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Human Trafficking

Nona – Dream Trip Turns to Nightmare

Most of the Michael Polish film Nona seems like a dream. There are new young people who seem to have a wonderful life opening up for them. But for one of them this dream turns into a nightmare.

A young Honduran woman (Sulem Calderon) lives in a shanty town. She seems happy enough, but she is alone. When a rakish young man (Jesy McKinney) comes to town, she becomes fascinated by his attitude and free spirit. When he invites her to come north with him, she sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with her mother in the U.S. As the two travel through Guatemala and Mexico by car, bus, boat, and on foot, it seems like an idyllic and romantic time. They share their stories and it seems they could be falling in love.

But in the last quarter of the film, the story makes a sudden shift. They don?t cross the border together. Instead he hands her over to a coyote to smuggle her across while he goes through immigration. But the other side of the border is not what she expected or hoped for. She must now pay off her debt in a brothel.

The film is a strange combination of beauty and darkness. The journey brings many wonderful sights. But throughout the story there is a constant presence of death. The young woman says she ?paints the dead??she worked at a mortuary applying makeup to the bodies. She says that death is a big business in Honduras. He father and brother met violent deaths. She is used to seeing dead bodies in the street. We can understand her desire to find a better life.

There is also a religious undertone to the movie. Even before we meet the young man, we see him being prayed over by a street preacher. On their journey north, they stop in a church to pray. He tells her that Jesus saved his life. Is his faith just for show? Will her faith protect her from the dangers of this trip?

The last few minutes of the film has Kate Bosworth (who produced the film) as a detective who gives voice to the issues faced by victims of human trafficking. A title card at the end gives statistics about how many people are affected by trafficking, but the story of a single woman who becomes the face of human trafficking victims is more powerful that the numbers we see.

Traffik: Blinded by the Light

?We have a moral obligation to tell the whole story.? ? Brea (TRAFFIK)

Written and directed by Deon Taylor, Traffik?tells the story of Brea (Paula Patton), a struggling journalist looking for a big story. When she and her boyfriend John (Omar Epps) travel to the mountains for a romantic weekend, they are confronted by a group of men on motorcycles. When they reach their destination, they realize that they have come into the possession of a cell phone which is of vital importance to a group of sex traffickers, which the bikers are desperate to retrieve.

Roselyn Sanchez, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso and Omar Epps star in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

Inspired by a warning from his daughter?s school, Traffik?is clearly a personal project for Taylor. Through his research for the film, he claims that his eyes were opened to the dangerous, unseen underbelly of the world around him in a way that deepens the film?s impact. Through its use of lighting and cinematography, Traffikcreates an otherworldly dichotomy without leaving reality. In essence, the most terrifying thing about the film is that it feelsreal. While one might question his decision to utilize the thriller genre as opposed to a more documentary structure, the film benefits from the urgency within the narrative tone.

By keeping locations tight and shadows ominous, Taylor manages to create tension and fear in the midst of the everyday, without creating overblown villains or extravagant set pieces.With Taylor?s decision to create ?two films in one?, one of the most engaging parts of the script also seems to work against its success. Whereas the second half of the film feels urgent and grounded, the film?s first half struggles to feel relevant. Somewhat ironically, that seems to be the point. Taylor?s vision for the film seeks to point out that the harsh realities of trafficking do, in fact, offset the excesses of modern life. However, the amount of screen time invested in Brea and John?s relationship inadvertently slows down what ultimately becomes a satisfying ride.

Omar Epps and Paula Patton star in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

Peeling back the assumptions we have about our world, Traffik?is a powerful reminder of how we allow ourselves to be blinded simply by our own disinterest. By shining a light of truth up to the world, the film reminds us that there remains shadows in the corners of our own neighborhoods to which we are blissfully unaware. More than a simple ?thrill ride?, Traffik?is a calling to expose the evils of our world with the light of truth. Like Brea and John, we too can find ourselves obsessed with our own success and well-being, ignoring the darkness for fear of discomfort. As a result, Traffik?invites us to open our eyes to the realities that we choose to ignore in an effort to bring justice to the oppressed. As God views every life as valuable as reflections of His image, so too does a film like this call us to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Paula Patton stars in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

Unafraid to delve into the realities of human trafficking, writer/director Deon Taylor grounds the film in a world that seems so familiar but seems terrifyingly foreign at the same time. In many ways, you can hear his voice through the character of Brea as she explains her ?moral obligation to tell the whole story?. In the end, it?s this attitude of responsibility that gives Traffik?its power as well.

 

Traffik?is in theatres now.

