Bully - Written by Kaylyn Johnson (2021)

Bruised and beaten, seventeen-year-old Breanne hides out in her high school bathroom and cries. From her bathroom stall, she hears the conversation of other students, discussing a fight that just happened on school grounds. Breanne is disheartened to hear that she's not regarded well by other girls at school. Initially, it appears that Breanne is the victim of the fight. The twist comes however when Breanne leaves her bathroom stall to confront those talking about her and we realize that she is the bully and was the aggressor in the fight. Breanne has an opportunity to learn, from what she overhears others say about her, that being feared is not the same as being respected. Instead, she confronts the other students with her same old, menacing ways. But, perhaps, one layer of the veil that she hides behind has been peeled back. This short film looks at shame and the notion that, when we have to survive difficult circumstances, we put personalities in place to protect our real selves.