Ronan's Escape (film)

Ronan's Escape
Ronan's Escape Movie Poster
Directed by	A.J. Carter
Written by	A.J. Carter
Starring	David Lazarus Ashleigh Zinko Ryan Cammiade Matthew Hennighan Louie Van Praag Kirstie Francis
Release date	2010
Running time	16 min
Country	Australia
Language	English

Ronan's Escape is a short film written and directed by Australian born filmmaker A.J. Carter and produced by Academy Award Nominee, Martin Mhando. The film, set in the rural wheat belt of Western Australia, provides a candid insight into the life of Ronan, a 14-year-old boy who has been bullied at school his whole life and decides to make an escape. This accurate and controversial portrayal of life for someone who has fallen victim to bullying and the repercussions which exist, is told in a unique, exposition intensive format with very little use of dialogue. Ronan's Escape presents arbitrary scenes rather than traditional storytelling which provokes audiences into discussion and interpretation of the scenes on a more personal level while reflecting on their own experiences.

At school during break, a bully named Ryan (played by Ryan Cammiande), kicks a ball at a young boy, Ronan (played by David Lazarus), sitting alone by himself causing him to fall down and everyone laughs at him. While restraining himself afterwards he finds a wounded bird and puts it in his bag. Later, during gym class, the teacher (played by Louie Van Praag) organizes a baton race. While preparing, another bully, named Colin (played by Matthew Henningham), sneakily unties the laces on Ronan's shoes so he trips just as he nears the finish line causing him to get jeered by his classmates including Sally (played by Ashleigh Zinko), a girl who actually trusted that Ronan could win for her team but lost faith in him after Ryan confessed that he told her he was a loser.

On the bus ride home afterwards Ronan's bag is stolen by Justin (played by James Tayler), who tosses it about with everyone else. Ronan retrieves his bag and walks back to his seat amidst teasing from everyone. After this, he gets off the bus and walks up to a tree near his home with a tire swing on it, instead of going home. Eventually he finds the bird in his bag that has now been killed due to Justin tossing it around on the bus. Ronan buries it and then finds a piece of paper that says "Loser" on it, which is what everyone has been calling Ronan. Later on his mother (played by Kristie Francis) has been talking to another woman but then starts searching for her son after being made aware that Ronan was not on the bus that passed by her house. She gets worried as she looks out into the trees where Ronan is. While the sun is setting it is shown that Ronan has hung himself off the tree with the rope from the tire swing.

Ronan's Escape premiered on 15 February 2010 at Hoyts Cinemas (Southlands, Western Australia). The film has since been screened around the world in public film festivals and has also been used in schools as an educational tool, primarily in the United States, against school bullying.