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Friday, Apr 25, 2008 9:15 PM
Harrowing account of girls (average age 13) involved in the New York sex trade industry.
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83 minutes
Directed by: David Schisgall
East Coast Premiere
In New York City, the average age of a girl entering the sex trade is 13 years, a disturbing statistic repeated throughout director David Schisgall's sobering documentary. Several young subjects directly address the camera, each telling hauntingly similar tales––these often begin with romantic advances from predatory older men, then lead to familiar patterns of strategic isolation, physical abuse, emotional manipulation, and, inevitably, drug addiction. The harrowing first-person accounts are deftly interspersed with home movies taken by brothers Anthony and Chris Griffith, two unforgettably slimy street pimps who actually documented their daily transgressions in the hopes of getting their own reality television show. It's a dream that doesn't seem too terribly far-fetched after the movie points out Hollywood's and hip-hop culture's relentless glamorization of this depraved lifestyle.
Hope arrives with the heroic Rachel Lloyd, founder of the Girls Education and Mentoring Service (GEMS), an organization offering shelter, counseling, and a "way out" for these exploited teens. Some will make it, some will not; but when the lights come up after Schisgall's disquieting film, even the most jaded viewer will think twice before humming along with "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp."
-Vincent Archer
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