General Studies Lounge

Holly will premiered at the UN last week. The Friday, November 16th, there is going to be a private Columbia screening and a Q&A with the filmmakers at the Clearview Theater on 62nd St. from 4:15 to 7:15. Tickets have been highly discounted for Columbia students, faculty, and alumni, from $50 to only $11!

The film is the beginning of a global grassroots campaign we are launching against child exploitation. Proceeds from the film will go to the Redlight Children Campaign, an organization that aims to end child sexploitation.

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/220521 or by contacting Maria Insalaco at mei2102@columbia.edu .

In the film, Patrick (Ron Livingston) has been 'comfortably numb' in Cambodia for years, when he encounters Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl, sold by her impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute. Holly's virginity makes her a lucrative prize, and when she is sold to a child trafficker, Patrick embarks on a frantic search, in an attempt to bring her to safety.

You can view a trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl_AtgGNDzA .
The filmmakers are incredibly interesting and knowledgeable people who have worked in other industries before getting involved in film and are tremendously involved in global campaigns like that of Redlight. The film has been generating a lot of publicity lately and producer Guy Jacobson has been featured on CNN, in the Daily News, and other media outlets.

The film is premiering at the UN Headquarters on November 7th with a reception at the Secretary General's penthouse. The Host committee for this event includes, but is not limited to, Hillary Clinton, Susan Sarandon, Lisa Ling, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Ron Livingston, thereby making this the highest profile opening of an independent film to date.

HOLLY is not just one girl. She is the voice of millions of children who are exploited and violated every year with no rights or protection.