Bullied
The doors are closed. There are no more screenings of this film.
Synopsis: AVAILABLE AUGUST 18th AND 29th | 10:00 AM – MIDNIGHT
SHORT FILM:
How Far is Home (21 min)
Directed By: Apo Bazidi
In the midst of Trump’s immigration ban, a teenage refugee Ahmed and his sister Ruba find a home at a Cleveland school for immigrants. Will they be able to reach their dreams? Ahmed and Ruba, two Iraqi siblings who lost their parents after fleeing Syria, pursue their education in an all immigrant school in Cleveland, Ohio. Ahmed’s goal is to become an x-ray technician to help others, and he works as a busboy to support himself. Ruba shares their tragic background through her creative writings. Together, they find solace by performing in a public theatre. While they struggle to pursue their dreams, current immigration policies weigh heavy on their minds.
FEATURE FILM:
Bullied (67 min)
Bullied is a documentary feature film that examines the causes, consequences and solutions to bullying. As such, the film expands beyond the bullying that occurs in schools to explore the bullying in larger culture that influences and promotes bullying. Ultimately, the film offers concrete solutions to bullying that have been tested and authenticated by experts in the field.
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Starring
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Prod. Company
Director's Bio
Thomas Keith was born in Los Angeles and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University. He began filmmaking in 2005 and produced three best-selling films for Media Education Foundation including The Bro Code. Keith has been cited in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Globe and Mall. He is also the author of the book Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture (Routledge, 2017) and has a new book for Routledge Press scheduled for a 2020 release. This is his first time taking a film to festivals.
Awards
Anaheim Film Festival - United States - 2019
Best Social Issue Feature FIlm (Bullied)
Official selection
Durango Film Festival - United States - 2019
Quotes
Bullied is a powerful documentary that explores bully culture in the United States, sharing instances of the phenomenon by way of chilling video footage and gut-wrenching interviews with victims and their families. The stories of children who take their own lives rather than face another day of being destroyed physically, socially, mentally and spiritually are beyond simply “moving.” They cause your heart to ache. This is not a journey for the squeamish. But Thomas Keith did not just string together a series of graphic cellphone videos director in order to shock and to mortify. The film balances graphic content with a healthy dose of the behavioral science behind the bully mindset, and offers plausible courses of action for treating the victims, as well as the victimizers. From a production standpoint, the film is nicely paced and intelligently structured, showing Keith’s strength both as an educator and a storyteller. - Greg Gerard, Beloit International Film Festival
