International internet safety educator and project consultant Robyn Treyvaud said cyber bullying was a serious problem.

“This sort of offence and issue that young people are dealing with is reaching epidemic proportions.”

The film, Photograph, tells the story of Holly and her boyfriend Dylan. Holly sends Dylan a private photo, which he promises not to show anyone.

They break up, he distributes the photos and Holly becomes the laughing stock of her school.

Ms Treyvaud said the film was an exceptional education tool.

“This has been bigger and more significant than we ever thought.”

She has used the film to show students, parents and teachers the serious problem that is infecting schools in Australia and around the world.

“As a kid said to me, `We are visual learners - we would rather watch a video like that than listen to an adult that doesn’t get it’.”

The involvement of Bendigo Police in the film was a big wake-up call for many students watching the production.

The reaction from Ms Treyvaud’s international colleagues has been exceptional.

“I’ve been terribly, terribly thrilled - the US and the UK have said `yes, we want to distribute it’.”

Ms Treyvaud said her fellow expert on cyber bullying, Professor Donna Cross, showed Photograph at a conference in Europe, to great acclaim.

The response was: “This is such a necessary and vital piece of work - how do we get it?”

Parents and students have told Ms Treyvaud that the film should become part of the national curriculum and should be used as a preventive measure.

Project manager Lee Baxter said the sale of the film should lead to more resources being produced.

“It will be distributed internationally and should create revenue that will make the project sustainable.”