12-year-old Irish boy reaches international audience with 'The Bully' film

A 12-year-old Irish boy, now living in Chicago, has written and directed a film that has captured the hearts of over half a million people online.

Jonah Maxwell made a film called 'The Bully' to show how the proliferation of social media has contributed to how bullying has worsened over recent years.

In the video the voices of children explain what they have experienced at the hands of bullies, but also their experiences of the people who stood by and did nothing to help.

Faceless bullies dominate the screen as children explain how bullying no longer ends when a child leaves school, but continues rather intensely online.

"My dad told me when he was a kid, bullying would stop at 3:30 every day after school. I told him it’s not like that anymore – they can get you 24/7."

The signature blue colour of Facebook is used to show abusive messages and how technology allows hateful comments from the classroom to transcend into a child's home life. Right to their phone in their pocket, their bedside table or in their lap as they eat dinner.

What makes this film really special, is the turn it takes at the halfway mark.

"You have to believe that good people who are willing to help you are around."

The courageous message of hope, of solidarity, that Maxwell illustrates is breathtakingly beautiful.

The fact that one child can overcome his fears in an effort to help others is one that should inspire us all.

Maxwell's film has been shown in schools across the US, Brazil, Ireland and Australia.

Watch it below or here.