Rachel Weisz Trafficking Flick Premiers to Standing Ovation

by Amanda Kloer · 2010-09-16 18:00:00 UTC
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What do you get when you combine a posh British actress, a Nebraska cop, and an international human trafficking ring? According to a Toronto audience, one great movie. The Whistleblower, starring Rachel Weisz, is the latest human trafficking themed thriller-cum-drama-cum issue film, but this one is based on a very true story.

The Whistleblower is based on the real life story of Kathy Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who traveled to Bosnia as part of a private peacekeeping force in 1999. While there, she discovered a human trafficking ring that was selling women forced into prostitution to the international peacekeeping forces in the region. Faced with the possible repercussions of angering her bosses and the entire world security community, she decided to blow the whistle and ultimately helped bring down the ring. Bolkovac says the decision to act was something she knew she had to do. And despite angering some organized criminals and disrupting the "good old boy" attitude about prostitution in the international security industry, she's not worried about her life being made into a film.

Despite improved regulations since Bolkovac encountered international peacekeepers buying sex with trafficked girls and women, the practice continues around the world. International security forces, both from private companies and foreign governments, have been cited for participating in prostitution while keeping the peace in several African countries, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti. The practice of development and security professionals buying sex is so common, the UN is investigating whether or not the influx of foreign cash and men into Haiti is spurring more child sex trafficking.

The film premiered in Toronto, where it received a standing ovation from the crowd which included the real Kathy Bolkovac. In the following Q and A, Weisz said it was "fascinating" to play Bolkovac. Hopefully, she and the film will fascinate the abolitionists in the audience as well.

Photo credit: wave-rider

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
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