Bay Area Indie Feature Has Cautious Message About High School Bullying

Oct 16, Bay Area CA premiere of passionate anti-bullying film American Yearbook gives a responsible yet sobering look at the consequences of school violence in a world after Columbine.

(PRWEB) October 8, 2004 -- The powerful independent thriller American Yearbook will have its upcoming Bay Area Premiere at the East Bays Orinda Film Festival. Screening in Orindas historical Renaissance Orinda Theatre Saturday Oct. 16, this will be American Yearbooks first local screening since shooting on location literally miles down the road at Acalanes High School in Lafayette last year. The week prior will be a screening Oct. 10 at the Mt. Shasta Film Festival.

American Yearbook is the true-to-life story of high school dreamer, Will, whose hope of being a successful photographer is ripped from his grasp, as he is relentlessly targeted by a vicious pack of local bullies. Will befriends a mysterious, brooding character named Chance who is also a target for the bullies, and convinces Will that they should acquire guns and pull a Columbine". Amanda, the girl that Will starts to get close to, pleads with him to set aside revenge. In a film that truly shows the tough choices created by school violence, and how recent school shootings can influence the thoughts of at-risk kids, this is an emotional story that is very intense, but manages to responsibly convey the deadly consequences of revenge without glorifying violence.

Writer/Director Brian Ging is very passionate about his work stating, Theres no reason that a filmmaker cant make a powerful statement in the 90 minutes an audience gives them, without it seeming preachy or less powerful. I plan on making every film I work on socially conscious and impactful in some way. In American Yearbook, Im exploring teen bullying with a post-Columbine spin, but focusing on the intense emotions of the teenagers and not just guns and gore. My goal is to bring the important subject of school violence to light in a story that people can identify with, and to strongly impact the audience with the powerful emotions that victims of bullying actually deal with every day."

The film has been rounding the festival circuit, recently world-premiering in England at the Filmstock Film Festival in June, followed days later by a U.S. premiere at Danceswithfilms, an L.A. film festival where American Yearbook was a festival favorite, walking away with the 2004 Audience Choice Award. The film also landed a glowing four star review by filmcritics.com.

Upcoming Screenings: American Yearbook will play at the Mt. Shasta Film Festival in Northern California Oct. 10 at 1:20pm, followed by the Orinda Film Festival Oct. 16 at 6:30pm, and the SMMASH Film Festival in Minnesota Oct. 17 & 21.

Ging continues his connection to edgy, yet socially conscious, films by recently signing on with Reel Kids Films Inc. of Oakland as a Writer and Producer. Reel Kids Films is a non-profit film production company dedicated to making tough narrative films that explore diversity and youth issues while involving underprivileged kids from diverse backgrounds in the production process. Their first feature film called times like these, again will be co-written by Ging and Director Buck Sierra, with Ging as Producer. More information at http://reelkidsfilms.com.

Ticket and Premiere information is available online by checking http://american-yearbook.com or the film festival websites below:

http://www.shastafilmfest.com

http://www.orindafilmfestival.org

http://www.smmash.com

(Press kit for American Yearbook available through official website above.)

New Legend Productions

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