Stopping TRAFFIK: 1on1 with Deon Taylor (writer/director, TRAFFIK)

In his latest film, Traffik, writer/director Deon Taylor tells the story of Brea (Paula Patton), a struggling journalist looking for a big story. When she and her boyfriend John (Omar Epps) travel to the mountains for a romantic weekend, they are confronted by a group of men on motorcycles. When they reach their destination, they realize that they have come into the possession of a cell phone which is of vital importance to a group of sex traffickers, which the bikers are desperate to retrieve. Admittedly, Taylor never imagined that he would be involved in bringing a film like this to the screen. However, when a letter from his daughter?s school opened his eyes, he found that the reality of industry was right in front of him..

?I never thought in a million years and then I will be doing a movie called Traffik,? he begins, ?especially just as an African American male director. It just probably wasn’t going to be in the cards for me. What happened was that my daughter’s school sent this email to me one day and it said to be careful, dropping your kids off at the local mall because kids are being trafficked there. I was just blown away because you’ve seen it all right? Like, we’ve seen guns. You get letters about everything now. Bomb threats, etc. But that was the first time for me, you know what I mean??

Stunned by the letter, Taylor began to explore the issue of trafficking more thoroughly. After doing some research, he found that the problem was far more prevalent than he?d once believed.

Roselyn Sanchez, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso and Omar Epps star in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

?Obviously, as a dad, I just was kind of blown away by this,? Taylor insists. ?I originally though that it doesn’t apply to us because, well, we’re black and maybe that’s not what’s happening. Then I was blown away, man. I went online and googled it and started looking at trafficking and trafficking in my area and I was just surprised to see hundreds and hundreds of cases, even kids in local communities around me that had been trafficked and escaped. Then, I just kept reading and finding out that this was a much bigger domestic problem that I ever imagined in my life. Here I am thinking that this is an international thing. It’s not about here or that’s not for African American kids [that] what I thought was wrong. 62 percent of African American women are leading the charge of being trafficked domestically, followed by Latinos and underserved markets.?

As a result of his findings, Taylor found that his eyes were quickly opened to the widespread problem to which he had been blissfully unaware.?Everything that I had thought was not what it was supposed to be,? he reiterates. ?I was gearing up to write something else and this just stayed with me. It’s the thought of it that haunted me. I became engulfed in reading the headlines based on the true stories about people escaping and didn’t escape and eventually I wrote the film, we did it and here we are. Just like that, in a blink of an eye, every time I watched CNN, I see it on the ticker tape. Every time I’ve watched the local news, it’s there. [And I thought], has it been here this whole time? I just didn’t know? And that’s when it really just kind of grabbed me.?

Though the topic of human trafficking is usually associated with the documentary format, Taylor intentionally sought to do something different with Traffik. A huge fan of the thriller genre, it was his belief that, by utilizing that format for his film, he would be able to educate through entertainment.

Omar Epps and Paula Patton star in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

?I had already been a really big fan of The Vanishing. I just kind of was playing around with the idea [of making a thriller] and I just said I’m going to write this,? he claims. ?I’m just going to take the chance to make a movie with this as the backdrop to see if, not only can we create a thriller around it but then at the same time, really figure out a way to educate a younger audience, [especially] African American audiences, or Latino audiences. We can wrap the peel around candy and let them take it this way.?

Nevertheless, Taylor also insists that his use of the thriller format in no way sacrifices his commitment to the realities of the problem.

?What I tried to do on the film was to make the trafficking part is true to form as possible,? he states, “like in terms of how you’re attracting the needles, dirty shot, the transportation, holding people in holding areas, not wanting to speak to anyone in public when you are released. I just tried to find the real beats. I’m really proud of the film, man.?

One of the key elements to the narrative lies in the fact that it presents itself as almost two separate films. By opening the film with the sensibilities of a modern romantic drama, the film eventually veers into the dark and dangerous world below. For Taylor, the key element in bringing this atmosphere lay in his cinematographer, Dante Spinotti.

?The movie was built that way. The idea behind this was a lot of different factors to allow you to feel that [the film splits in two tones]. One was, you know, obviously having Dante Spinotti as our cinematographer, from LA Confidential. He is probably one of the best to ever light anything like, and we wanted to create a world to where the movie when from a fun loving, kind of loose-based thriller into where it turned into what I’m going to [compare to] a car crash.?

Paula Patton stars in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

With an experienced cinematographer like Spinnoti at the helm, Taylor felt confident that they could bring a modern film noir element to the screen. In doing so, he wanted the viewer to feel as though they have fallen into a world that exists in reality yet seems foreign and dangerous.

