Bullying.

It's a hot topic, it's seemingly everywhere, and it's the focus of award-winning Birmingham filmmaker and lesbian mom Amy Weber's upcoming film, The Bully Chronicles.

"In light of the past events with Mayor Daniels, as well as for kids across this country struggling each and every day, I have decided to move forward with a project that is very personal to me – The Bully Chronicles, a movement toward change in the form of a narrative feature film shot in an unscripted documentary style," Weber wrote in an email to Patch.

In December, Weber and her wife Tina stood up with their two young daughters to publicly comment on Daniels' Facebook post at a Troy City Council meeting just days after the mayor's anti-gay Facebook status surfaced (see attached YouTube video).

Weber, who was named 2011 Michigan Filmmaker of the Year for her film Annabelle and Bear, is creator and producer of The Bully Chronicles, which tells the story of teenage bullying from the bully's point of view. The film will be locally filmed and produced with help from several local teenage producers, including 17-year-old Katy Butler, who started the petition that changed the rating of the controversial movie Bully from R to PG-13. Weber will also be holding an open casting call for area teens on May 19 and 20.

"As I have reflected over the past several months since the experience with Mayor Daniels, I realized one unsettling contradiction that has inspired this film to come to life," Weber wrote. "How can we ever expect our children in this country to treat each other with kindness, love and respect when we, as adults, display cruelty, discrimination and hate toward one another on a global level, disguising it as 'values'?

"It is our responsibility as adults leading children to lead by example, which many courageously did after Mayor Daniels' comments," Weber continued. "When we allow public leaders and prominent figures to use their position of power and 'popularity' in any negative way toward a person or group of people, we are sending a message loud and clear to our kids: bullying is okay as long as it is justified and the views are shared by the majority."

For more information about The Bully Chronicles, including cast and crew biographies, visit thebullychronicles.com. To donate to the project, click here. For complete coverage of Troy Mayor Janice Daniels, visit our special topic page.