The Bully Project
Encyclopedia
The Bully Project is a 2011 documentary film about bullying in US schools
. Directed by Lee Hirsch
, the film follows the lives of five students who face bullying on a daily basis. The Bully Project premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
. It was also screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the LA Film Festival.
The Bully Project had its global premiere at Italy
's Ischia
Film Festival on July 17, 2011.
The Bully Project was acquired by The Weinstein Company
immediately after its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival
. The film will be released in US theaters on March 9, 2012.
, Mississippi
, Georgia
, Iowa
and Oklahoma
. It also covers the stories of Tyler Long and Ty Smalley who committed suicide after being bullied.
Fractured Atlas
which gave him partial funding for the film. Significant additional funding was provided by Sundance Institute
Documentary Fund, The Fledgling Fund, BeCause Foundation and Gravity Films. The film's music was composed by Ion Michael Furjanic (former member of the band Force Theory
) and indie band Bishop Allen
.
Education in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
. Directed by Lee Hirsch
Lee Hirsch
Lee Hirsch is a documentary filmmaker. Hirsch is a graduate of The Putney School in Vermont. He wrote and directed the documentary Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony....
, the film follows the lives of five students who face bullying on a daily basis. The Bully Project premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
. It was also screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the LA Film Festival.
The Bully Project had its global premiere at Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
's Ischia
Ischia
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 km from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has...
Film Festival on July 17, 2011.
The Bully Project was acquired by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
immediately after its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
. The film will be released in US theaters on March 9, 2012.
Plot
The film takes place over the 2009–2010 school year and follows students and their families from TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. It also covers the stories of Tyler Long and Ty Smalley who committed suicide after being bullied.
Production
Director Lee Hirsch was a victim of bullying as a child and decided to make a documentary so that the hidden lives of bullied children would be brought into the open. Hirsch approached the non-profit organizationNonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
Fractured Atlas
Fractured Atlas
Fractured Atlas is a national not-for-profit arts services organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1998 by current Executive Director Adam Huttler as a theater production company, but became a service organization for other artists in 2001....
which gave him partial funding for the film. Significant additional funding was provided by Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
Documentary Fund, The Fledgling Fund, BeCause Foundation and Gravity Films. The film's music was composed by Ion Michael Furjanic (former member of the band Force Theory
Force Theory
Force Theory was a musical production team and performance art band from Fort Greene, Brooklyn.-Force Theory Productions:Active: 2004-2009Force Theory Productions was formed in 2004 by bandmates Ion Michael Furjanic and Neill Sanford Livingston...
) and indie band Bishop Allen
Bishop Allen
Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musical collaborators...
.