Says Taylor, ?[We wanted] to create a noir thriller. So, we open the movie up with a lot of big vistas, a lot of big greens, beautiful, classic car, you know what I mean? The characters are bold in the frame and it’s beautifully lit all the way to when you get to the pool and the kiss and the making love. [Though,] when the doorbell rings and the girl comes to the door, the entire film from that point on becomes a noir. The forest is lit by headlights from a car. The cabin is lit by a very dim light in the corner of the cabinet, right? It just squishes everything into it and the characters are smaller in frame. The world is vastly tighter. It feels like you’re going on another ride.?

Roselyn Sanchez, Laz Alonso, Paula Patton and Omar Epps star in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

?Have you ever done anything in your life where you have a great day and then something tragic happens, [whether it?s] a car accident, a bad phone call, a death in the family? Everything warps into another world. I thought wouldn’t it be great to actually just pull the carpet from people. The movie is based in and grounded in reality and it would just be great to abruptly turn the page and now you’re in this world and it’s fight or flee.?

Of course, a film with this level of seriousness requires a strong cast. Thankfully, Taylor found the balance between the intelligence and intensity he was looking for in actress Paula Patton for the lead role.

?What I thought Paula did was amazing in the movie,? he responds. ?She found a delicate balance where she’s scared out of her mind, but at the same time she’s fighting and she has to figure it out. Ultimately, she does. I don’t know if people will get it or not, but I just love the fact that she beats her with her mind at the end. I felt like [she] fought through so much and now psychologically she beats them, you know? I just thought that was kinda cool.?

To Taylor, one of the most earth-shattering stories came from a woman on their set who had been involved in the industry herself. By listening to her journey, he realized how methodical and dangerous the world of trafficking truly is.

Paula Patton stars in Traffik
Photo: Scott Everett White

?You know, I’ll blow your mind now here…,? he starts. ?We had a lady that was on the set with us who was a victim but here’s where it gets more interesting. Not only was she a victim when she was a young black woman but ultimately, she became part of the organization and she began trafficking other people. We found out during this process that this was normal. She said that she’d trafficked kids, mothers, boys, because what better face [to entrap them] than a woman. They can get to another woman or to a boy to a young girl quicker than a man could. I thought that, man, this is the most evil thing I’ve ever heard in my life.??

In light of this, there is a key moment in the film where Paula accuses another woman involved in the trafficking business of being a traitor. For Taylor, this line is more than just snappy dialogue but an accusation of betrayal against her own gender.

?What’s crazy is the psychology of that because, if you’re in a store and your little girl goes missing, [when] you start looking around who are you looking for?,? asks Taylor. ?The first thing you’re looking for as a man is a guy escaping, right? You’re not thinking that the random white woman at the counter holding the bag of groceries is conspiring to put together a ring or whatever. So, the ?traitor? line was very interesting for us because it’s like she’s a traitor to women or to the gender. We just thought that was a powerful, powerful moment.?

Traffik?opens in theatres on April 20th, 2018

For full audio of our interview with Deon, click here.

 

Priceless: What’s A Person Worth?

priceless2As the father of three daughters, there?s always concern about their welfare?making sure they?re taken care of, providing a loving home for them to be raised in, and taking care of them when they?re sick, hurt, or simply need a hug or listening ear.? I certainly don?t want anything bad to happen to them and will protect them at all costs. But I still am nervous from time to time when reading some of the statistics about abduction and human trafficking.? It?s one of the reasons Priceless, the new movie from Joel and Luke Smallbone of For King and Country, made an indelible impact on me.? It?s not perfect, but is a reminder that all people are of value?just as Dr. Seuss noted in his work Horton Hears a Who.

If you don?t think human trafficking is something you should be concerned with, think again. The FBI notes that trafficking is believed to be the third largest criminal activity globally.? It?s not just about sex either: their site notes, ?Human trafficking includes forced labor, domestic servitude, and commercial sex trafficking. It involves both U.S. citizens and foreigners alike, and has no demographic restrictions.?? That right there should give reason for pause.

priceless3Priceless attempts to peel back some of the layers of secrecy involving trafficking.? Joel Smallbone plays James Stevens, a guy who?s definitely down on his luck.? After losing his wife, he spiraled down and ended up losing custody of his little girl.? Attempting to earn a paycheck, he began transporting cargo with the condition that he never asks what the contents of the truck are.? Of course, this raises a red flag, but desperation makes you do funny things.? After running off the road due to lack of sleep, he hears crying in the back of the truck.? Eschewing his orders, he opens the back to find two women?Antonia (Bianca Santos) and Maria (Amber Midthunder).? And then the orders not to check out the cargo?made sense.? The two women are as scared of him as he is of them (and speak limited English to boot), but he offers them a change to get a change of clothes and a meal.? He soon finds that his truck is not welcome at the hotel he hopes to stay at for the evening.? And after seeing Carlos (Jim Parrack) take the ladies away, he realizes he has to do something. But what?

