Private Project

Their Own Life

The LGBTIQ+community has long struggled with the “scourge” of suicide. Data from the Dutchcrisis hotline “113 Suicide prevention” show that nearly half of all lesbian,gay and bisexual adults in the Netherlands have entertained suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives, a figure five times higher than that for the country’s adult population in general. The number of LGBTIQ+ who have actually attempted suicide is four times higher than average. For transgender people,the figures are even more shocking. Yet within the rainbow community as a whole, the topic of suicide still seems to be taboo.
Documentary filmmaker Tim Dekkers and screenwriter Henk Burger want to break down this taboo with the gripping documentary Their own life. For the past two years, they have been following three LGBTIQ+ individuals as each of them went through a jet-black period. Will acrobat Jean, model Solange and city councilor Kris manage to get their lives back on track? Can they set an example for others in mental distress?

  • Tim Dekkers
    Director
    PrEP&ME, Hola Yumbo
  • Tim Dekkers
    Writer
  • Tim Dekkers
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Uit 't leven
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 26, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    12 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    Dutch, English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    March 26, 2023
    World premiere
Distribution Information
  • Mediabureau Onderste-Boven
    Distributor
    Country: Netherlands
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Tim Dekkers

Tim Dekkers started in the eighties as a reporter for the Dutch national newspaper Trouw. He switched in 1988 to national televison. For many years, he was a well known and respected journalist, dealing with domestic and foreign topics.
From 2005 till 2010 he was a freelance correspondent in Sydney, Australia. He worked for Dutch, Belgian and Danish media.
The last decade, Dekkers was owner of his Media Office Onderste-Boven. He made many video productions.
The documentary PrEP&ME about the new hiv-prevention pill PrEP is the first documentary he produced, filmed and edited himself. It was shown in 2017 thee times during the 20th Roze Filmdagen in Amsterdam (Pink Film Festival) and was a big success. The documentary was also selected for film festivals in the USA (Docs without Borders), Uruguay, Argentina, Germany (Hannover Cologne and Dortmund), Spain and Serbia.
Hola Yumbo is his second documentary and would have had his premiere in March in Amsterdam. But due to the Corona-crisis, the premiere in Amsterdam was cancelled.
His third documentary, Their Own Life, had his premiere during the Roze Filmdagen in Amsterdam in March 2023. The documentary was the best visited screening of this film festival. Many main stream media, as the national Dutch tv news NOS Journaal, reported about the documentary.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My documentary Their Own Life deals with an important, but almost forgotten subject: suicide in the LGBT community. Although everyone wants to talk about success and joy in our lifes, we also have to talk about our depressions and dark feelings. Their Own Life wants to end this tabboo in the LGBT community. We have to talk, to listen and to ask questions. Their Own Life can make a difference.