Family Film, How to Beat a Bully, Delights School Students in West Point, Nebraska

Classes from West Point, Nebraska, attended a special school assembly to view the new family film, How to Beat a Bully.  

The film was shown Tuesday, May 10th in the afternoon at a school assembly for grades 3 through 6 with a study guide of questions for students and teachers to discuss afterwards. In the evening the West Point Community Theatre had a screening at 7 pm. This event was particularly exciting for the town of West Point, because native son, Eric Lauritzen is one of the film's stars. 

"How to Beat a Bully" is a family comedy with an anti-bullying theme.  It's about a 12-year-old boy who moves to a new town and gets picked on by school bullies.  In order to protect himself, he uses his brain instead of his fists - and comes up with an idea that not only stops the bullies, but gets them to be this new best friends.  Along the way there are hilarious adventures and mishaps, in which he accidentally gets his dad involved with some bad guys who want to do more than "bully" him.  Mr. Lauritzen plays the dad, Joe, in this humorous but meaningful film.

The movie has lots of laughs and the tone of "Home Alone," yet touches on a subject that is a serious one for many children, tweens and teens today.  

It gives audiences a chance to share a positive experience and hopefully open a dialog regarding what everyone can do when confronted with a bullying situation.

Proceeds of the event will go to the Juvenile Awareness Group, an organization that works with school districts, behavioral health centers and youth services to provide prevention education for school aged youth. 

The idea of using a comedic entertainment to start a conversation was exactly what the film's writers, Marilyn Anderson and Richard Rossner, had in mind when the movie was made.  "The idea of using humor to defuse a difficult topic makes discussing the issue much easier. We're thrilled that West Point is leading the way as an example to other communities around the country," said Rossner. "We hope to see more of these kinds of events taking place," added Ms. Anderson.

"How to Beat a Bully" is distributed by Indie Rights. The film is available at Walmart stores nationwide and also streaming online Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and other digital platforms. It won "Best Feature Film" at the L-Dub Film Festival in Lake Worth, Florida. To set up an arrangement for a screening and issue-oriented discussion afterwards, contact the producers at HowtoBeataBully at gmail dot com.