Trigger Warning: Talk of depression
Midlife Crisis brings to light how mental health during the middle part of life can affect even the seemingly happiest folks. After going through divorce, the lost of his house, and relocating his kids into a rental home, while simultaneously processing the loss of friends in the mountains, Squamish mountain guide JF Plouffe talks about his experience through depression and isolation from his community.
With the support of other mountain athletes who have struggled with depression, this film shows that though we can feel isolated in our pain, we’re never alone in our struggles. It demonstrates how seeking help from professionals, friends, and family can be the key to rising above the darkness, and how a parent’s love for their children can be its own guide through a turbulent period of life.
In the mountains as in life, Midlife Crisis has its peak and valleys, with a feel-good ending that aims to inspire the audience to follow their passion and find a path to rise up through the darkest times in life.
JF Plouffe is an adventure guide, athlete, filmmaker, father, and lifelong believer that most problems can be improved by going outside, although, after more than 30 years in the mountains, he has also learned that the mountains are pretty good at creating new problems and beautiful possibilities!
Based in Squamish, British Columbia, JF has built his life around skiing, climbing, guiding, expeditions, and chasing adventures around the world, usually involving an unnecessarily heavy backpack, questionable weather, and a plan that sounded much easier over coffee. He has worked as a mountain guide and safety coordinator, collaborated with outdoor brands and film productions, and spent more nights than he can count sleeping in tents, snow caves, huts, and places that were definitely described as “comfortable” before arriving.
But his proudest role is being a dad. Over the years, the mountains have become less about summits, speed, and performance, and more about connection, curiosity, family, and figuring out what actually matters. Apparently, getting older does come with some wisdom, along with sore hip flexors and a much greater appreciation for a good mattress.
His latest film, Midlife Crisis, explores men’s mental health, change, fatherhood, identity, and what happens when life doesn’t exactly
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