Nursing prof Jananee Rasiah has taken her interest and experience in video production and tackled a topic that hits close to home for many students: cyberbullying. She directed Behind the Screens – an interdisciplinary short film developed by faculty, students, staff and alumni here at MacEwan – that provides a unique take on victims of cyberbullying and their hope for the future.

“For about two years, I co-owned a film and media production company that I started with a colleague in nursing,” says Rasiah. 

That work proved to be both a creative outlet and an introduction to her passion for indie filmmaking, and brought her expertise back to MacEwan – and to the project.

The former associate dean of the Faculty of Nursing was able to build on her research in mental health  to develop the idea for the short film. In it she investigates the efficacy of arts-based knowledge translation for health education. Using funding from the Alberta Registered Nurses Educational Trust, she partnered with communications prof Sheena Rossiter to fully flesh out the idea and put it into motion – literally.

Anna Kuman and Trisha Sarker – assistant professors in music theatre performance and communications, respectively – joined the project as choreographers, working closely with Rasiah and the cast to develop a unique take on the topic of cyberbullying. The result is a 12-minute interpretive dance performance from seven current theatre students and one alum, portraying the effects of cyberbullying on students. 

The cast also had personal ties to the issue of cyberbullying, having either experienced it themselves or watched someone close to them go through it, which gave them inspiration for their performances and gave them the opportunity to bond on set.

“We know cyberbullying is a significant issue, and it has significant impacts on people’s well-being,” says Rasiah. “I thought, ‘Can we tell the story from the youth's perspective? Can we help them tell their story and how they feel?’” 

The short film was screened on campus in January, and attendees provided feedback in a survey for Rasiah’s continued research on the topic. “So far, the audience members have said that they find this to be an evocative way of increasing awareness about cyberbullying,” she says.

Along with her research assistant Reyna Parikh – a nursing student who also acted as production assistant for the film – Rasiah is compiling all of the feedback in order to publish her findings.

From here, she aims to host more screenings, including one for the Canadian Mental Health Association and the upcoming C2UExpo, which will be hosted on campus in May. 

The video project has also inspired Rasiah to begin analyzing how arts-based knowledge translation can be used in her other research on aging and frailty. She’s also considering pursuing more research into cyberbullying prevention.

Behind the Screens, though, was special to Rasiah. Every person involved in the video is a MacEwan student, faculty member, staff member or alumni, from composing music to operating the cameras to editing.

“When you’re with creative people, everybody has an idea,” says Rasiah. “It was really great to see how everyone came together to uplift our students and see them do their best work.”