Bully Trailer

Every year, around thirteen million children are bullied in the US. With the rise of cyber bullying in recent years, the issue of bullying can, at times, seem overwhelming.

Director Lee Hirsch - a victim of bullying himself as a child - made the documentary to highlight the issue. With no narration in the film, we follow the lives of five families over the course of an academic year.

One young boy loves learning but dreads going to school every day. He is frequently called a geek by bullies; his father cites one incident where his son was forced into a locker. One girl decided to stand up to her bullies - words of advice that parents initially give to their children - but she went about it the wrong way. CCTV footage shows her on the bus, brandishing a gun at the bullies. As a result, she was suspended, while the bullies did not receive any punishment.

Sometimes, though, children cannot ignore or stand up to their bullies, no matter what teachers and their parents say. Two families shown in the film are struggling to cope with the loss of their respective children - one of them aged just eleven - both of whom committed suicide in order to stop the bullying.

Bully is a powerful film which has received positive reviews since its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Despite this, it has come under attack for its rating - the MPAA decided to label Bully an R, for six counts of swearing. A petition, set up by seventeen year old Katy Butler, was started to try and bring Bully down to PG-13; it got more than 300,000 signatures. It was recently announced that the film will be released unrated in the US on March 30th 2012.

Director Lee Hirsch