Garrettsville – A team of students from the James A. Garfield High School Peer Leadership Council submitted a short film featured at the third annual, regional Friends4Friends™ Campaign film festival, held on September 29, 2015, at Austintown Fitch High School in Austintown.
The James A. Garfield High School short film, titled Posts that Paralyze, inspires students to Stand Up and Speak Out against cyberbullying. In the film, a girl can’t seem to escape the glares from another girl in the hallways. Without knowledge of what she did to get on the other teen’s bad side, the girl tries to go about her life. Things get out of hand when the teen takes her dislikes for the girl to social media.
All nine short films being featured at the festival were created by local students, and address major issues facing youth today: bullying, cyberbullying, dating violence, positive life sequencing, sexting, teen suicide, underage drinking, and human trafficking. Bringing these important topics to life on the big screen gives students the opportunity to address these issues and develop strategies to Stand Up and Speak Out for healthy relationships and strong character.
The film festival was an Oscar-like, red carpet experience that included awards for best short film, best actress/actor, best teacher turned actress/actor, and many more.
In addition, State Representative Clyde will also be recognizing Alicia Witte, Taylor Brown, Seth Morgan, Sara Petrie, Chris Blewitt, Kenadi Kissell, Marcus Miller, Skylie Nutter, Seth Miller and Rocky Gibson — the students who participated in the program.
Congratulations to our hometown “Change Agents” for their work. These students are choosing to make a difference by speaking out against cyberbullying.
To view their video go to https://youtu.be/GsE6spm-gyI and to learn more about Operation Keepsake, visit their website at http://www.operationkeepsake.com
