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Producers' Note edit
Section moved from article to talk RJFJR (talk) 15:50, 25 November 2009 (UTC)
GUY JACOBSON:
In 2002, while travelling on a sabbatical, I encountered a group of 5 to 7 year old girls in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, who aggressively tried to solicit me for prostitution. One of the girls, about 6 years old, said "I yum yum very good. I no money today. Mama San boxing me (the madam of the brothel will beat me up)." I gave them some money and walked away, but decided to do something about it.
As I started to research this subject, I was horrified to realize that around 2 million children (some younger than a year old) are kidnapped and sold into prostitution and sexually abused world wide each year. I had heard about underage prostitution before but I never realized the proportions of the problem. I vowed to do everything in my power to raise global awareness and action about this crucial social problem.
The product of this decision was to create a combination of a three-film project and an international grassroots movement to decrease child prostitution, sexual exploitation and child trafficking. I have spent most of the last 6 years trying to make it happen.
HOLLY is the spearhead of the whole campaign and I can only hope that it will put this issue on everybody’s agenda.
ADI EZRONI:
When I met Guy in 2004, I was an Israeli actress on vacation in New York. Our meeting and the decision to produce this project changed my life.
Producing this project has been an uphill battle, and sometimes seemed more like a war. When we arrived in Cambodia, Interpol cautioned us about threats to our lives. We were a group of international filmmakers who had decided to expose an explosive subject matter in a corrupt country. Everything that could go wrong, did - the Cambodian, Vietnamese and Chinese mafia were after us, our equipment was held up in the borders and we were extorted to get it back, we had over forty bodyguards with AK-47s guarding us and the set, we had to hide our film, we got stuck in remote rivers, and finally, after the production team had left, I (Adi) was denied exit out of the country, and basically held hostage for two weeks.
The film, HOLLY, was shot on real locations in which the story takes place. The village in the beginning of the film was an active paedophile haven up to a couple of months prior to the shoot. The brothel rooms are the real brothel rooms and the cafe was used to hosting very different types of clients. It was important for us to be in the real places; it gives this certain energy that is communicated in the film. It was quite a unique set to be on.
HOLLY is such a powerful and unique film. We are proud of it. It was an incredible privilege to work with such a talented group of filmmakers and cast. It is an incredible privilege to create something you feel may make a change. The film (as part of this project) has already led to some change in Cambodia as well other places around the world. Brothels have been closed, children were saved, and traffickers, pimps and clients are in jail.
We encourage the audience to log on to www.RedLightChildren.org and pressure decision makers, governments and global organizations to focus on reducing the demand for child prostitution, through legislature, sanctions, better enforcement of new and existing laws, and the allocation of appropriate resources to mirror the size of the problem.