The synopsis of Jennifer Huang’s The Long Rescue reads how the film begins where most trafficking stories end: after the rescue. The focus is on teenage survivors in Cebu, The Philippines, and follows the girls for nine years focussing on “recovery rather than trauma, survivors rather than rescuers, contextualizing societal structures that perpetuate their ongoing struggles with poverty, violence and shame.”
“I know the urgency of this work on a very personal level,” producer Jethro Patalinghug underlined at FIFDH Impact Days. “I also grew up in Cebu and I unfortunately witnessed my own grandmother pimp my aunts, and my childhood friends were sold to foreigners – all for the sake of putting food on the table. And I myself experienced sexual abuse by a family member. So I deeply understand how vulnerable our protagonists are.”
“All of the girls say, despite the struggles that they’re still experiencing, that they want their stories to inspire others like them. What survivors say they need are stable jobs for food and housing. That’s why our very first impact goal is to advocate for greater work and educational opportunities, and also to raise emergency funds,” he added.
The second goal is to start a series of campaigns from The Philippines to “fight the stigma” of sexual abuse together with the film’s protagonists. “We are doing this through screenings and workshops with the aim to help the Filipino people have a deeper understanding about trauma,” added producer Hanz Florentino.
“And our third goal is for the film to become a catalyst within anti-violence movements in The Philippines, the US, and the whole world. Currently we are in late production and we plan to release the film in 2025. We have very enthusiastic audiences in women empowerment groups, faith-based organizations, anti-trafficking communities, and mental health providers.”
The project’s Impact statement stresses how, “we believe this film will alleviate survivor stigma and spark prevention programs, funding and greater care for victims, support for violence prevention and building resilient communities. Beyond that, we hope this film is part of an urgently needed global attitude shift that no longer tolerates rape culture, forced marriage, and trade in girls and women.”
The Geneva change-maker audience were addressed directly by Hope, one of the survivors in the film. “I’m 27 years old right now and I’m in the film because when I was 15 years old, I was trafficked by my mother and my stepfather. Both of them are now in jail, so I was rescued by…the local authorities here in Cebu. I’m hoping that through this film there will be an awareness to fight against human trafficking and also fight against abuse. I’m hoping also that this film will be an inspiration and hope to millions of viewers out there, and also that together we can help one another to end violence and also that there is hope after violence, after abuse. Even though that there are different traumas that we encountered, we are not alone and there are many people who are willing to help us and also support us in many ways.”
