LIFE EVENTS

I founded Life Events in 2010 in the aftermath of the award-winning documentary The Sea of Trees. What began as a short film became something far more urgent than cinema. The response was immediate and overwhelming — messages from students, educators, parents, and leaders across borders. The film sparked awareness, yes. But what people were truly asking for was presence. They didn’t just want to watch a story about despair. They wanted someone in the room to talk to. To ask hard questions. To wrestle with pain. To find a way forward.

So I stepped off the screen and into schools.

Sixteen years later, after more than 1,500 face-to-face events in Brazil alone and over 150,000 life-saving resources placed directly into the hands of students and educators, I can say with conviction: conversations change outcomes. We have now worked across eight countries, partnering with public and private schools, universities, police departments, ministries, and civic institutions. In Brazil — where our reach is strongest — the movement is known as Viva Vida: Live Life. It is not a slogan. It is a mandate.

Life Events was never designed as a performance or a motivational lecture. It is a structured, evidence-informed, community-anchored intervention. We confront the lies behind suicide. We dismantle myths that glamorize self-harm. We provide practical tools, clear warning signs, and accessible pathways to professional help. We address depression, anxiety, bullying, digital addiction, identity confusion, and silent suffering — not as abstract topics, but as realities students face every day.

Suicide is preventable. But prevention requires courage — institutional courage and frank conversations.

In every auditorium, classroom, and civic hall, I have witnessed the same pattern: when safe space is created, students speak. When truth is articulated clearly, shame loses its grip. When adults are equipped with language and tools, intervention becomes possible. And when a community publicly affirms that life has value, culture shifts.

Life Events is built for partnership. Schools and universities host and integrate the programming into student support frameworks. Governments and policy makers align initiatives with broader mental-health strategies. Counselors, educators, and first responders collaborate to strengthen local systems of care. Faith communities and civic leaders extend support beyond the event, ensuring sustainability rather than a one-day impact.

This is not a campaign. It is not a calendar entry. It is a movement rooted in lived experience, cross-cultural engagement, and measurable reach.

After sixteen years on the front lines with young people, I have learned this: awareness alone is insufficient. What changes trajectories is consistent, courageous dialogue supported by responsible institutions and those who are willing to ask hard questions and persuade those at risk to get the help they need..

Life Events exists to help families, churches, schools, cities, and nations create that dialogue — strategically, professionally, and sustainably.

Because when we make room for honest conversation about life — especially when it feels fragile — hope is no longer theoretical. It becomes tangible. And that shift is where prevention truly begins.