At the request of the Guess Anti-Bullying Fund, Paducah’s Maiden Alley will debut a movie starring a former Murray girl if more than 86 tickets are sold.
Set in the not so distant future, in Any Town USA, sixteen year old Herman Howards (Garrett Backstrom) makes a fateful decision. He enters his suburban school and kills 39 students, two teachers, and a police officer. Just before his arrest he emails his idol, journalist Lax Morales (Norman Reedus). "I want to tell my story on your show."
Ultimately HELLO HERMAN is not about violence. It’s not about a school shooting. It’s not about bullying (but Herman is bullied relentlessly). It’s about connection and what it takes for one human being to reach out to another human being and really see them for who they are. “I wanted people to watch the film and feel a responsibility to our youth,” said director Michelle Danner. “Many people in test screenings told me ‘I’m going home to hug my children.’ But it’s not just about looking out for our own children. It’s about taking responsibility for all of the children, especially the ones who don’t seem to have a voice.”
Olivia Faye Floyd, a 16-year-old actress/songwriter from Murray plays Marsha Dixon, the one character in the movie who according to Danner, “could have offered hope and possibly changed the course of events for Herman.” Floyd will attend the screening.
Guess Bullying Foundation Director Susan Guess said the movie was introduced to her by Olivia's father. “While I haven't seen the movie yet, I do believe it will illustrate the worst case scenario of how someone can react to relentless bullying,” said Susan Guess, Director of the Guess Anti-Bullying Fund. “We never want this movie to be reality in our town or at any school. And for this reason, we hope the people of West Kentucky will come out to watch the movie and to talk about how we can come together to change the culture of hatred, violence and meanness. We can do better than we are."
For tickets, go to http://www.tugg.com/events/