|
Asheville-made movie
focuses
on shadowy trade in
humans
by By Paul
Clark, PCLARK@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
published September 22, 2007 12:15 am
ASHEVILLE- The producers of "A Dance for Bethany" hope the film gives Asheville worldwide exposure
while drawing the nation's attention to something many people are working to hide - human
trafficking.
"A Dance for Bethany," a film produced in various locations around Asheville, opened Friday at the
Carmike. It will have showings at the Cinebarre theater next week, leading up to a Thursday
premiere at the Fine Arts theater downtown.
Filmmakers Yvonne and Marion Williams, of North Asheville, hope the gala won't glitz over the
shadowy world of the film's subject matter. At least 27 million people are being held in
slaverylike situations around the world, Mini Singh, a former employee of the Feminist Sexual
Ethics Project at Brandeis University, states on the project's Web site.
"Setting the movie in Asheville "was not meant to link it to sex trafficking," said Yvonne
Williams, who wrote the screenplay, "but to get (Asheville's name) out there as a city."
There are plenty of locations for people to see, including Wall Street, Richmond Hill Inn, the Ice
Factory and Grace Episcopal Church. More than 200 Asheville area residents were hired for limited
roles when the film was produced in 2006, executive producer Marion Williams said.
If he and his wife were successful in getting a national and international distribution deal, "A
Dance for Bethany" will bring more exposure to the growing film industry centered in Asheville.
Several film and video production companies have moved or opened in the area in recent years,
including 2 Bruce Studio and See No Evil Films, both of Asheville. The film and video production
industry spent about $5 million last year in Western North Carolina - up from $3.5 million the year
before, according to Mary Trimarco, director of the WNC Film Commission.
"A Dance For Bethany" chronicles the struggle of reporter Abbey Fisher (played by Robyn Lively) to
free herself from the bondage of a politically correct and comfortable lifestyle to help Bethany
Stevenson (Laurie Beth Edgeman), a stripper forced to work as a prostitute by handlers that enslave
and abuse her.
The movie is actually a romantic drama about the friction in the relationship between Abbey and her
husband, James (William McNamara), firebrands for justice when they were dating in college but who
become complacent in their professional success.
The Williamses produced "A Dance for Bethany" for less than $2 million, they said, declining to be
more specific. Once the film's investors are paid back, their nonprofit production company - Raise
the Bar Productions - will give proceeds the film generates to organizations that work to rescue
victims of the human sex trade, including the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition of San Diego and
the New York Coalition Against Sex Trafficking.
The Williamses have been going to local churches to distribute fliers in hopes of attracting
members to showings in Asheville. They are working to have the film shown in Carmike theaters in
specific cities in the United States, hoping to get media attention that will propel the movie into
theaters elsewhere in the country.
In a year's time, the Williamses hope to have a national and international distribution deal, as
well as a deal with Netflix, Best Buy and other retailers, Marion Williams said.
"We want to use it as a ministry tool for the first year," he said.
The U.S. State Department defines human trafficking as modern-day slavery involving victims who are
forced, defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Annually, its Web site states,
about 600,000 to 800,000 people - mostly women and children - are trafficked across national
borders, which does not count millions who are trafficked within their own countries.
"Human trafficking has really become a multibillion-dollar industry," said Terry Coonan, executive
director of the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University, on his Web
site. "Unlike drugs, humans can be recycled. They can continue to be exploited, so it's a better
investment for the traffickers."
The film has already attracted supporters from out of state. The New York Coalition Against Sex
Trafficking will show it during a multiday event in late October, said Anya Cherneff, a program and
development associate at the coalition. "Hopefully, it will make people realize that trafficking
isn't just a international issue, but domestically, it is a big, big problem," Cherneff said. "It's
not just girls coming into this country, but it's also American girls that are being abused."
Vineyard Boise Church in Boise, Idaho, heard about the film and wants it to be shown in its city.
"When I found out about the movie," member Carrie Bisping said, "the thought I had was that this
could be one such opportunity ... to see not only a greater number of people informed but also see
the revenue brought in go toward those already directly involved in the rescue and rehabilitation
of the victims of child sex trafficking."
"We felt it was something we were called to do," Williams said. "It seemed to be a story that
wanted to be told at this time. Every film that you see exploits an issue of some kind, and it
generates revenue. We want to turn that around and raise awareness and plow money back into the
people that are working to make a difference."
|
