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M'WAT'EleCHmNm'deeIday,April24. 2013 ' Blackbird flies O O O 0 Film about the consequences of bullying opens Canada Films Day festwal May 2 Brno-Valium: he humanism MW ltwillaleo‘beahomecomingfor - produce David Mills. who will be iththe’nsueofcyberbuh' per-tofthepanelandwhosecom- _ \ lying in the news again, pany.A7l Productions. helped Bux- - with thencentdeathof “HEMP mn‘svlslonforthefilmcomealive. a 17-year-old Nova Scotia girl. air "The film has taken on a life of Gradianfilmabmhthedarkside' - 1543* .. itsown'saldMiller.udreawards of the lntemet and social media“! A - .4»; ‘ keep piling up for the film. ‘lt's a will open up the seventh annual: 7:1}: ' film about teenage bullying and Canada Films Day Festival at 2 an; cyberbullying that is such a big Princess Cinemas startingMay 2. r. issuefightpow. . Blackbird was filmed in Nova ‘ g; "It really makes you aware that Scotiahnoyearsagoandhassincege3-1Y' youhavetobetzrefulofwhatyou won awards at the Toronto lnterna- sf: say online. You're responsible for tional Film Festival and at the” ’"" " whatyou say.’ ‘ recent Canadian Screen Awards It J“ Miller grew up in Kitchener in a will be one of eight Canadian fea- ' family of educators, and both par- turesat the festival. ents served as principals at area it has won accolades for its por- - "“-.... schools, For him it highlighted the uayalofabulliedteenwhoisfalse issueofbullying nowinschools. ly accused of planning a school- "My family are all educators in shooting spree like Columbine, Kitchener-Waterloo and my broth- after producing a target list that «In Why a superintendent with featured his tormentors the public school board. so it’s defiâ€" The first feature film by . V _ , _ _ , nitely an important issue,” said writer/director lason Buxton won Seankandall, played byCumthQflndrhlnnelfhmtlnucenefromthe Canaan fibnlladrhmm Miller.“'l‘hewlwle issue ofbullying the Claude lutra Award for debut opens the seventh annual Canada Films Day Festival at the Princess Cinemas May 2-8. cum-mm and cyberbullying are big themes feature at the former Genie awards right now, and the story really and has been a hit on the festival Rehtaeh Parsons is maldngnational Blackbird, you have a kid without a you’d like to shoot now. with every- appealed to me in exploring those circuit, most recently at a film festi~ headlines The girl was taken of! life lot of parental support facing the thing that's happened with New- issues. and as a company we val in Sonoma, Calif. It gets its support April 7 after a suicide slings and arrows of false accusaâ€" town and the Colorado movie the- thoughtjt was a film we could real- (‘anada-wide release May 10. but attempt her family said was precip- dons atre shooting. it's such a different lyget behind." .will be a timely opening for the itated byacyberbullyingmmpaign. Buie plays a mostly absent story. The culture has dianged how This will be the third film Miller CanadaPflmsDayFestival.wldch 'lheysaidimagesofanallegedsex {adamaboynamedSeanRandall thisfilmwillbeviewedfrornwhen hashadattheCanadaFilmsDay celebrates and showcases home- assault on her by four boys at a in the film; and has to step up and we started shooting it until now Festival. He's pleased to be opening grown Canadian feature film talent. party were being cirwhmd around help a son he never really wanted whenweseeit." it in Waterloo before taking it with all the issues swirling about her school and community, and anything to do with in the first Buie. who got his first big break Canada-wide May 10. bullyingabetted bythe lntemet. had already caused her to switch place. He said the film hit incrediâ€" in the Rum“ Crowe film Mystery. “l think this story intrigues a lot 0n hand for the opening will be schools and suffer numerous indig- bly close to home considering the Alaska. said it tackles important of people,” said Miller. “This is a two men with a strong local con- nines. film was shot in Halifax and isn’t far themes about what people put out well-crafted film that is really cine- nection. co-star Michael Buie and That’s sharpened the debate from the troubling Parsons case in in the world and on the lntemet maria" producer David Miller. who both about what ends up on popular Cole Harbour. and how things an snowball with- The Canada Films Days Festival grew up in the area. Buie is wrap- social media sites like Facebook “This is a completely different out safeguards and supports in is May 2-8 at the Princess Cinemas ping up a six-episode run on Grey‘s and whether there should be laws film now," said Buie. “Not because place. and will shmse eight Canadian Anatomy in has Angela before fly- in place to police this type of online the film has changed, but the whole “The film has a lot of ambiguity feature films. In addition to Buie ing back for the festival kickoff May behaviour. culture has changed. in it." said Buie. “And it comes out and Miller, there will be three other 2 that will feature a panel discus- Buie said, to a degree, the film “I probably would have played in thewaythe filmwasshot.” producers, directors and actors sion with him and Miller. represents every parent's worst this character completely different Buie said he's happyto be pail bf attending screenings and talking Buie said it's chilling to think the nigmnare now. where events out of if we had shot it today because if the discussion. Th‘n willbe his first about theirfilms film was shot in Nova Scotia when their control take a life oftheir own you‘re a 15-year-old kid today who omcial hometown film debut alter For more information visit two years later the tragedy of on the Internet. in the case of writes down the names of kids unofficially debuting Mystery, Alas- www.mnadafilmdaysca. 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