They were already award-winning filmmakers, when they submitted their short film for a worldwide contest on bullying.

But they were still surprised, when they received notice they were chosen as finalists.

Lower Dauphin student Emma Irving and recent graduate Bryce Detweiler worked together to create a video about the negative effects of bullying for the Great American NO BULL Challenge.

Lower Dauphin senior Emma Irving, 16, and recent graduate Bryce Detweiler, 18, created "Words," a short film for Great American NO BULL Challenge. As finalists, they will travel Aug. 9 to Los Angeles to participate in an all-day conference and video awards ceremony.

The Great American NO BULL Challenge’s objective is to spread awareness about anti-bullying and digital responsibility. Prizes range from a mentorship with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, text-a-tip program for the winner’s school, video cameras, scholarships and a trip to the Sundance Film Festival, where the winning short film video will be submitted.

“We found out about it in our communications class,” Detweiler said. “So it was a graded project, and everyone in our class took part in it. (We’ve) done contests in the past in that class, and we wanted to try another one — a national one.”

Last year, the two of them won $5,000 in prize money for Lower Dauphin, when their video about electricity conservation won a state contest.

“Words” is a roughly three-minute video that features Emma and her reactions and thoughts as harmful words float at her from a bully.

Detweiler is the filmmaker; Emma also wrote the narrative.

“Our video is about the impact that words can have on a person,” Emma said. “And after it was produced, I was concerned because it doesn’t say the word ‘bully’ that many times, but I think that the message that words have meaning and impact on people definitely cyberbullying is there.

“Because when you’re behind a screen typing words, you don’t really feel the impact those words. You can’t see their emotional reaction, but at the same time those words do carry meaning. And that is what our video gets at.”

“It also gets at perspective,” Detweiler added. “Comparing what a bully says to someone and how someone receives it and how those two are very different.”

Their communications teacher, Dan Mikula, said that despite their youth, the message behind their video was mature.

“What she had to say about the power of words was very eye-opening to me,” Mikula said. “It shows the deeper, mental bruises that words can inflict.”

Mikula said he has no idea if either Detweiler or Emma had dealt with bullying in their past, but the narrative that Emma wrote “certainly came across as being very true; spoken from the heart.”

The contest organizers will only pay for one person from each team to attend the conference and awards ceremony. Detweiler will be going to Los Angeles, but Emma wants to go along also. To help her raise funds for her airfare, click here.



Emma will be a senior this fall. She said she doesn’t know yet where she wants to go to college or what she wants to do, although she said she does want to continue in filmmaking or communications

Detweiler will be going to Harrisburg Area Community College this fall. He wants to eventually go to film school in New York City. He is working as photojournalist for The Sun in Hummelstown.

“What a great team,” Mikula said. “The maturity of her message and his ability. We have a lot of amazing kids in Lower Dauphin, but I was honored to have them in my class.

“I wish them the best of luck in California.”