THE RABBIT HOLE, is a dramatic short film centering around two sisters, Alicia (15) and Bella (7). At the beginning of the film, we witness the sisters playing a game where they try to guess the next country they want to escape to, Hawaii. We see their strong sisterly bond and see how much Bella looks up to Alicia. We sense some underlying tension between them and their Aunt, whom we just know as Aunty. Alicia dreams of supporting herself and Bella, but through traumatic imagery, we see the world of sexual exploitation and abuse that Alicia is wrapped up in. Although never stated, it’s heavily implied. The film concludes with a disturbing realization that this dark world has seeped into Bella’s life, threatening to shatter her innocent dreams and childhood.

SITUATION

Having done strictly documentary work, the client wanted to branch into narrative storytelling to increase reach with their production company partner. The production company needed to source a director with the proper experience and skills to accomplish this.

BRIEF

The production company approached the directors directly to create a short film highlighting the world of child sex trafficking. The directors were tasked with extensive research into the world of sexual exploitation and abuse. They were then tasked with writing an emotionally compelling short script that accurately portrayed and reflected this world.

OBJECTIVES

Create an accurate depiction of the cycle of child sexual exploitation and abuse in Latin America while simultaneously building empathy with the characters and a strong emotional connection with the viewers. Establish how grooming, exploitation, and abuse function in a web of poverty and trauma, fueled by capitalism.

The client had only done documentary videos in the past. The challenge was that they were wanting to increase their reach by branching out into narrative work but did not know where to start. We secured our directors who had an established track record of writing and directing narrative films for non-profits. After rejecting the project at first due to budget and timeline constraints, we continued chatting with them until we could all make schedules work collectively and ensured director's had full creative control to execute their vision. The initial script writer’s story had about eight different locations and was over 15 pages. After chatting with the directors about different story ideas, we trusted their vision of condensing the story to one location and creating an emotional relationship by creating a sister character. Due to budgetary constraints, we explored various production partners before landing on Mexico.

Sex tourism is a global phenomenon, and Latin America is a trending destination for tourists looking to exploit young girls. In a region riddled with teenage, single-parent households, Latin America is a perfect breeding ground for traffickers. The younger a girl is, the more a client will pay. Traffickers target and begin grooming early. As is true all over the world, poverty is a powerful force fueling human trafficking. Traffickers target girls who have needs they can’t meet on their own. They promise them help, and in bait and switch, hand them a life of slavery. When a single teen mom has no way to pay for food, diapers, or a home for her child, traffickers step in. This short film was made with these components in mind and this cultural context influences the audience whether they are aware of the full implications of it or not.