Greenwich International Film Fesival (GIFF) is excited to help promote the upcoming complimentary screening of I Am Jane Doe, hosted by Global PEHT on November 2nd at Bow Tie Cinemas in Greenwich, CT. Directed by Mary Mazzio, founder and CEO of 50 Eggs, LLC, an independent film production company, I am Jane Doe explores the provocative issue of “child prostitution.” Many will be familiar with Mazzio’s award-winning films that so successfully challenge the status quo, including Underwater Dreams in 2014 and TEN9EIGHT in 2009, but I am Jane Doe raises an issue that people often struggle to acknowledge. Narrated by Jessica Chastain (The Help, The Martian), the film documents the harrowing stories of three teenage girls from Boston, Seattle, and St Louis who were victims of sex-trafficking. The determined efforts made by their families and lawyers to bring those responsible to justice are chronicled in real-time and expose a perturbing lack of judicial provision for cases such as these. At the center of the accusations lies Backpage, an online classified website that is alleged to host advertisements placed by traffickers offering under-age sex. Currently protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, organizations like Backpage are not held responsible for the content posted on their sites. The battle to protect innocent victims from predators and enablers like Backpage, ricochets from court room to senate judiciary commission, and has been a successful catalyst for legislative change, culminating in the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017.
I Am Jane Doe is a seminal film that reveals a darkness in our world that must be exposed. We are blessed to live in a community of wealth and privilege, and with that comes a responsibility to fight for those without a voice. It is our hope that this film will open hearts and minds and galvanize our community to take action and fight for victims everywhere by standing in solidarity with Women and girls who have paid dearly for a culture that continues to buy and sell women.” – Elizabeth Koldyke Boolbol, Founder, Global PEHT.
Global PEHT (Partnership to End Human Trafficking), is a social enterprise and global community aimed at offering a sustainable, long-term strategy to aid in the fight to end human trafficking, the fastest growing illegal business in the world. The state of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families received over 500 calls in 2016 linked to suspected trafficking. Nationally, of the 100,000 children sold for sex each year, most are aged between 12 and 14. The underground sex economy is extremely lucrative and generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
For more information about Global PEHT: https://www.globalpeht.
For more information about the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/
For more information about Mary Mazzio and 50 Eggs:
https://www.50eggs.com/
