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San Francisco, California -- A groundbreaking documentary on name-calling and bullying -- solely in the voices of youth --is being released October 21 to kick off a national campaign to prevent violence in junior high schools. Let's Get Real is the latest production in the highly acclaimed series of films about diversity from The Respect for All Project. "Let's Get Real lets students speak for themselves about the dangers they face in the classroom. This film should be required viewing for anyone interested in providing safe schools for young people," said -Jerry Newberry, Executive Director, National Education Association Health Information Network. The film, directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Debra Chasnoff and produced by Chasnoff, Helen S. Cohen and Kate Stilley, is designed to support students speaking up both to their peers and the adults in their lives, and to encourage empathy in order to prevent acts of aggression and violence. The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. And according to the U.S. Secret Service in a 2002 report, "Safe School Initiative," many of the youth involved in school shootings cited bullying as a contributing factor to their violent behavior. "Ask most junior high school students or teachers about name-calling and bullying, and they'll tell you the problem is raging out of control," Chasnoff said. "While schools respond by trying to implement zero-tolerance policies, they're often at a loss for how to address the problem. We hope Let's Get Real will help youth and adults talk much more openly about what's really going on in the hallways." Unlike other resources on the topic of bullying, Let's Get Real does not shy away from the sensitive social issues that often fuel conflicts at school. The students in the film speak directly, for example, about racial tension, anti-gay taunting, and sexual harassment. As Tina, a sixth-grader featured in the film, says, "When they call me 'Bruce Lee's daughter or 'Ching, Chang, Chong,' I just get this fire inside of me that I can't put out and I just get really angry. But at school, nothing really happens. I can't get anything to happen." "Bullying should not be accepted as a rite of passage," Cohen said. "Let's Get Real can help fuel the movement of educators, youth-service providers, parents and caregivers who realize that in order to address this complex problem, we must listen to youth--and allow them to speak honestly for themselves-- about its root causes."
Lets Get Real will have its world premiere on October 21, 2003, in San Francisco. In addition to hundreds of individual donors, many foundations contributed to the film's production, including The California Endowment, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Columbia Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the Threshold Foundation. Telephone: 415-641-4616. |
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The Respect for All Project's national campaign will offer the film, curriculum guides and teacher-training programs to junior high schools, higher education and youth-advocacy programs. The film is slated to be screened at dozens of professional conferences, including the National Middle School Association and National Association of School Psychologists.
In addition, through a partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Afterschool Alliance, the Child Welfare League of America, and the Association of Children's Museums, teachers and service providers in more than 20 cities will receive training on how to use Let's Get Real to help prevent violence among youth