Christine: Exclusive clip from the true story of a televised suicide
Rebecca Hall gives a mesmerising performance as Christine Chubbuck - the newscaster whose death marked a shocking moment in US media history
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Your support makes all the difference.A dark day in US television history - on the morning of 15 July 1974, news anchor Christine Chubbuck looked into the television cameras of WXLT Channel 40 and declared, "In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living colour, you are going to see another first - an attempted suicide."
Chubbuck then pulled out a gun from underneath her desk, putting it to her head and pulling the trigger. A report of her own death, intended to be read out by whoever took her seat, was found amongst her papers for the day.
Her story now forms the subject of Antonio Campos' Christine, seeing Rebecca Hall deliver a mesmerising, determined performance as the tragic newscaster; in a piece which looks to explore the issues of mental health, media morality, and entrenched sexism.
You can read the full synopsis below:
Christine, always the smartest person in the room at a small town Florida news station, is relentless in her pursuit of an on-air position. As an aspiring newswoman with an eye for nuance and an interest in social justice, she finds herself constantly butting heads with her boss, who pushes for juicier stories that will drive up ratings.
Plagued by self-doubt and a tumultuous home life, Christine's diminishing hope begins to rise when an on-air co-worker initiates a friendship which ultimately becomes yet another unrequited love. Disillusioned as her world continues to close in on her, Christine takes a dark and surprising turn.
Hall stars alongside Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, Maria Dizzia, and J. Smith-Cameron; with the film premiering to critical acclaim at last year's Sundance Film Festival.
*If you are worried you or a loved one may be suicidal or having suicidal thoughts, phone Samaritans on 116 123*
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