Girl Up – Window Dreams

Girl Up

Girl Up is a 50-minute documentary feature film directed, produced, and written by filmmaker Shreya Patel, about a young woman's journey from being a domestic human trafficking victim to fighting back to take her life back. The documentary sheds light on domestic human trafficking that happens regularly in the first world countries, but no one wants to know or talk about it. It also stars MP Laurie Scott and Journalist Tamara Cherry. Girl Up had a world premiere at the 18th Annual Filmi: Toronto's South Asian Film Festival. Toronto International Film Festival found reviews about Girl Up and partnered with it to showcase it at the Civic Action Summit where the documentary was used to start a conversation on how to combat human trafficking which was followed by a panel discussion with civic leaders including elected officials, senior business executives, and community advocates.

Reviews

aaone

“A film can spark a conversation. And a tough conversation can lead to real change. Film is a powerful way to shine a spotlight on serious issues and put a face and story to what is sometimes seen as just a series of statistics. Girl Up, a documentary by Toronto filmmaker, Shreya Patel highlights the issue of human sex trafficking in Toronto effortlessly.”

Cameron Baiel

Artistic Director and Co - Head of Toronto International Film Festival

abtwo

“A powerful way to get to understand an issue is to see it from the eyes of someone who has experienced it first – hand. Now we’re exploring solutions with civic leaders who are gaining ground in the fight to stop sex trafficking.

Sevaun Palvetzian

CEO at Civic Action

acthree

“Shocking, engaging and eye – opening”

National Security Officer

adfour

“Powerful Film. Go see it if you can”

Hiba Q

aefive

“It’s excellent and eye – opening

Aneil Gokhale

Director, and Philanthropist

afsix

“Every parent should watch this documentary with their children and have an open conversation about this!”

A parent at the screening

agseven

“Intriguing, Patel’s film has the potential to save lives”

Police Officer at a screening

aheight

“Scary and powerful!”

Victim Services

ainine

“A must watch for every citizen of this country”

Human Trafficking Survivor

Shreya Patel’s Girl Up: Bringing Light to Human Trafficking in Toronto

Despite voices of activists and journalists, many Canadians still do not believe that human trafficking is a social issue facing our country, much less in their own community. Films like Taken, which showcase human trafficking as something happening in foreign countries, only serves to further reinforce the notion that human trafficking is not a domestic issue.

Former Miss Teen Sarnia carving out a career in film

Actor and filmmaker Shreya Patel poses in front a poster for Vivid by director Jeremy Benning, a film in which the Northern Collegiate grad plays the leading character.

Troy Shantz
In her young career actor and filmmaker Shreya Patel has already explored some sensitive topics.

Human Trafficking: It’s Happening in Canada

Starting a discussion about human trafficking

Sarnians will get a revealing glimpse into the dark and disturbing world of domestic human trafficking on Saturday, March 10 as the Sarnia-Lambton Committee Against the Trafficking of Women and Children and the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Centre Sarnia-Lambton present a free screening of the 2017 documentary Girl Up at Sarnia Public Library Theatre, a film that sheds a light on the ongoing problem of child exploitation and human trafficking in Ontario.

Girl Up – IMDB

Girl Up is a 50-minute documentary feature film directed, produced, and written by filmmaker Shreya Patel, about a young woman's journey from being a domestic human trafficking victim to fighting back to take her life back. The documentary sheds light on domestic human trafficking that happens regularly in the first world countries, but no one wants to know or talk about it.

If human trafficking is an epidemic, why are so many Canadians surprised to learn about it?

If human trafficking is an epidemic, why are so many Canadians surprised to learn about it? Shreya Patel tells us about her revealing documentary called #GirlUp & recent Forbes

Signs of Human Trafficking – Shreya Patel

GIRL UP @ TIFF LIGHTBOX-THURS.

Human trafficking is an extreme human rights violation and from my view, a global feminist issue. It’s the largest and most lucrative social injustice of our time. And there are more people as slaves today than at any point in history. Remember that there are various contributors that allow trafficking environments to flourish from mental illness all the way to issues of globalization. But the good news is, is that there are multiple entry points for us to create solutions and ways we can act holistically.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS MODERN DAY SLAVERY – ‘GIRL UP’ SCREENING + AWARENESS PANEL

Human trafficking is an extreme human rights violation and from my view, a global feminist issue. It is one of the largest and most lucrative social injustices of our time. There are more people as slaves today than at any point in history.
The magnitude of the issue is so broad and occurs in many forms from forced labour, agricultural work, involuntary domestic servitude, child marriages to sexual exploitation. ⁣⁣

City actor and filmmaker earns nod as a rising talent

When Sarnia’s Shreya Patel heard she’d been nominated for the Forbes 30 under 30 list she assumed it was a hoax.
But after re-reading the email that came during an Uber ride, she realized she really was heading off to Berlin, Germany to join other nominees at a pitch-and-networking session this week.

Cracking The $150 Billion Business Of Human TraffickingCracking The $150 Billion Business Of Human Trafficking

Two days ago, the White House hosted its Summit on Human Trafficking. Notable was the absence of several prominent anti-human trafficking organizations who decided to boycott the event which benefited from the U.S. president’s presence and was organized by his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump.

Sex Trafficking in Canada

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Image Gallery