Filmmakers Utilize Local Students

To film reenactments for their Documentary, RATS & BULLIES, filmmakers Ray Buffer & Roberta McMillan utilized seven select drama students from Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California.

(PRWEB) February 12 2004--Filmmakers Ray Buffer and Roberta McMillan, recently turned their cameras towards select students of Huntington Beachs Marina High School for use in their feature documentary, RATS & BULLIES. Seven students took part in two days of filming. The reenactment footage will be used to support scenarios described in interviews already filmed for the documentary. David Delaney, Crystal Enciso, Simone Malave, Laura DeRuiter, Matthew Kennedy, Cindy Falcon, and Dana Drury were the young local actors and actresses.

The life and death of Dawn-Marie Wesley is explored in this documentary film which shows how the more subtle forms of bullying exhibited by teen females can have the harshest results.

RATS & BULLIES talks about the issue of relational aggression among teenage girls told through the words of those who knew 14-year-old Dawn-Marie Wesley prior to her suicide in 2000, and those who came to know of her afterwards.

Dawn-Marie Wesley took her own life after experiencing a cycle of psychological abuse and verbal threats from three of her closest acquaintances, which she named in her suicide note. The incident led to precedent setting court cases in which the three girls were made to stand trial for their actions.

In RATS & BULLIES, the audience will journey to a small town in British Columbia, Canada and hear first hand accounts from family members, Dawn-Marie's best friend, the Provincial Court Judge who presided over two of the bullies' trial, a mother of another child who was headed down the same path as Dawn-Marie, the former mayor of the town and current Member of the Legislative Assembly, one of the bullies who was prosecuted, and others.

RATS & BULLIES shows you not only the bullying events which led to Dawn-Marie's decision, but also the aftermath of her death on the victim's family and friends, the community, and even the accused. The audience will learn of Restorative Justice and how Aboriginal Law in the form of a Sentencing Circle played a poignant and powerful role in the punishment of one of Dawn-Marie's tormentors.

Also interviewed in the film is co-founder of the Empower Program in Washington, D.C., and New York Times best-selling author of "Queen Bees and Wannabes", Rosalind Wiseman.

RATS & BULLIES, now finishing post-production, is produced by Roberta McMillan & Ray Buffer at the Huntington Beach based production company, R&R MEDIA PRODUCTIONS. A feature film based on the life of Dawn-Marie Wesley and the topic of "bullycide", written by Roberta McMillan, is in pre-production. Additional information can be found at the documentary film's official website:

www.RatsandBullies.com

For further information on either project contact by email: ratsandbullies@aol.com

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