Waging Peace

Waging Peace, a new coproduction of Triad Films and the of National Film Board of Canada, to be seen across Canada on CTV

"When I looked at this group, I said to myself what in heaven's name have you allowed yourself to walk in to? And I thought well, I don't run from challenges... I have a big mouth, and I won't take 'no' for an answer. And if I think something is wrong I'll say it's wrong."

So thought Edy Guy-François principal of Caledonia Junior High in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia on learning that she'd been appointed as the troubled school's fifth principal in four years. In Waging Peace, a new co-production of Triad Films and the National Film Board of Canada, writer/director Teresa MacInnes follows Guy-François and the staff and students of the school over the next year to see how they rise to the challenges of a school where walls have holes, fire extinguishers and water fountains have been broken and bullying and intimidation are commonplace.

The surprising, difficult, and ultimately uplifting results were seen across Canada on September 4th when Waging Peace premiered on the CTV network. The theatrical version of the film was then screened at the Atlantic Film Festival.

The film looks beyond the sensational headlines on school violence, to offer real solutions. It shows the hard work that goes into turning a troubled school around. It lets us know how students really see school, and demonstrates the positive effects of trusting teens and giving them some responsibility.

"One can't examine at the issue of bullying and violence in the schools in isolation," says MacInnes. "We're making such demands of schools, asking them to play a significant role in raising our children and yet we're constantly undercutting them with lack a of support. Bullying is a reflection of only one part of a school. It has to be seen and understood in relation to the entire climate there. Cutbacks, for instance, can have a ripple effect that affects many other aspects of a school's health."

As new principal Edy Guy-François is tough and uncompromising, but she practices discipline with compassion. She comes down hard on students who break the rules - but also encourages the creation of a peer mediation program, institutes monthly dances, and lets it all hang out at a wild winter carnival.

The results are tangible - and nearly immediate. Tina, previously frustrated by the lack of opportunity to express her ideas, now, finds meaning by forming a cultural awareness group. Dale, with a history of violent outbursts, starts to get things under control. Then, just as the new Caledonia is hitting its stride, budget cuts hit. With jobs threatened, staff have less time to wage peace and the hard-won gains of the past year threaten to come apart.

"It is time that people in the community start to take pride in the fact that the school is in this community," says Edy. She reaches out to parents, and together, they manage consolidate the gains for which the school has fought so hard. By the end of the year the school motto "Follow the Pride" finally has some real meaning.

"Something I really came to appreciate through the process of making the film," says MacInnes, "was how easy it is - with the right support and leadership - to change things. I was struck by how many children knew the problems of their school. They just needed respect and a forum to allow them to come up with solutions."

Waging Peace is produced by Peter d'Entremont (Triad Films) and Kent Martin (NFB).

Also directed by Teresa MacInnes, the upcoming NFB/Triad co-production Learning Peace will look at a year in the life of Annapolis Elementary, a Nova Scotia school that has been actively addressing the damaging effects of bullying and intimidation for the past three years. Learning Peace is produced by Peter d'Entremont and Kent Martin.

Support photography for media is available at www.nfb.ca/photogallery/ waging_peace.html.