New ‘Faith-Adjacent’ Film Will Help Church Leaders Talk to Teens About Mental Health

kyle roberts
Image courtesy of What Rhymes With Reason

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What Rhymes With Reason,” a film spotlighting teen mental health challenges, releases Tuesday, Oct. 10, which is World Mental Health Day. Director Kyle Roberts, who came to know Jesus through Young Life and volunteered with Young Life for eight years, says this is how he is sharing the “good news.”

“At the end of the day, I’m just a guy, and we have a team that’s answering the call,” said Roberts. “We all have a call in our life and that’s to spread the good news. And this is how we know how to do it in a way that’s impactful.”

Kyle Roberts on Earning the ‘Right To Be Heard’

“What Rhymes With Reason” is about a group of friends who go on an adventure to find a landmark in the wilderness “while confronting the darkness within themselves.” Cast members include Bart Johnson (“High School Musical”), Ricardo Hurtado (“School of Rock”), and Gattlin Griffith (“The Boys”). 

RELATED: New Film ‘What Rhymes With Reason’ Is a Powerful Resource Addressing Teen Depression, Suicide

A press release for the film says it will show in over 650 theaters for one night only “and includes a special message from the filmmakers sharing their passion for stories that address the mental health challenges facing today’s youth.” Stating that 1 in 10 teens suffer depression at any given time, the film’s creators are encouraging parents and youth leaders to bring 10 teens to see the film on Oct. 10. 

“This film is, I’d say, a faith-adjacent, coming-of-age adventure drama,” Kyle Roberts said. He and his team have worked for brands including Nickelodeon, Lego and National Geographic, and they have used that accumulated experience, along with “our own youth ministry background,” to create “What Rhymes With Reason.”

The movie is a “mental health tool to encourage more conversations surrounding mental health within youth and families all over the world,” said Roberts, who observed that it’s a “fine line” to portray an authentic story about teen mental health struggles without being cheesy. “How do we earn the right to be heard from youth?” he asked.

Roberts explained that he wanted to make something “real” and “honest” but also “family-friendly.” 

“A lot of films and series that tackle this today, they want to keep going edgier,” he said. “They want to keep showing attempts at suicide to make it ‘real.’ And what I believe that does is that can glorify suicide. And that’s not what we want to do.”

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Jessica Lea
Jessica is a content editor for ChurchLeaders.com and the producer of The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast. She has always had a passion for the written word and has been writing professionally for the past five years. When Jessica isn't writing, she enjoys West Coast Swing dancing, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.

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