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Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (2013) clocks in at 40 minutes - long for a short film, but short for a full-length documentary. The filmmakers and HBO decided it was the perfect length, however, because of the presentation of the film’s material and the accomplishment of its goals.

“It felt like it should be essentially what it’s like at the hotline, even though it wasn’t one typical day. The film overall should give a sense of what it’s like to be there, what it’s like to be a responder who picks up the phone all day and never knows what he or she is going to encounter,” director Ellen Goosenberg Kent told Indiewire.

The emotional toll viewers feel watching Crisis Hotline is profound. Though we’re only privy to one side of the calls (the hotline workers and staff of the hotline facility), the emotional weight of their conversations with veterans is easily felt through their expressions and dialogue. It’s not necessary to hear the anguish on the other end of the line - we can imagine it well enough. But those demands on the audience’s imagination and emotional constitution, even when the material is as gripping and important as Crisis Hotline’s, can only last so long.

The material was approached with “fly-on-the-wall” filmmaking. Those behind the camera never speak to the film’s subjects, but the subjects do offer candid moments with the camera. The filmmakers let the gravity of the job speak for itself and carry the piece.

With suicide rates for United States veterans (presented by the film) at an astonishing 22 people per day, and with over 7,000 calls funneling through the hotline facility per week, the goal of the documentary is two-fold: to raise awareness of the rampant mental health issues present in our country’s military veterans, and to highlight the extraordinary determination and compassion of the responders who field their ever-important calls.

As Ellen Goosenberg Kent told HBO, “The best way to survive the psychological wounds of war or to help someone you love who is suffering is to reach out. And that’s the message of this film.”

Military veterans are icons of bravery and strength. There’s a social stigma associated with admitting depression or mental health that inherently conflicts with superficial concepts of bravery. The film aims to destigmatize counseling, and lets veterans know seeking help for their condition is an act of bravery - and one that can save their families and friends the pain of losing them.

“Over the course of 12 years and two wars, suicide among active-duty troops has risen steadily, as has suicide among veterans. We want to raise awareness about suicide and prevention, to encourage military members to seek help without the fear of stigma or the concern that they won’t be able to work if employers find out they’ve struggled. We want family members, friends and anyone who cares about veterans to encourage them not to go it alone, not to give up hope.”

The advisors who work at the crisis center know they’re doing important work, but they don’t do it for their own benefit. It’s a challenging, taxing job; as one operator in the film notes, “there’s another human being” on the other side of that phone, and they’re reaching out for compassion in their worst moment.

“It’s no small thing to demonstrate caring to someone who feels useless, mission-less, and lost,” says Kent. “It can be a gesture that keeps someone alive for another day, long enough to consider their reasons for living.”