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Sita's Story Everyone has a story. Award-winning filmmaker Kathleen Man tells Sita’s on January 13, at the Dairy Center for the Arts as part of a fundraiser to benefit Free A Child. Shot in and around Hetauda, Nepal, in January through March 2004, Sita, a Girl from Jambu is a powerful and honest narrative documentary feature film about a young Nepalese village girl who is trafficked into sexual slavery in Mumbai. After contracting HIV/AIDS in the brothel, Sita must make the long journey home to her estranged family. “Sita, a Girl from Jambu seeks to educate audiences about the root causes of child exploitation in the global sex trade, and educates the local population about the nature of HIV/AIDS, how it is caught and transmitted,” said Man. “There have been several recent documentaries on this issue, but none to my knowledge offer an intimate view of life in Nepal and the cultural and economic factors that lead to the exploitation and prostitution of women and children.” The roles of Sita as well as the other female cast members are played by the women in Free A Child’s anti-trafficking program in Nepal, and the film portrays actual footage of the street drama performed by the women and girls in Free A Child’s anti-trafficking program. Man emphasizes that the fight against sexual slavery must happen on four fronts: community-wide education and awareness; empowerment of women and children; law enforcement; and rehabilitation. Most efforts focus on the latter two, the raiding of brothels and prosecution of criminals followed by the sheltering of liberated victims. However, sexual trafficking will not stop until the supply and demand factor is addressed. Sita stresses the importance of awareness and vigilance, as well as how we can transform the landscape of sex trafficking until there is no one vulnerable enough to trick and sell into a life of slavery. Braving the escalating violence during the Maoist rebellion in Nepal in early 2004, and not long before King Gyanendra seized absolute power in a coup on February 1, 2005, Man drew upon various narrative and documentary traditions, employed a local cast of non-professional actors, and produced the film for $2500, including travel expenses. Inspired by French New Wave directors, Italian neorealists and the mavericks of New American cinema, Man drew upon cinéma-vérité techniques to develop and produce Sita. She worked with non-actors and shot in remote villages, in the very homes of some of the poorest people in the world to achieve a level of realism which reveals the context in which these people live and labor. The result is a complete picture of the root causes of trafficking and sexual slavery: poverty, vulnerability, and the disempowerment of women. “Poverty and the subjugation of women around the world can no longer be ignored. It's time countries with greater resources and power make a long-lasting commitment to help their poorer neighbors,” Man said. A 1999 Fulbright Fellow in Paris, France, and an award-winning filmmaker, Man received an M.F.A. in film and video production and an M.A. in communication studies both from the University of Iowa, and holds a B.A. with honors and distinction in film studies from Yale University. Man has been an assistant professor of film production in the Film Studies Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder since 2001, where she teaches directing, cinematography, editing and screenwriting. “I hope that Sita moves people enough to prompt them to ask themselves what they can do to help those that do not have the same opportunities that they do,” said Man. All proceeds from the Jan. 13 showing benefit Free A Child. Friday, January 13, 2006
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