Mental Health Takes Center Ice at Film Premiere

March 7, 2025
• Needham’s “Shattered Ice” started its film festival circuit in Sedona, Arizona, with other screenings on the horizon.

This article contains mentions of suicide.

Screening a New England hockey film in the middle of the desert seems ill-fated, but as the credits rolled, “there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater,” the film’s writer Jake Miskin said.

“Shattered Ice” made its official debut at the Sedona International Film Festival on Feb. 24. For Miskin, the premiere marked a fitting climax after 11 years of writing and developing the film.

Miskin described the experience as “surreal.”

“When it finally hit the big screen, I think all of that emotion just hit at once,” Miskin said.

Sedona also named the project the “most impactful film” at the festival.

The film follows hockey player Will Mankus (Charlie Gillespie) as he grapples with the suicide of his best friend and the team’s star player. The events of the film were inspired by a string of student deaths at Needham High School in the mid 2000s, when both Miskin and other crew members attended.

While “grief is everlasting,” Producer Ben Stephen said the making of the film helped address his unresolved feelings and heal as a result.

“I do feel like I now have a better handle on what I went through emotionally and mentally in the wake of some of this stuff that inspired the film,” Stephen said. “It’s been a cathartic experience.”

Miskin’s reflections on the film have been gradual, as he confronted each step of the project over the last decade. Talking about mental health makes it easier for others to share their own struggles — Miskin said it gives people permission to share, and a Q&A session following the screening showcased that.

“After an audience member said his story, an actor turned to Ben and I and the rest of the team, and just said, ‘Mission accomplished.’” Miskin said. “We came here to tell a story and to provide healing and a conversation starter, and it did just that.”

The film encapsulates the spirit and character of the region of that period of the 2000s through a cast of characters and its physical presence in the suburbs of Boston, Stephen said. During production, locals donated period-accurate cars and phones for the film, he said, and businesses and Needham Public Schools offered up their spaces.

Cast and crew shot a range of scenes across Needham and the surrounding area, with locals playing extras at hockey games and at school. One particular Needham bagel shop also made the final cut, but Miskin shied away from naming them.

Naturally, the opening shot of “Shattered Ice” was filmed at NHS.

“I think that the authenticity that we were able to bring to the story almost did the heavy lifting for us in terms of being able to have the story resonate,” Stephen said, “because it does feel like it’s coming from a real place.”

The film stars Sterling Beaumon as Danny — star of the Nehoiden Black Bears — Jack Falahee as the team’s coach and Massachusetts native Charlie Tacker as Rory Mankus.

In a statement, Director Alex Ranarivelo characterized the film as “tense, realistic and ultimately uplifting.”

“In a world where communication is taken for granted, we forget what it’s like to really talk, to really share your feelings with someone, and in the sports world, where being tough and kicking ass is valued above all else, perhaps what takes the greatest courage is showing vulnerability,” Ranarivelo wrote in part. “This message is why I want to tell this story.”

Running up against a January deadline — which they needed to meet in order to enter this year’s film festivals — the crew put in long nights and weekends to push the film to the finish line, Stephen said.

“Shattered Ice” could come to Boston as early as April, contingent on the film’s acceptance into local festivals. Given its expected support in the Greater Boston area, Stephen said they’ll announce the screening in advance so those interested can attend.

The film crew plans to hold a tour across New England colleges to share the film with athletes. That effort is in partnership with The Hidden Opponent, a nonprofit that works to address mental health support in sports.

Miskin said they’ll also kick off a social impact campaign, during which they’ll schedule private screenings of the film at high schools.

Though the film found its first audience in Arizona, Stephen promised locals they’ll watch it soon.

“I can’t wait for people from Needham to see this,” Stephen said. “There’s so much Needham in this movie.”