my suicide

narrative feature

Streaming on Netflix, My Suicide (also released as Archie’s Final Project) is our debut feature film that confronts teen suicide through a raw, youth-driven lens. From development through post-production, including an experimental “writing on the timeline” process, young people were embedded across every department, actively shaping the story and character of Archie. The film became a vehicle for empowering emerging artists to take on meaningful creative roles and contribute to work with real-world impact.

Our goal was simple: to create an innovative movie that rocks, and could also save lives. To do that responsibly, we engaged leading voices in the field, including Dr. Edwin S. Shneidman, founder of Suicidology and Teen Line founder Dr. Elaine Leader. Regenerate’s teen filmmakers also conducted extensive peer interviews, capturing candid conversations about what young people love, fear, hate, and care about. Much of this documentary footage appears in the final film and inspired beloved characters like Corey and Earl.

The result was way more than we expected. Premiering at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, My Suicide received the Crystal Bear for Best Feature Film, one of the most prestigious honors in cinema for youth. It went on to win 20+ festival awards worldwide and connect with audiences across generations.

That response grew into the international I’m An Archie movement, with audiences sharing how the film impacted them at critical moments and, in many cases, helped pull them or someone they love back from the ledge.

Nearly two decades later, My Suicide continues to find new audiences. The movie resurfaces across platforms from Tumblr to TikTok, carried forward by each new generation that deeply identifies with it and claims it as their own. In 2025, it ranked #10 on Letterboxd’s Most Fans Per Viewer list. The fact that it still resonates, and has grown into a cult following, points to something lasting: the need for authentic voices and stories that meet young people where they are, and remind them they’re not alone.

  • “A film about suicide has never made me want to live more.”

    —Letterboxd user Zmanmovies

  • “This movie quite literally saved me from committing. I have never related more to a character than Archie and I loved the music. It felt so real and authentic coming from a depressed teen who doesn’t fit in with society.”

    —Letterboxd user jane_nessa

  • “Holy shit this changed my brain chemistry”

    —Letterboxd user clrrrnsss

  • “An incredibly important piece of media in my opinion. it perfectly captures the brutal truth that is living with depression. A must watch for anyone struggling, anyone who has struggled in the past, or anyone looking for a film with a powerful message.”

    —Letterboxd user honeyblobs

  • “if you were to watch this movie you'd understand what's going on in my head”

    —Letterboxd user tcfsrlvr

  • “Say what you want about Archie but holy shit dude this movie saved my life. I saw everything in an entirely new light when this movie was done.”

    —Letterboxd user velvexic

  • “i cried so much on this rewatch it hurts to blink.”

    —Letterboxd user xvnyxvx

  • “On my 6th watch of this movie(consecutive) I can’t finish it because I keep replaying every single scene, I’ve never liked a movie this much.”

    —Letterboxd user Offpudding12345

  • “Genuinely made me want to live”

    —Letterboxd user gayteddybear

  • “Changed me fundamentally as how I saw myself and depression, also was a fever dream and editing like I’ve never seen before in a movie.”

    —Letterboxd user scooterpatooter

  • “Holy fuck, this blew Virgin Suicides out of my top 4 on here. This was a hard watch but I gotta process first then come back. Perfect film to watch while you’re in the mental hospital.”

    —Letterboxd user lanacobain

  • “watched this movie when i was 14 and it changed me forever. love it”

    —Letterboxd user zid2turnt

  • “im never watching another movie again. nothing will ever be able to compare”

    —Letterboxd user vxratt

  • “This has to be my like 300th time watching [My Suicide]”

    —Letterboxd user sammyblehhhh

  • “this movie earnestly and unironically changed my life when i was 13, it forever changed how i perceive art and i’m so glad the younger generation is finding this movie. this movie is art for artists and inspires those who aren’t artists yet to make art.”

    —Letterboxd user kasper69420

  • “Made me rethink suicide in a way I would have never thought if I didn’t watch this movie.”

    —Letterboxd user madiso_nn

  • “This is the epitome of indie film. It was a movie that will stick with me forever. This is one I need to get for the physical collection. Just blew me away. Just perfect.”

    —Letterboxd user astrowastedemon

  • “This movie genuinely changed my perspective on life, the effects of this movie are unreal.”

    —Letterboxd user M3LMOURNKID

  • “MY FAVE MOVIE OF ALL TIME”

    —Letterboxd user EMO_EMMAAA

  • “Uncomfort comfort movie”

    —Letterboxd user vagdestroyer

  • “my movie”

    —Letterboxd user fiedozwut

  • “i love this movie. one of the first movies to make me realize that my emotions are so much more powerful than i thought and i cried like a bitch after this one”

    —Letterboxd user cmobrien008

  • “this movie made me reconsider taking my own life”

    —Letterboxd user epicsoulja

  • “nobody will ever understand how much this movie means to me”

    —Letterboxd user hystericdolly

  • “I remember I watched this movie like 6 times in a month I was obsessed I just loved this movie”

    —Letterboxd user kosovachamps

  • “in all honesty, this movie might be my new favorite. Not only did it capture some of my emotions, but it also made me feel some I've never once felt. I really liked this movie and do not really think any other movie could've made me feel like this one did, something is just so different about this movie than any others.”

