the same with teachers as well.”
McDermott stated she felt it was vital to inform Ms Pope-Sutherland’s story having adopted it within the news when it was first reported, noting they have been across the identical age.
Having filmed the documentary since final Spring, the presenter described Ms Pope-Sutherland as a “real inspiration” and considers her a pal, regardless of having by no means met her.
She stated: “I’m really glad that I got to tell Gaia’s story because I learned so much about her through this journey. She was incredibly passionate, she was one of those people that lit up the room. As soon as she walked in, she had a real fiery spark and she was also beautiful.
“But also, one of the main things about her that I was drawn to was the fact that she had a real passion for wanting to help people. She wanted to tell her story, she wanted to report what had happened to her, because she didn’t want other people to go through what she’d gone through.
“I think that’s so inspiring and she didn’t let anything kind of deter her from wanting justice even though her story ended so tragically, she’s a real inspiration.”
McDermott stated the movie offers Ms Pope-Sutherland the “voice that she never quite got to have” and hopes her household take consolation from it “as hard as it probably has been for them to watch it back”.
Gaia: A Death On Dancing Ledge will air on BBC Three on Tuesday July 25.
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