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“Alexander was very driven,” said Johnny Boston, president and CCO of Raw Digital, a New York and locally based production company that worked on the film. “He was continually working on the script and had a clear vision of how he wanted to stage the action. Alexander brought the community together for a very worthy project.”
After being bullied, Alexander turned his experience into a film to help others learn to cope. He wrote, directed and starred in the five-minute film, which was shot at Weston schools in 2011. Other students from Weston and Alexander’s classmates at Stamford’s Rogers International School also joined him on screen.
Starting in 2014, the film will become a part of Weston’s curriculum. Second-grade classes at Hurlbutt Elementary School will watch the clip each year as an introduction to a discussion about bullying.
“I am happy my film will teach kids about bullying. Someone stood up for me in my school and I would do that for anyone else,” Alexander said in a statement. “I hope my film helps other kids do that, too.”
Boston premiered the film last week at Cobb’s Mill Inn. The debut event also featured a performance by Story Pirates, music by Weston Middle School-based band Lockerjam and a presentation by Weston Youth services Director Michelle Albright.
Joe Pantoliano, an actor featured in The Matrix and The Sopranos and an anti-bullying activist, also attended the premiere and shared his story with the crowd.
“I was bullied a lot as a kid,” Pantoliano told the crowd. “And I realized that I was attracted to playing bad guys because I could build a character that would be able to stand up for himself and maybe even get even with the people that hurt my feelings when I was a kid. That’s a creative outlet.”
For more information on “Stand Up!” and other associated programs, visit the film's website.
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