Frequently Asked Questions – She Has A Name
What is the story's background?
The film She Has A Name is an adaptation of Andrew Kooman’s critically acclaimed stage play of the same name.
The play had its World Premiere in Calgary, Alberta in 2011 selling out each show. It received critical praise for its Premiere. The Calgary Sun called it a “heart-wrenching hit.”
The play toured to 13 cities in Canada from coast to coast in 2012. Since then, the play has had staged readings in New York City and continues to be produced in Canada and the United States.
Andrew Kooman adapted the story for the screen in the lead up to the Canadian tour of the play with the hopes that the story would reach a wider audience.
Who is the cast and creative team?
You can read cast bios here. Photos for media can be accessed here.
Cast
Number 18 – Teresa Ting
Jason – Giovanni Mocibob
Akkarat – Will Yun Lee
Mamma – Eugenia Yuan
Marta – Deborah Fennelly
Alex – Gil Bellows
Mae – Vanessa Toh
Victor -Charlie Ruedpokanon
Senator Janet Mitchell – Bonnie Zellerbach
Ali – Holly Pillsbury
Meagan – Ariel Rogers
Sarah – Keziah Rogers
Creative Team
Directors: Matthew and Daniel Kooman
Director of Photography: Bob Nguyen
Writer: Andrew Kooman
Executive Producer: Lance Kadatz, Dean Kohut
Producers: Shari Aspinall, Donna Abraham, Matthew Kooman, Daniel Kooman, Andrew Kooman
Where does production take place?
What real events inspired this story?
In April of 2008 an abandoned storage container was found in Thailand containing 121 workers from Burma, 54 of them dead. That real-life incident served as inspiration for part of the backstory of She Has A Name.
Though not always reported or capturing world headlines, thousands of people are trafficked across borders every year.
How prevalent is human trafficking and child sex slavery?
The trafficking of human beings for labour and for sex is a global reality.
Experts estimate 800,000 people are trafficked across Canadian and US borders annually, a figure that does not include the millions of people trafficked within their own countries or between countries in other parts of the world.
One of the most horrific forms of human trafficking is child sexual slavery. Trafficking of women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation is a multi-billion dollar business worldwide. [1]
Research indicates that approximately 10 million children worldwide are forced into some part of the sex industry and that each year at least 1 million children, mostly girls, become prostitutes. [2]
Many live in inhumane conditions and are kept subservient through psychological and physical violence.
The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) estimates that sex traffickers in Canada earn an average of $280,000 a year from every victim under their control. [3]
The United Nations reports that trafficking in persons is a truly global phenomenon, noting that victims from at least 153 countries were detected in 124 countries worldwide. More than 36% of trafficking victims globally are children. [4]
The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.5 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally. [5]
Sex trafficking is becoming more lucrative than trafficking illegal drugs, which, once sold, can only be consumed once. A human’s body can be sold for sex over and over again.
Sources:
[1] Human Trafficking: Overview. United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT). Available at www.ungift.org
[2] “Child Trafficking and Prostitution,” Global Fund for Children. Available: www.globalfundforchildren.org
[3] Benjamin Perrin, Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking. (Toronto: Viking Canada, 2010) 111.
[4] see Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2014. Available at www.unodc.org
[5] Available at www.polarisproject.org
What other work has Unveil Studios produced?
Unveil Studios’ films include E for Everyone: The Mouse and the Elephant; The Ladder of My Life; The Story; and A Filmmaker’s Search for Revival. Unveil’s work has been screened at film festivals internationally, and aired on cable television in the United States and in Canada.
Unveil Studios produces original stories that impact audiences. Unveil produces a wide range of media across platforms, including the web, film, TV, video, books, print media and for the theatrical stage.
Unveil operates The Space, a full service production studio, in partnership with Melodious Design Recording Co. in Red Deer, Alberta. The Space is a home base for Unveil’s post production work and features a sound stage and recording studio.