Rupert Sanders Directs Short Film on Gun Prevention for Sandy Hook Anniversary (EXCLUSIVE)

By Ramin Setoodeh

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Rupert Sanders, the director of “Snow White and the Huntsman,” has made a short film about gun violence prevention for the sixth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 children and six educators dead.

The two-minute movie, called “Point of View,” will debut on Monday. It follows a high school student in the lead-up to a class election, chronicling the warning signs from a shooter who plans an attack on his peers.

The film is produced by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit based in Newtown, Connecticut, which lobbies for legislation to prevent school shootings and spreads awareness about gun violence. Since 2014, the organization has trained more than 5.5 million people at 10,000 schools with its “Know the Signs” programs. According to research, 80 percent of school shooters tell someone about their plans—making an intervention possible.

There have been 94 school shootings so far in 2018, making it the worse year since records were tabulated in 1970, according to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

Sanders collaborated on the short with New York creative agency BBDO and costume designer Jennifer Johnson (“I, Tonya”). “After seeing the countless shootings that have happened across our country, not only in our schools but several spaces that should be deemed safe, I knew that I could no longer sit back and be complacent,” Sanders said in a statement. “As a father, I want to do my parent to ensure the safety of my children and the work of Sandy Hook Promise is nothing short of amazing.”

Sandy Hook Promise has released two other award-winning PSAs, “Evan” and “Tomorrow’s News,” which have been viewed by more than 3 billion people worldwide.

“Our country has seen an increase in violence this year: More than 3,200 kids and teens have been killed or injured by guns and there have been over 300 mass shootings,” said Nicole Hockley, the co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, whose son Dylan was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “While we saw a resurgence in the gun reform space thanks to the brave young adults taking center stage following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, there is more work to be done. Everyone has the power to stop violence before it starts, and we want to arm people with the knowledge of how to keep their schools and communities safe.”