Film prompts suicide warning.

Australian mental health experts have expressed concern over the effect that a graphic teenage suicide scene in a new Australian film could have on viewers who may be vulnerable to suicide. The film, 2:37, depicts a day in the lives of a group of six teenagers and includes a seven-minute scene showing one of the teenagers cutting their wrist in a school bathroom and subsequently bleeding to death. 2:37 was written and directed by 21-year-old Adelaide filmmaker Murari Thalluri following the suicide of a close friend and his own suicide attempt. Dr Nicole Highet, deputy chief executive of beyondblue, questioned the need for the depiction of suicide in the film: '... suicide rates in Australia are almost double the national road toll, we don't need extra impetus coming from films, television and inappropriate reporting'. Sane Australia executive director Barbara Hocking said that the portrayal of suicide in the media is 'a matter of balancing this so-called entertainment against the risk of harm' (Sunday Age, 23/7/06, p. 11).