Film Selection
Bully
Over 13 million American kids will be bullied this year, making it the most common form of violence experienced by young people in the nation. The new documentary film BULLY, directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, brings human scale to this startling statistic, offering an intimate, unflinching look at how bullying has touched five kids and their families.
BULLY is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America’s bullying crisis. Filmed over the course of the 2009/2010 school year, BULLY opens a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders.
It documents the responses of teachers and administrators to aggressive behaviours that defy “kids will be kids” clichés, and it captures a growing movement among parents and youths to change how bullying is handled in schools, in communities and in society as a whole. Parents play a vital role in supporting their kids, promoting upstander rather than bystander behaviour, and teaching and modelling empathy in the home.
Lee Hirsch (born 1972) is an American documentary filmmaker. Hirsch is a graduate of The Putney School in Vermont and Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts. He wrote and directed the documentary Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. Hirsch also contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (The MIT Press, 2008), edited by Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky). His film Bully premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
Listen / Luister
Life can seem pretty overwhelming at times, particularly when you're growing up. And it’s not always easy to talk to your parents or friends about your problems. Fortunately, the Kindertelefoon (Child Helpline) in the Netherlands provides a listening ear. Listen presents a cross-section of conversations between children and the Kindertelefoon. One girl talks about being home alone virtually all week; another's sad because her parents are getting divorced. A boy in an asylum seekers' center is worried about the future, while another boy doesn’t want to be gay and hopes these feelings will pass. Every day, the Kindertelefoon takes calls like these from children who want someone to talk to. But children also call to talk about their pets, to practice their audition for The Voice Kids or to make pranks…
Recommended age 7+
Astrid Bussink was born in 1975. She studied at AKI ArtEZ Art and Design in Enschede and Edinburgh College in Scotland. During her studies she made the worldwide award-winning documentary The Angelmakers (2006). After The Lost Colony and My Enschede, she directed several children’s documentaries: Wool Fever, The Hideout (Golden Calf 2013) and Giovanni and the Water Ballet. The latter won many prizes internationally, including at the IDFA, Berlinale and Full Frame.
The Castle / Zamek
Six personalities, six professions and six amazing passions. They all meet together in the magical Royal Castle, where our characters work. We observe as they carry out their duties, and we follow their fascinating hobbies. A great dose of humour, empathy and absurdity.
Tadeusz Kabicz is a film directing student at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Television Faculty in Katowice. In 2016 he was awarded the Rector’s scholarship for the best students. He studied Polish and European Culture at the University of Warsaw. He took courses for young filmmakers at the Andrzej Wajda School. He also attended the Academy of Film and Television in Warsaw. Despite his young age, he successfully runs theatrical and film workshops for teenagers, which gives him a fresh insight into filmmaking. He has directed several student films, as well as the independent documentary film The Castle, about the extraordinary people working in the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Currently he is working on a short film produced by Munk Studio.
Show time & place
Pyriatyn,
59, Soborna St.
