Sold

Sold is an excellent movie that discusses the issues of human trafficking in South Asia through following the story of one young girl.

While at times it was hard to watch due to the nature of the scenes and the age of the actors, it opened my eyes to a reality that is happening to millions of people everyday.

Shot in Nepal and India the beauty of the landscapes contrasts with the horrors of the storyline (however, there are some light hearted scenes to give the audience a break).

This movie does more that just tell a story it is a vehicle for change as it sheds a light on one of the biggest human rights issues of our time : Human trafficking.

SOLD is an uncomfortable watch. A 13-year-old girl is repeatedly raped and as the viewer, we have to sit back and witness it, glancing away from the screen because at times it's too difficult to fathom, or perhaps taking brief looks while shuffling in our seats trying hard to focus on something else, just to get through the movie.

The film is based on a novel of the same name by Patricia McCormick. It centres on a young Nepali girl who is sold by her father unknowingly to a brothel in India. She is taken here against her will, beaten, tortured and raped until she finally escapes.

An estimated 20,000 children are trafficked from Nepal every year, a figure that is rising. It is not an issue exclusive to the country, but a form of human slavery that exists all over the world; a subject that Director Jeffrey Brown aims to raise awareness about through his debut film.

There is little respite, just a few moments of joy when the children of the brothel are given brief opportunities to be kids such as flying kites and dropping waterbombs on unsuspecting passers by made from condoms – but there's no 'happy ending' to look forward to. Life for these women is depicted just as it is in reality – difficult, desperate, depressing…all the negatives you can think of.

Who is this film for? It doesn't exist to 'entertain' or make viewers come out and think 'I loved that film' – it serves a different purpose. One that we often overlook in filmmaking. It has the power to change things. SOLD will make you reassess your own situation, spark discussion and raise awareness. It may even give hope to the women around the world who are in this situation as there are plans to screen it in schools, colleges and centres to educate people. At the very least it will give you an insight into a world you will never experience – something it does with passion and sensitivity.

SOLD takes a while to digest but it's a film that is bold, brave and necessary: something you can't say about the majority of movies that are churned out of Hollywood and Bollywood.

Just viewed this film at the 18th Sonoma International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. It is a terribly difficult film to watch as the subject matter -- the forced prostitution of a very young Nepali girl into a brothel in Calcutta, India -- is excruciating. But the film is made with love -- the young girl shares humanity with others caught in these circumstances, befriends a little boy who is a child of one of the other prostitutes, is protected by another captive……i.e. the human experience in all its squalor and splendor. Seeing the film in a festival environment was a great gift as the Q&A with some of the principals following the presentation made clear that this is not just a third world problem: we have this same problem right here in our own back yard. A friend has already begun a circle of women here in Sonoma to reach out to young women who are being used as slave prostitutes in our supposedly sublime county. The power of film to change lives! Bravo!

Child trafficking happens all over the world--even in my backyard, Sonoma County--as I learned during one of the preview discussions after Sold. We live in a world where the vulnerable are taken advantage of ("Oh, your daughter will have a good job in the city"), and believe what they are told despite evidence to the contrary (elections). Sold helps us touch our compassion and caring with its specificity and hope. The film takes a difficult subject and makes it accessible without beating us over the head as a documentary might. It's also visually beautiful as it opens the edgy worlds of sex-for-money and trafficking in India and Nepal.Highly recommended!

I flew for a major airline for 35 years, I am now 79 years old. As in the Johnny Cash song, I have been everywhere, well most everywhere.

One of our destinations was Bombay, India now known as Mumbai. In the early 1970's, I was able to fly there with my seniority as a copilot. Bombay was full of interesting things to visit and see. The red light district was known as "The Cages", You could walk one of the major streets which bordered The Cages. I knew what the business was that was going on inside but I never understood the reality of the business until I saw the movie "SOLD". I am so happy that some people made this movie and that I was able to see it before I am no longer around. Thank You for the movie.