Additional Case Studies:
Sacrifice
A Burmese girl featured in Sacrifice, a film by Ellen Bruno
“They come from Thailand looking for children with passion not yet stirring, green like mangoes not fully sweet,” says a young Burmese woman pulled into the sex trade.
Filmmaker Ellen Bruno had worked in refugee relief for a decade before going into film making, which she turned to in order to affect policy rather than address the results of its failures. “My agenda is to use film as a tool, to open people’s eyes and also bring resources to a problem,” Bruno said.
The effect of Sacrifice on viewers, when it aired in the documentary series P.O.V., was immediate. “I got a stack of e-mails from people, saying, “What can I do, where can I give money, can I adopt these girls—people from all walks of life,” said Bruno.
Filmmaker Ellen Bruno
A wide range of organizations worked with P.O.V. to promote the film’s broadcast, including the Global Fund for Women, Amnesty International and the Center for Economic and Social Rights. NAATA (National Asian American Telecommunications Association) developed a strategic marketing campaign targeting Asian-American media and organizations, also preparing materials in the Thai language.
Sacrifice was used as a lobbying tool in Congress to support legislation on trafficking of children in the sex industry worldwide. Groups working on human rights in Thailand and on the border eagerly seized on it and have used it to educate and engage audiences.