Film phase:Production
SYNOPSIS
When 14-year old Di is tricked by her uncle and trafficked with her mother and sister across the border into China, she is forced to marry as a child bride. When 11-year old PaNa’s mother and sisters go missing, her uncle offers to help find them — but instead sells her to two Chinese men, who take her across the Red River by water taxi. When 15-year old Lien and her friend get caught attempting to escape a brothel, the owner decapitates her friend and forces Lien to spend the night alongside the corpse. These kinds of stories are all too common in Southeast Asia. Of the 45 million humans reported to be trapped in modern-day slavery worldwide today, only two percent will ever return home. Di, PaNa and Lien are three of the lucky ones. They escaped.
Along the Line is a story of grit and resilience born in the depths of great suffering. We follow Di, PaNa, and Lien as they confront their past, wrestle with the present, and struggle to find the strength to believe in a future. It is a story of survival and healing, of forgiveness and hope, that gives voice to the survivors themselves while challenging international audiences to imagine what needs to be done to foster reintegration, acceptance, and healing after trafficking.
Along the Line participated in the 2016 Diversity Fellows Initiative (past program).
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Christina Birkhead’s background in project management and behavior therapy makes for a perfect fit for storytelling and the problem solving skills needed to produce films. Christina has worked on two feature length documentary films as a line producer and has written and directed one short documentary for the non-profit Reach The Children in Uganda. Along the Line is Christina’s first feature length documentary film.