This time I didn't pick the issue: it picked me. Everyone involved in SOLD, including myself, wants more than just a finished film. We want the world to connect with the stories of trafficking. I can't outrun this issue any longer and I hope others can't either.

I still remember my first day of real paid documentary film work. My friend Nate was editing a documentary for a production company in Pasadena called Chronicle Project. Nate had hours and hours of interviews that he needed transcribed and he came to me for help. What happened next changed my life. I began to watch an interview of a young Indian girl forced into prostitution. In her interview she explained how she had been coerced by a boyfriend to move and work in a brothel. She went into great detail about her emotional sickness and told of the beatings she faced if she didn't hand over all of the money she earned to her boyfriend, now turned pimp. I realized the importance of her story, but I managed to convince myself that I couldn't really help this girl.

For some reason I flashed back to the interview with the Indian girl and I thought, "Sex trafficking is a crazy thing, but what can I do to stop it?"

Several months later, after I had transcribed my life away, I found myself in the Chronicle Project office. This time I wasn't there to transcribe, I was there to create short documentary content on social issues. The approach for these documentaries was to show practical ways that people could get involved in social issues. For some reason I flashed back to the interview with the Indian girl and I thought, "Sex trafficking is a crazy thing, but what can I do to stop it." I went on to create a short piece highlighting groups and organizations fighting to stop sex trafficking. What ended up happening was once I finished the piece, I let my newfound passion fizzle away with the busyness of everyday life.

Cut to about a month ago. I was back in the Chronicle Project office editing for the guys when some people walked into the office and identified themselves as The SOLD Project. They were looking to finish their film about child sex trafficking and I was out of work. Before I knew it I had an offer from The SOLD Project to come on and edit the film. It seemed very odd that once again the issue was presenting itself and this time I couldn't say no. In two weeks I leave for Thailand to help with shooting and when I return I begin editing the film.

I guess "us" filmmakers like to think that we have a lot of control over what issues are going to move us and how then our filmmaking abilities are going to reach out to audiences. This time I didn't pick the issue: it picked me. Everyone involved in SOLD, including myself, wants more than just a finished film. We want the world to connect with the stories of trafficking. I can't outrun this issue any longer and I hope others can't either.