Rebecca McInnis Blanchette, a Grade 8 student at Westwood Junior High School, shows off her new no-bullying tee shirt. Some 150 of the colourful $5 tees with their powerful message were sold at the Westwood Junior High School last Friday. (Gazette, Katinka Rubin Michaud)

by JIM DUFF

A Journal de Montréal reporter contacted the Oskrdals shortly after news of Josh’s death was reported. “She already had her story, that it was a suicide,” Jerry Oskrdal says, “but I can’t agree to that.”

The media has zeroed in on bullying and intimidation since the suicide of a Gaspé teenager and the murders of the wife and three daughters of Mohammad Shafia. Last week, the Charest government announced tougher anti-bullying measures, including a law forcing educators to intervene to protect the victims of intimidation.

“I think it's the flavour of the month, about bullying,” Jerry Oskrdal said last week following the death of his 12-year-old son. “There was nothing to indicate a problem with bullying. We looked out for stuff like that.”

That meant Jerry and Kelly letting both boys know that they reserved the right to check the Facebook accounts of both their sons and would shut them down if there was any inappropriate activity. “We ask a lot of questions of our sons and we monitored things very closely — two hands on, because we really wanted to make sure there were no issues, no bullying, or that they didn't want to go to school because things were going on. We tried to get them to tell us everything that was going on in their lives.”

Last week, they went so far as to discuss it with Josh’s school principal. “She said he was never at either end of bullying,” his father said.

“He wouldn't be, for one thing, and he also wouldn't let himself be bullied...Josh was a very strong character. Nothing makes sense and until I get answers that would tell me otherwise, it doesn't add up.

“If he was sad that day, or he had something going on, then yes, let's do an article about the problems of teenage suicide, but this kid, I don't think there was ever a picture of him without a smile or a dance. He was the happiest-go-luckiest kid that I have ever met. Yes, he's my son, but he was such a happy kid...there is nothing that would make me believe that it was anything other than a tragic accident.”

Writer and producer Adam Tanguay and Bourget Educational Psychologist Chantal Charpentier are delighted with the new film “Période infernale” aimed at students to bring awareness to the negative effects of bullying. (Photo courtesy Chantal Charpentier)

by JAMES McCAFFERTY

RIGAUD — I was impressed to see the the professionalism of a new Quebec film on bullying, Période infernale that premiered at College Bourget last week.

Adapted from a story written by Adam Tanguay, a former École secondaire de la Cité-des-Jeunes student who was a victim of bullying and eventually left school because of his experience, the 40-minute production is directed by Dominic Bouffard and produced by Michel Dube and Tanguay.

To be frank, I wasn’t expecting much. I thought it would be informative, but more in the style of fuzzy, dated documentaries I was used to in high school. I can safely say that I was completely wrong. The camera angles and lighting used to film Période infernale were as professional as any movie you can see at the Cineplex. I was sucked, right from the opening scene, into the life of a timid boy who had been rejected by his peers.

It wasn’t just the visuals that blew me away, it was the acting. Considering that the actors came from the ranks of students at College Bourget and Cité-des-Jeunes and worked for free, I think the execution was superb. During the pivotal scenes I could feel the emotions like they were my own. There is a scene where the main character, after being bullied for some time, has to get up to make an oral presentation. As he stands, you can feel the psychological forces making his walk to the front of the class a struggle.

Période infernale is deadly accurate in its portrayal of roles in bullying situations. You understand the emotions and motives of the victim, the bully, the bystander, the parent and the teacher. By presenting these roles so clearly, the film helps us connect with the characters, reminding us of our own experiences as one or the other. If we’re able to recognize ourselves in the characters we’re all more inclined to do something.

“Everyone can be intimidated,” says Chantal Charpentier, Bourget’s educational psychologist. “Students intimidate to impress, for revenge or to take back a power they feel they’ve lost. Anyone with something different about them is a target for bullying. Like boys with more feminine qualities, or students with a lot of acne. Bullies often use differences for intimidation.”

Charpentier says students love to see people their age on the screen, making movies an extremely effective way of getting a message across. A total of 110 students from Bourget participated in the film. Charpentier herself acted as the history teacher.

For an English-speaking audience, the lack of English subtitles is a serious problem. The music, visuals and acting make it easy for anglophones to watch and understand what is going on, but that isn’t enough to justify screening it in English schools that are in equal need of this kind of material. This film deserves to be translated because it’s that good.

Période infernale is available for $15 per copy from: http://www.periodeinfernale.com/lefilm/Accueil.html

This Thursday evening, Hudson’s École St-Thomas is presenting Les Baobabs, an anti-bullying play suitable for students in Grades 3-6 and their parents, followed by an open discussion on bullying and intimidation.

In an invitation to students and their families, St. Thomas director Sébastien Bédard reminds parents of the devastating effects of bullying as seen in the disappearance of David Fortin and the suicide of Marjorie Raymond.

He also reminds them that even in a school like St. Thomas, where privileges are used to encourage harmonious relationships and good child-educator communications, bullying can occur. The school has an educational psychologist as well as a specialized-education technician with intervention powers to ensure that lunch breaks and recess are bully-free.

The aim of the evening is to give everyone the opportunity to contribute to the discussion. It takes place in the school gym starting at 7 p.m.