The hotel operator, Dale (David Koechner), has seen the transporting of women before and offers to help James get the ladies back.? It?s not going to be easy, as the camera follows the girls into a house in a typical neighborhood, where they stay before being prepared to become sex slaves at a local hotel.? The girls know it?s a bad situation, but have no idea who to talk to or how to get out of it.? James begins to grow in his understanding of what to do?Dale calls it the Godshot (akin to Elijah hearing God?s voice after a windstorm, earthquake, and fire?see I Kings 19:9-18). So James does something wild?he attempts to free Antonia after calling in a thousand-dollar request to have relations with her (and no, he doesn?t make out with her).? She?s still nervous about what to do?and wants Maria to be saved as well.? The night ends with nobody being saved, but hope is potentially on the horizon.? But so is potential death once Carlos figures out what?s going on.

Will James and Dale?s attempt at vigilante justice work out?? Or will the curtain fall again on the ladies, resorting to a life of abuse and forced sexual exploits?

priceless5I have to admit that I was impressed with the film.? Smallbone does a great job as James, pulling off the nuances necessary to convey an individual torn between justice, his daughter, and protecting himself.? Koechner shines as Dale, a grizzled gentleman with a past that needs to be vindicated. The two ladies show fear in ways that are convincing, while Carlos and his band of henchmen come across as menacing folks for any parent watching.? However, the film is tastefully done?you know what?s going to happen when the door shuts, and even though you can?t see it, you?re reminded that the world can be a scary place at times.

There are a few issues with the film, mainly with slow pacing and some trite dialogue in places. I did, however, appreciate a faith aspect that wasn?t browbeaten into my subconscious. The beauty of Priceless will ultimately appear in the form of later discussions with others.? Teenagers should be okay with the film and will likely have questions afterward.? It?s a great time to remind kids that they need to be careful in life and online.? When a person admits they?re looking for love and acceptance to complete strangers, that?s a formula for catastrophe.

I hope none of the people reading this ever have to deal with this in life, but I?m not na?ve enough to think it can?t happen, as this type of situation existed in biblical times?think of Hosea?s charge from God to marry the prostitute Gomer and to buy her back later after she left him (Hosea 1; Hosea 3).? It was a foreshadowing of the future cost of Jesus? life as God showed the world how much a person is worth.? But in our own lives, we have to answer for ourselves what a person is worth?Priceless will help viewers find that answer and make a difference as a result.

By the way, if?you believe you are the victim of trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888. It’s?a national, toll-free hotline with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year related to potential trafficking victims, suspicious behaviors, and/or locations where trafficking is suspected to occur. ?Or you can leave a tip with them by clicking here.

Priceless: An Interview with Joel Smallbone

priceless1The name may not be immediately recognizable, but Joel Smallbone is a writer, producer, and singer for the Grammy Award-winning band For King and Country.? He?s working on a new role these days – actor – in an upcoming film called Priceless (release date: October 14).? The subject matter is one that promises to cause a reaction in viewers- human trafficking. I had an opportunity to talk to him recently about the film and learned quite a bit in the process.

The film revolves around a person by the name of James Stevens who became a ?vigilante against the [trafficking] system? and started a safe house for those individuals caught in the middle.? Since Smallbone has been an avid advocate for the cause (see pricelessmovement.com), he married James? story to the moment?an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances that is chivalrous and honors the worth of a woman. He plays the role of James and discovered that getting into a specific mindset was key in addition to understanding film is about the nuances, not always the major movements of the character.? But it was a great experience for him.

As for the movie?s main subject of trafficking, Smallbone says both sexes have a stake in the issue: ?We?re in an age where men are being sent signals as to their worth?is it success?? Alluring women?? Smallbone said. ?At the same time, women are trying to figure out who they are, but are getting it from numerous conflicting sources?music, culture, film, God?but which one of those is correct?? He adds, ?The film is a call to action to step out, stand out, and love well.?

Of course, trafficking is effective due to the secrecy that cloaks the practice. It?s difficult to get one?s hands around it, so it?s like chasing a shadow as to how to attack it, according to Smallbone.? So the important thing to do is start a conversation with kids and teenagers.? The age of sheltering kids from the world is no more?they?re going to contact aspects of human trafficking in some way.? It?s simply reality.? In the end, Smallbone hopes Priceless will cause viewers to say, ?It?s a good film, but I didn?t know this.? Let?s talk.?

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