A few years ago, documentary film-maker Eric Steele received permission from the city of San Francisco to film the Golden Gate Bridge. What the authorities didn’t know was that he was setting up his cameras on permanent watch for people trying to commit suicide by jumping off. Tragically, he did not suffer for a lack of footage. Every 15 days, someone jumped off the bridge. In the end, his cameras captured 23 suicides.

The documentary itself, The Bridge, is fascinating in the way it alternates back and forth between the jumpers and interviews with their family and friends about what led them to that point. On the down side, however, the film is slow-moving and would have benefitted by being shortened by forty minutes.

This video (watch at your own risk and do not watch if you are easily disturbed) shows some of the footage he captured:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG3UMb3uHe0

In one incredible scene in the film, a passer-by actually stops a woman from jumping off the bridge. Which does lead to the question: What was the film-maker’s responsibility? If he had someone on the bridge with a walkie talkie or cell phone, how many of those 23 lives could he have saved?