Films for the KiVa Antibullying program

No winner in the KiVa Short Film Competition

KiVa Short Film Competition aimed to get narrative films about bullying, which could be used in international distribution of KiVa-material. The topics of the 5 Short films were predetermined. Short films from 10 persons / teams did participate the competition.

Unfortunately, for the purpose of the competition there were no suitable films. Therefore the winner of this competition remained undiscovered. However, we thank warmly all the participants who have submitted their films to our competition!

The topics and aims of the five films are the following:

Hidden bullying: The film should illustrate different types of “hidden” bullying which does not involve direct face-to-face attacks. Such hidden bullying can be, for instance, spreading rumors and lies, thus making others view the target in a negative light; excluding and/or completely ignoring the target; doing something that might seem nice at the surface but actually carries a very negative meaning; or some other forms of bullying in which either the identity of the perpetrator is “hidden” or the negative action itself is “hidden” under a seemingly prosocial, kind act.

Cyberbullying: A film illustrating that bullying happening via mobile phone or Internet can in some cases be especially scary and traumatizing for the victim (this could be for instance, due to potentially large “audience”, the fact that the perpetrator(s) are anonymous, or that bullying follows the target everywhere, the perpetrators can reach him/her even at home).

Victim of bullying as an adult: The film should give a strong message of how the negative consequences of victimization experienced in childhood/adolescence can persist through adulthood (such negative consequences might be, for instance, low self-esteem, distrust in other people, depression, social anxiety).

Bystanders: The film should illustrate different ways in which children who are witnessing bullying may respond, and what consequences their actions (or inactions) may have for the situation. In KiVa student lessons, different ways of responding to bullying are discussed with the students (e.g., joining the bullying when someone has started it, laughing together with others, just witnessing the situation without doing anything, and standing up for the victimized peer or supporting him/her in one way or the other). Watching this film, the students should be able to identify different (positive and negative) ways of responding to bullying and to be inspired to discuss them further.

Memories: An adult memorizing his/her schooldays and a situation in which he or she witnessed bullying but did not do anything to help the victim. Alternatively, the film could be about a student thinking about past situations in which he/she did not take action, despite of feeling bad for the victim and thinking that what was happening was wrong. The film should illustrate how people witnessing bullying often would like to do something to help the victim, and often feel sorry afterwards that they didn’t. However, taking sides with the weak one is often perceived extremely difficult.