Impact Days Catalogue
fifdh
By Miriam Chandy and Miriam Chandy Menacherry

From the Shadows

#MissingGirls
IMPACT DAYS

From The Shadows uses the imagery of public art to delve into missing narratives. It follows an artist down a black hole bringing to light the personal stories of survivors and their fight for justice. A grueling court battle questions whether law enforcement agencies, rather than protecting victims, are actually part of a network that exploits them?   The film explores the intersection of art and activism to paint portraits of an unlikely ensemble of ordinary women using ingenious ways to challenge the stranglehold of a multi-billion dollar cross-border trafficking industry.

Sections : Impact Days, Impact Days
Country : India
Original languages : Bengali, Hindi, English
Directors
Miriam Chandy
Miriam Chandy Menacherry (India)
Producers
Miriam Chandy Menacherry
Aalia Furniturewala
Sheena Matheiken
Claire Aguilar
Alysa Nahmias
Aalia Furniturewala (India)
Sheena Matheiken (India)
Miriam Chandy Menacherry (India)
Anand Ramayya (India)
Gary Byungseok Kam (Republic of Korea (South Korea))
Filament Pictures Pvt Ltd
Writers
Miriam Chandy Menacherry
Triparna Banerjee
Completion
2022
Impact Statement
The film has a unique approach that can push the audience off the edge of their seat to become active participants in countering the global issue of trafficking and human slavery at their local level. We hope to find an Impact Producer for our film to organise screenings and discussions with key influencers, policy makers and law enforcement officials to have global impact. At the Impact Day Forum we hope to identify collaborators, broadcasters and human rights festivals. To meet NGOs who address similar issues and will become part of our screening network to generate cohesive solutions. Special screenings in rural areas, with vulnerable communities especially the youth in schools, universities and NGOs will be part of gender sensitizing program. Our film aims to engage young boys by holding screenings in conjunction with the stencil art project, MISSING game that puts one in the shoes of a trafficked girl and AR interaction so youngsters are engaged, enlightened and committed to the issue.
As India's anti-trafficking bill awaits approval, a documentary highlighting brave collaborations is shown to youths, at-risk groups, and officials. A survivor's presence at screenings shifts her image from victim to powerful change-maker.
Impact Goals
  1. To make NGO funding available for prevention, prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration, not only rescues.
  2. To improve the justice system which is slow, has a conviction rate of less than 2%, no witness protection programme nor livelihood support for survivors who decide to prosecute.
  3. To reduce the exhaustive paperwork that a survivor must file with the police, medical
    4. representatives and courts, thus decreasing the risk of manipulation and error as it passes through multiple agencies.
  4. To find solutions to the fragile ecosystem that leaves a large populace vulnerable to trafficking after every flood, heightened by porous borders.
  5. To enable viewers of the film to become agents of change to prevent trafficking.
Impact Strategy
  • Funding policies are skewed towards rescues. But what happens after a girl is rescued? Most girls are retrafficked. Funding must support prevention, prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration and work towards collaborative models.
  • Trafficking stories commonly focus on « victims » rather than survivors who are agents of change. We want our protagonist to be hailed a hero, someone who can mentor others who decide to prosecute, for which we wish to find her an income.
  • Our survivor continues to face death threats as she fights for justice in court. We want NGOs and lawmakers to adopt a comprehensive witness protection program with the option of relocation and a new identity if need be.
  • Our film advocates procedures which should be simplified and weighed in on by survivors.
  • We wish to hold screenings at police academies, with border forces, and with lawmakers internationally as part of sensitisation efforts.
  • We want self-sustaining livelihood projects to be implemented in areas with a fragile ecosystem as this would help prevent the trafficking of girls (the Impulse NGO network model is a good example).
  • We feel that raised awareness and education of boys in vulnerable areas would help them evolve into agents of change.
Contact
Primary contact
Miriam Chandy Menacherry (India): miriamchandy@yahoo.com
Participants present at the Impact Days
Miriam Chandy Menacherry (India)
Aalia Furniturewala (India)

NGOs / Organisations
UNICEF
Dasra
Akshara Foundation

Broadcasters
TV2 Denmark, EBS Korea

NGOs / Organisations
UNICEF
Dasra
Akshara Foundation

Broadcasters
TV2 Denmark, EBS Korea