Film
Local Filmmakers Explore Issue of Child Exploitation
by Shakira Croce
Wednesday April 4, 2007
Two million children every year are exploited in the multi-billion dollar child trafficking and prostitution industry, with an estimated 400,000 child victims in the U.S. alone and international child sex trafficking documented in over 20 states, including New York. There is little penalization for the criminals who cause an estimated one-third of child prostitutes to contract HIV/AIDS. So what is to be done about this global tragedy?
In a special event at SLC March 29, the answer to this question was simply put as the motto for the Redlight Children Campaign. “Expose it. Fight it. End it.” Guy Jacobson, who was the guest speaker at this event, is the nucleus of this campaign, which began in 2002 in a life-changing trip to Phnom Penh when this New York lawyer personally encountered young girls attempting to solicit him for sex. Jacobson spent the next two years reseraching child sexploitation and has now devoted his life to launching a three-pronged attack against the third largest criminal activity in the world. He is the President of Priority Films, which will rlease three films under the K11 Project that expose child sexploitation, coordinates events and internet networking, and more effective legislation revamping of new and current laws country-by-country, ensuring that the necessary resources are allocated to make their enforcement effective. Jacobson reflects, “I assume that most people fall into the same category as I in being aware that there is underage porstitution but not realizing that it occurs on such a large and tragic scale. There are probably victims and perpetrators in every city, large and small, in virtually every country.”
Perhaps the most engaging and unique aspects of this campaign are the films that Jacobson wrote and produced based on the true lives of abducted children. Excerpts from these films were previewed by attendees of the SLC event prior to their release in theatres: Holly, a narrative film inspired by Jacobson’s experiences, starring Ron Livingston, Virginie Ledoyan, Udo Kier, the late Chris Penn, and Thuy Nguyen, The Virgin Harvest, a documentary, and The K11 Journey, a behind-the-scenes television seriesi on the filmmakers’ experiences while shooting the film’s undercover on-sight in active brothels in 2004, with the Cambodian government and organized criminals attempting to confiscate the reels, the production team being guarded 24/7 by AK-47s. The films, projected to be released in the summer of this year, have received rave eviews, with Newsday describing Holly as “Festival’s most sought-after tickets… gut-wrenching.” Alec Baldwin, presenting the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival stated, “A brilliant film with a real consistency of tone… that stayed with me,” and Oliver Stone added that they are “Beautiful and well-done.”
As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” With an online sign-up, assisting the Redlight Children campaign is easy to do. Once a member registers, a letter will be sent to government officials to pass the improved registration, which when effectively enforced will deter and harshly penalize child offenders. Jacobson and his team of college student interns coordinate events at various universities and help to raise awareness locally, nationally, and globally. For more information on how to make a difference visit www.redlightchildren.org to quickly register, join the Facebook group, which raises money for the campaign through the donations of corporate sponsors based on the number of members, or contact scroce@slc.edu or aromangoli@slc.edu to get involved with or intern for their campaign.