    —Letterboxd user myahharp

  • “it’s a piece of art that perfectly captures an emotion i spent years trying to describe.”

    —Letterboxd user j_freaky

Festival honors

  • Crystal Bear

    Best Feature Film
    Berlin International Film Festival

  • Grand Jury Award

    Best Feature
    GenArt Film Festival

  • Audience Award

    Best Feature
    GenArt Film Festival

  • Stargazer Award

    Best Actor for Gabriel Sunday
    GenArt Film Festival

  • Jury Grand Prix

    Best Picture
    Giffoni Film Festival

  • Special Jury Grand Prix

    Golden Gryphon
    Giffoni Film Festival

  • Audience Award

    Best Picture
    Giffoni Film Festival

  • MyMovies Award

    Best Picture
    Giffoni Film Festival

  • Festival Honor

    Special Jury Prize
    Odessa International Film Festival

  • Festival Honor

    Outstanding Achievement
    Newport Beach Film Festival

  • Youth Jury Award

    Best FutureWave Feature
    Seattle International Film Festival

  • Grand Jury Prize

    Best Dramatic Feature
    Edmonton International Film Festival

  • People's Choice

    Best Feature Film
    Edmonton International Film Festival

  • Buster’s Grand Prix

    Best Picture
    Buster International Film Festival

  • Jury Award

    Best International Feature
    Raindance Film Festival

  • Camério Award

    Best Feature Film
    Carrousel international du film de Rimouski

  • Grand Youth Jury

    Best Feature Film
    Exground Filmfest Wiesbaden

  • Festival Honor

    Silver Lei
    Honolulu Film Festival

  • Best Editing

    Jordan Miller & Gabriel Sunday
    Downtown LA Film Festival

  • Jury Award

    Best Picture
    Byron Bay International Film Festival

  • Official Selection

    Emerging Visions
    SXSW Film Festival

Press

blessed by pixar & the pope

The My Suicide team was honored to be invited to the Vatican’s historic Meeting with Artists with the Pope in the Sistine Chapel, and later screened at Pixar Animation Studios. 

Academic Literature

My Suicide is featured in Dr. Alessandra Seggi’s multidisciplinary analyses of suicidality in youth films, including her 2022 book Youth and Suicide in American Cinema and 2024 article Para/texts for the movie Archie’s Final Project: navigating stigma and profit imperatives to discuss suicide and human connections. 

official soundtrack

In post-production, we partnered with music supervisor legend Karyn Rachtman and Interscope Records to secure music from artists we dreamed to feature in My Suicide: Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Dr. Dog, Joanna Newsom, The Pixies, MGMT, Wolfmother, Bright Eyes, The Cinematic Orchestra, Animal Collective, and more – along with an original score by Tim Kasher of Cursive and additional music by Mark Mothersbaugh. 

With the film’s recent resurgence online, we are planning to finally release the official My Suicide soundtrack on vinyl and CD. Stay tuned, and for now you can listen to playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

David Lee Miller directs Gabriel Sunday and David Carradine
David Lee Miller, Gabriel Sunday, and David Carradine chat behind the scenes of My Suicide.
Gabriel Sunday talks to kids at high school for his film, behind the scenes of My Suicide.
Gabriel Sunday and David Carradine walk and talk, behind the scenes of My Suicide.
Director/Writer David Lee Miller and Writer Eric J. Adams on set, behind the scenes of My Suicide.
Gabriel Sunday reads script pages in a director's chair, on location behind the scenes of My Suicide.
David Lee Miller and crew at video village playback, behind the scenes of My Suicide.
Archie visits Dr. Edwin S. Shneidman, founder of Suicidology.
A young Gabriel Sunday on the set of My Suicide–one of the earliest shoot days.
Gabriel Sunday and crew in Archie's guest house set, behind the scenes of My Suicide
Archie in front of his green screen, My Suicide film still.
Archie enters a world of animation, My Suicide film still.
Archie and Sierra holding hands while looking at the camera obscura, My Suicide film still.
Gabriel Sunday and Brooke Nevin on set in Sierra's bedroom, behind the scenes of My Suicide.
My Suicide plays the 2009 SXSW film festival, with the title up on the marquee of a theater in Austin, TX.
Archie's Final Project (My Suicide) premiere's in theaters around USA in 2011. Photo of a theater marquee.
Crew from My Suicide hold the Crystal Bear, awarded to the film for Best Feature at Berlinale 2009. (from top left: Jordan Miller, David Lee Miller, Sarah Miller, Angie Hill, Gabriel Sunday, Arvin Bautista)
My Suicide crew visit the Pixar campus for a special screening of My Suicide
David Lee Miller and Eric J. Adams during a visit to the Pixar campus for a special screening of My Suicide
Cast and crew of My Suicide visiting the Vatican during for Giffoni Film Festival.