The daughter of a farmer knows better than most, the silent epidemic surrounding farmers and mental health.

The film-maker grew up on a sheep farm in Walcha. Her father struggled with bipolar illness, and her mother attempted suicide.

That's why she used her own money as the writer, producer and executive producer of a film called Just a Farmer which is screening in Dubbo.

"My dad suffered from depression and mental health issues my whole childhood, and my mother attempted suicide, and my husband's uncle died by suicide, and we're just losing so many of our friends to suicide," Ms McDougall told the Daily Liberal.

"And I was just like, why is this a problem?"

Directed by Simon Lyndon - best known for his AFI winning role in Chopper - the film features the star of Longmire Robert Taylor along with Damian Walshe-Howling, Susan Prior and Trevor Jamieson.

Is also features members from McDougall's local community, including McDougall herself as the lead character Alison who is left to manage an ailing farm and an alcoholic father-in-law (Taylor) after her husband Alec's (Joel Jackson) sudden death by suicide.

The movie is filmed on Ms McDougall's farm in the small town of Tatyoon, about 180 kilometres west of Melbourne and also features her 6-year-old daughter.

The film has a goal: to cultivate change.

"The conversation's getting more open but we're losing more people, and it's the people that don't talk about it that are the ones we lose," Ms McDougall said.

"If we could see it coming, we'd stop it - but that's the thing, we don't see it coming.

"So we thought this [film] could be a great way that people can really connect and go on a journey with a family and see the after-effects of losing someone to suicide."

She said a lot of women she talked to since the film had been made, who had lost their own husbands to suicide, said they wished other people in pain would see that their families were not better off without them.

According to National Farmers Report 2023, an Australian farmer dies by suicide every 10 days, people in rural populations are twice as likely to die by suicide, and close to half of Aussie farmers have had thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

"We need our politicians to see this, what farmers and rural communities are going through," Ms McDougall said.

"I truly do believe farmers have the most important job in the world. They put food on the table three times a day for everyone and without them, we simply don't have food.

"If farmers keep walking off the land, and not farming, god, in 20 years time, where's our food coming from?

The film is screening nationally. It was important to include Dubbo in the mix because of its large farming community.

"It's important that everyone really starts to see why it's so important that we talk about our mental health and that we support other people with mental health," Ms McDougall said.

"Someone might be suffering but they're not willing to talk about it, so it's about us being more receptive to our community and seeing the signs and supporting people."

Ms McDougall will be in Dubbo on Wednesday, March 27 for the film's premiere and Q&A session at the Reading Cinema. Find out more at www.justafarmer.net/cinemas