Through the depiction of the story of 15-year-old Marty, the miniseries #martyisdead focuses on the issue of cyberbullying. It begins with a car accident in which Martin, nicknamed Marty, dies. His father then finds communications and a series of chilling videos on Marty's computer, which Marty recorded shortly before his death. Marty’s father then puts together the pieces of the puzzle of Marty’s online life, ultimately revealing the unpleasant circumstances of his tragic end. Over the course of eight episodes, the viewer is drawn into situations and events that reveal selected methods and ways of cyberbullying.

The series is unique because all presented situations were taken from real-life cases that the SIC has dealt with in the Czech Republic. 

 For CZ.NIC, this award is a commendation for our long-term activities in the field of internet security and related education. Our main goal in this project was to draw attention to the threat of cyberbullying and the risks that users, especially younger ones, may encounter on the internet. We are very happy that the #martyisdead series was met with such success and we believe that this form of publicity will also help raise awareness of topics that are directly related to the downsides of communication on the internet

Ondřej Filip, CEO of the CZ.NIC Association, which runs the Czech Safer Internet Centre

Other international successes of the #martyisdead series include the award for the best Central and Eastern European web series at the Serial Killer Festival, Austin Film Festival prize, Marseille Web Fest prize, or a successful launch at festivals SerienCamp or London Lift-Off Film Festival 2020.      

The series was produced by Bionaut, Mall.tv, and the CZ.NIC Association under the "Safely on the Net" project carried out by the Czech Safer Internet Centre and co-financed from the CEF programme. The SIC sees the award as a result of outstanding collaboration between filmmakers and producers, child safety experts, and police forces that deal with this form of crime. 

The Czech Safer Internet Centre is now preparing a new television series focused on child abduction, random meetings arranged through social networks and wanted children. Called #annaismising, the new season will be released in the spring of 2021.   

For more information on the series, visit www.martyisdead.cz. You can watch the #martyisdead series with English subtitles on Mall.tv.

Find out more about the work of the Czech Safer Internet Centre, including their awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.