CHASING SILENCE
Feature Documentary (2026)
Teenagers are screaming on the inside. But no one’s listening.
Australia has the highest rate of eating disorders in the world — and it’s getting worse. Something is breaking inside Australian homes, and most parents never see it coming. Behind “I’m fine” is a teenager who’s not okay — starving themselves, hurting themselves, or going completely silent. For them, pain isn’t the problem. It’s the only way to feel anything at all.
Chasing Silence is a raw, unfiltered documentary that asks every parent: if your child needed help right now, would they feel safe enough to ask you? These stories aren’t easy to hear — but they’re real. And they’re happening everywhere. We don’t know exactly how to stop it. But we know what happens if we don’t try. More young people will die. Can you live with that?
Australia has the highest rate of eating disorders in the world.
And our teenagers are carrying it — in silence.
1 in 3 Aussie teens show signs of disordered eating
Teen boys now make up 1 in 4 new eating disorder cases (up from 1 in 10)
12% of teens (15–19) have a diagnosable eating disorder
1 in 10 teenagers self-harm every year
26% of girls and 9% of boys have self-harmed by age 17
Emergency visits for self-harm in girls (13–17) are up 47% since COVID
Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged 5–17
65% of repeat self-harmers attempt suicide before turning 18
Indigenous youth are 2x more likely to be hospitalised for self-harm
Over 40% of Year 12 students show signs of clinical anxiety or depression
75% of all mental health conditions begin before the age of 25
This isn’t a phase.
This isn’t attention-seeking.
This is a crisis — and it’s getting louder.
Chasing Silence doesn’t just document the damage.
It demands we ask what’s driving it — and why we’re still looking away.
Help Us Make This Film. Help Us Make Noise.
Teenagers are using eating disorders and self-harm to cope with pain they don’t know how to talk about. Most of it happens in silence. Most of it gets missed.
We’re making Chasing Silence to change that.
To get inside the stories people usually turn away from.
To make something real enough to shift how we listen.
But we need help to make it — and to get it out there.
If you can, please donate.
You’ll be helping us film these stories safely.
You’ll be helping us reach the people who need it most.
You’ll be helping us stop the silence — before it takes someone else.