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George North shares support for men’s mental health film

18 May 2025 2 minute read
Photo credit: Sum_of_Mark on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 and Andrew Shinko Jenkins on Facebook

As mental health awareness week (12-18 May 2025) comes to an end, Welsh rugby legend George North has shared his support for a new film project in a video on Facebook. 

The self-funded film, ‘Bubbles’ is a passion project from Andrew ‘Shinko’ Jenkins and Peter Watkins-Hughs that deals with men’s mental health and the impact of suicide on families.  

North said he was “delighted to be supporting his mate Andrew Jenkins”, and urged viewers to donate to the film’s fundraiser. 

Awareness 

Bubbles’ creators aim to have the film, which stars Siwan Morris and Richard Elfyn, in UK cinemas by November.

Shinko, the film’s producer, said: “Over the last 30 years, I have lost numerous amounts of friends to suicide which is why I want to try and raise awareness, especially for young people and to get across how important it is to communicate and ask for help.”

So far, the team have raised over £15,000 to cover essential costs for equipment, locations and post-production for the project, which is currently being filmed in Abergavenny. 

Struggle

Supporters have echoed Shinko’s aims, with one commenting “As someone who has been there……thank you Shinko. Too many people brush this under the carpet….its a real thing and I hope this project helps anyone in that dark place.” 

Shinko added: “Every day, countless men struggle in silence. Many never get the chance to tell their story. The aim of the film is to bring male suicide out of the shadows and onto the screen where it can start conversations and save lives.” 

George North played for the Scarlets, Ospreys and the Wales national rugby team between 2010 and 2024. He currently plays for Provence and co-owns a roadside cafe, Baffle Haus, which has two locations, Baffle Haus: The Cedars in Pontypool and Baffle House: Old Post on the A48 between Cardiff and Cowbridge.

To find out more about the project and donate, visit the gofundme page here. 


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