''The Stranger on the Bridge'' is a 2015 documentary film, produced and directed by Sam Forsdike and Richard Bentley of Postcard Productions. It was shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

on 4 May 2014. It is an adaptation of a promotional film made in 2014 for the charity

Rethink Mental Illness Rethink Mental Illness is an English charity that seeks to improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness. The organisation was founded in 1972 by John Pringle whose son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The operating name of ' ...

called ''Finding Mike''.

Synopsis

The documentary follows the then 26-year-old Jonny Benjamin as he tries to find the man who dissuaded him from taking his own life by jumping from

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

in London in 2008. Benjamin had nicknamed the man 'Mike', since he was not able to remember his actual name.

Reception

The reception for ''Stranger on the Bridge'' was largely positive receiving reviews in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' called it a "remarkable, joyous, painful and ultimately life-affirming film". The combination of the documentary and preceding campaign is estimated to have reached 319 million people worldwide.

Adaptations

The story of Benjamin's search was rumoured to be considered for a Hollywood film. The rights have also been acquired by

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

's wellness and lifestyle imprint Bluebird as part of a two-book deal.

Awards

* Win - Best Single Documentary - Televisual Bulldog Awards * Nominated - Best Newcomer Award Sam Forsdike - The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award * Nominated - Documentary Awards - The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award * Nominated - Breakthrough Award - Behind the Screen - Royal Televisual Society

References

Channel 4 documentaries 2010s biographical films 2010s British films {{documentary-tv-film-stub