Cast & Crew
Kerry Girling
Age: 26What Actor: JOSH
Career: Motivational speaker on Positive Lifestyle Choices (Drinking and Driving, Bullying Drug abuse and goal setting) www.kerrygirling.com
How Long: 7.5 years
Why did you start that career?: I started speaking to high school students after a good friend of mine passed away from drinking and driving and after realizing how bad bullying has effected the youth, I realized I needed to focus
primarily on this subject.
Why did you produce a movie on Bullying? I wrote the script of the Instigator in February 2005 just after a motivational speaking tour in Toronto because I had seen and heard of many devastating bullying stories from the youth and realized that there was an important issue to address. I also went through a lot of disturbing situations that
dealt with physical and verbal abuse in high school, so I continued to produce the Instigator. I feel that bringing a message through a movie (visual) is a great way to get the message out there.
What do you hope to achieve with this project? I hope to distribute this film through the school system across the continent and the world to help teens understand that there is a problem and how they can properly cope with a bullying situation. I also hope that for the people that are going through problems in their lives (bullying related), I hope that they will seek help and constantly work on building their self-esteem.
What was your favorite experience in working on the film? I enjoyed the whole production. It was great working with actors and talent that had never worked on a production like this one. My favorite part was completing the filming phase, because that when I knew that we had all the footage, nobody could take that away from me. It was amazing realizing afterwards that we had put together something so meaningful
and actually falling through with our passion.
What are your future plans? I am going to continue the circuit as a motivational speaker on Bullying to North American youth and promote this film to get it seen and the message out there. I am going to continue pursuing this industry as a producer, actor and film maker.
What advice do you have for people that are being bullied? Seek help immediately. A lot of people go through negative situations (Bullying) and cannot get past those experiences. Sometimes we need to deal with the root of the problem before we can come to terms with ourselves (self-esteem). Were here to help and encourage others, not to laugh at each other and push each other around!
Raj Padmanabh
Age: 34What role in the film? Director
What projects have you worked on? I am a director and editor of Flowing Line Pictures. I have worked on approximately 30 motion pictures projects over the past two years and have directed and co-directed 8 plays and acted in 30 video/film projects and over 40 plays.
Where did you train? I studied drama at the University of Saskatchewan and at Stanford University in California.
What advice do you have for others getting into the industry? It's all about keeping a good attitude and pushing forward with every opportunity. You never know where it may take you!
Collin W. Gibbings
Age:19What role in film? Lead actor (Mark)
What was the hardest part about filming? The scene where I am supposed to attempt ending my life. It was tough getting out of character after that.
What do you hope people will come away with after watching this? My
hope is that everyone will at least be able to see something of themselves in this film. Hopefully learn something positive
Adin Dereniwski
Age:26What role did you play in the film? Mark's love interest (CAROLINE)
What other projects have you worked on? I've been in numerous plays at
the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, modeling and am currently doing voice over's at a local radio station.
What is your best experience of working on The Instigator? I loved the cameras on me. I loved everything from having my hair and make-up done. The whole experience was probably one of the better times in my life. It was so much fun and everyone I worked with was great!
Kevin Ostafie
Age: 17What role did you play in the film? Lead Bully (DAN)
What do you hope that people will get from this film? I hope that people who watch this movie will realize that bullying does happen in "every" school. I want people to see what bullying does to people and hopefully people can see it from a victims perspective and take a stand to stop it in their school or wherever it is taking place.
What's next for you? In the near future I'd really like to continue acting and further my career in the film industry, especially the projects that Kerry is working on next.
Mitch McNicol
Age: 21What role did you play in the film? Bully (Mitch)
What other experiences have you had in this industry? I've done a bit of acting here and there, a few music videos and some stuff in school.
What advice do you have for others wanting to get into acting? Go for it. A lot of times it may not happen but if you just keep going for it, eventually you'll get your chance and when you do, make the most of it! You'll have the greatest memories if you go all out doing something you love to do.
Matthey Ledray
Age: 17What role did you play in the film? Bully (Scotty)
What was the best experience you had while filming the Instigator? The
best experience would defiantly be the entire movie. I had an absolute blast filming it.
What other projects have you worked on? I have no acting experience. The Instigator was the first movie I have ever worked on. I would love to continue acting an further myself into the filming industry.