Saturday, December 7, 2019

STIP Student Avaanti Sridhar Researches Human Trafficking for Film Project

Human trafficking is one of the biggest issues internationally throughout the world. While many initiatives, task forces, and movements have been implemented in order to put a stop to it, trafficking still exists. My career goal is to be a narrative filmmaker with a focus on creating stories that combat social injustices throughout society. My final project will be a short fiction film that tells a story about a human trafficking victim and the aftermath of their experience. The development and preproduction will be conducted in the Fall/Winter of 2019, then in the Spring of 2020, the actual film will go into production.

Before even thinking about telling a story, a person must conduct lots of background research and know as many facts about an issue as they can. This summer, I spent most of my time at the library, focusing on reading books and personal accounts about trafficking experiences. I conducted a lot of research on the demographics of trafficking, such as where it occurs the most and what groups of people are targeted primarily. This type of information helps with building a story. My long term goal of being a social change filmmaker will be strongly supported if my project goes well this next year. I am hoping that my film will be powerful, and can lead me to more opportunities within the film and entertainment industry. Film is a very powerful medium that people of all ages can enjoy. That is why it is very important for people to use this form of art to tell stories and create positive change in the world.

On a weekly basis, I go to the library and do research on databases where I take notes and record information that I read. One thing that I discovered this term is that there are always two sides to every story, and it is crucial to look at and talk about both in order to tell a powerful story.