ALONE is a narrative short film that tells the story of Jessie, a young girl dragged into the dark hole of sexual slavery, and her one chance at being rescued.
It served as the senior thesis project of director Daniel McCullum and director of photography Austin Burnette. Written by Mary Ahlman and Daniel McCullum, the film was produced by Christen Allocco and edited by Derrick Collins.
The film was completed in August 2011.
Why this project?
When I first found out about underage sex trafficking in the United States, I was truly astounded by both the magnitude of the problem, and how close it was to home. Sex trafficking knows no borders of race, wealth, or social standing. It exists not only in distant third world countries, but also right here in our own backyard.
For a problem that is so pervasive and destructive, there is astoundingly little awareness of the issue. Only recently have a multitude of social justice initiatives started to draw attention to these horrific crimes.
With ALONE, we did not wish to simply document the statistics and figures that exist about this issue, but rather to dramatically tell the story of Jessie, a hypothetical victim of the sex trade. The film is an attempt to honestly and realistically portray the reality of this industry, and to provoke dialogue and action against this problem.
– Daniel McCullum, Director
ALONE from Daniel McCullum on Vimeo.
