"Very Young Girls" (2007)
Very Young Girls, whose title reflects the fact that in the United States the average age of entry into prostitution is just thirteen. The film takes us into the work of a former sexually exploited youth-turned-activist named Rachel Lloyd, who started the New York City organization GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services) to help victimized young women escape their pimps and find another way of life. We meet teen aged girls at different stages of this transition. Some have been so psychologically manipulated by their pimps that they feel compelled to return. Others have successfully broken with their pasts. As we come to know these girls better, they emerge as well-rounded individuals full of unexpected laughter and insight. One chilling element the film uncovers is a videotape - confiscated by police - of two pimps recording their activities with the intent of making a reality television show. Later we see Lloyd get recognized for her work at a human rights awards ceremony shortly after the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" wins an Academy Award. Written by Jonsey Street Dreams (2012)
Despite Asia’s well-documented prostitution and human trafficking issues, the voices of those caught up in it are still largely silent. We wish to explore the heartfelt, tragic yet hopeful stories of young girls in South East Asia, trapped in a cruel world where they are exploited, their childhoods stolen from them, but who still have dreams. While Street Dreams aims to tackle the overwhelming injustice that is the flesh-trade industry, we are aiming to steer away from the depressing world that viewers typically see and struggle to relate to, and rather focus on a concept that is shared by everyone – childhood dreams. It is here where the audience will see how real human hope, love and determination stare in the face of despair every day, holding on to promises of a better life. One of the underlying subtexts of this documentary will be the role of the western society in creating an environment where the multi-billion dollar global industry of human trafficking and flesh trade flourishes. During the film, the audience will realise these workers are metaphor for the western world’s ongoing exploitation of entire nations crippled by immense poverty and injustice. One main character in the film will be social worker Marlene Alastra from F.O.C.U.S who knows the girls and their situations very well. |
" Not My Life" (2010)
Directed by: Robert Bilheimer Filmed on five continents over a period of four years, Not My Life unflinchingly, but with enormous dignity and compassion, depicts the unspeakable practices of a multi-billion dollar global industry whose profits, as the film's narration says, "are built on the backs and in the beds of our planet's youth." While acknowledging that trafficking and slavery are universal crimes, affecting millions of human beings all over the world, Not My Life zeroes in on the fact that the vast majority of trafficking and slavery victims are indeed children. This fundamental truth, says the film's director, Oscar® nominee Robert Bilheimer, raises profound questions about the very nature of our civilization. "What kind of society cannibalizes its own children?" Bilheimer asks. "Can we do these sorts of things on such a large scale and still call ourselves human in any meaningful sense of the term?" Not My Life features dignified and inspiring testimony from survivors; depictions of trafficking, exploitation, and slavery in all parts of the world including forced labor in Africa; street begging and garbage picking in India; sexual trafficking in the United States and Southeast Asia; and various forms of child enslavement and abuse in both North and South America. Nefarious: Merchant of Souls (2011)Nefarious: Merchant of SoulsNe·far·i·ous [ni-fair-ee-uhs] (adjective): extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous
Nefarious: Merchant of Souls is a hard-hitting documentary that exposes the disturbing trends of modernday sex slavery. From the first scene, Nefarious gives an in-depth look at the human trafficking industry, showing where slaves are sold (often in developed, affluent countries), where they work, and where they are confined. With footage shot in over nineteen different countries, Nefarious exposes the nightmare of sex slavery as experienced by hundreds of thousands daily, through the eyes of both the enslaved and their traffickers. Nefarious features expert analysis from international humanitarian leaders, and captures the gripping and triumphant testimonies of survivors in order to galvanize hope and vision. From initial recruitment to victim liberation—and everything in between—the previously veiled underworld of sex slavery is uncovered in the groundbreaking, tell-all Nefarious: Merchant of Souls. Exodus Cry: In response to the sex trafficking crisis, Nefarious: Merchant of Souls director, writer, and producer, Benjamin Nolot, founded Exodus Cry, an international anti-trafficking organization. Exodus Cry is built on a foundation of prayer and is committed to abolishing sex slavery through Christ-centered prevention, intervention, and holistic restoration of trafficking victims. Learn more about Exodus Cry at exoduscry.com. |