The New Abolitionists
The doors are closed. There are no more screenings of this film.
Synopsis: Christina Zorich follows four NGOs (non-governmental organizations) throughout Southeast Asia that are struggling to end sex trafficking and save as many children, girls and women as possible. “You can sell drugs once. You can sell weapons once. But a girl, you can sell 10 to 20 times a day.” The movie is an investigation that digs deep into the wounds of societies that are still traumatized by recent historical tragedies which have led to poverty and the systemization of abuse. She shows the effects and presents the causes that generate and open the doors to human sex trafficking. Our journey brings us to the solutions for which our missionary protagonists are fighting: the rescuing, rehabilitation, prevention and prosecution of the problem. The movie ends with hope—the ultimate awakening of consciences all over the world. “Every single person has a role to play,” and everyone can do something about it.
Language
Run Time
Directed by
Produced by
Christina Zorich
Edited by
Christina Zorich
Director's Statement
I have been on an Odyssean journey since I first became aware of the existence of human sex trafficking in 2012.
The New Abolitionists came into being, slowly. I studied, investigated, and learned from activist missionaries who were giving everything to see an end.
With this film, I set out to not only expose the causations of trafficking but to reveal practical solutions. My hope is that following these brave abolitionists and their organizations will inspire others to join the fight in whatever way they can—small or large.
Director's Bio
Christina Zorich started out acting from a very young age as a part of her parents’, Olympia Dukakis and Louis Zorich, theater company. The Whole Theater Company in Montclair, New Jersey allowed her to play parts in: Our Town, The House of Bernarda Alba, and The Rose Tattoo. She got into New York University’s highly esteemed Tisch School of the Arts for photography, yet, she went on to graduate from New York University with a BA degree in English Literature. Upon graduating, she enrolled and graduated from a two-year acting program, studying with the late, great William Esper at William Esper Studios in N.Y.C. The majority of her twenties was spent doing classical and contemporary parts in well-respected regional theaters across the U.S. She got to play such roles as: Nina in The Seagull, Varya in The Cherry Orchard, Irina in Three Sisters (Anton Checkov), Katrin in Mother Courage (Bertolt Brecht), Cordelia in King Lear (Shakespeare), Alice Sycamore in You Can’t Take it With You (Kaufman and Hart), to name a few. She also became an active member of a downtown theater company called Tribeca Lab. In her thirties, she decided to stay closer to her home base of New York City and worked consistently in independent films as well as booking voiceover jobs in national TV spots. Her forties brought progressive opportunities to begin teaching and acting professionally. After a decade of privately coaching her peers while they went on to book tv, film, and theater; she received the chance to teach acting at different studios, schools, and universities in the Tri-State Area. She started out at John Robert Powers, moved on to The New York Film Academy, then Mike Howard Studios, and finally at Rutgers University Summer Program. Small directing and producing jobs began to come as a result of teaching: a one woman show by Ester Friedman that she helped develop into a two-hander, a music video, and two staged readings by new playwrights. Eventually, a teaching job was offered to her at the well-known Anthony Meindl Studios in Los Angeles. This move began the start of her five year journey to self-funding a documentary on human sex trafficking. She made two trips to Southeast Asia following four NGO’s that have dedicated their lives to ending human sex trafficking. She is happy to say The New Abolitionists is doing well as it sweeps through the film festival circuit. Working as Executive Producer, Director, Camera Woman, and Editor (along with aid, help, and training from experienced professionals) was an incredible growing experience and testimony to the power of will, ability, and faith. Truly, there is no limit to what one can do if you put your mind to it.
