‘Trafficked’, a cautionary tale and a pessimist’s nightmare
Sean Hodgkinson’s Trafficked gives new meaning to needing a vacation from your vacation.
Three Trinbagonian friends go on a vacation together. But there’s a pessimist amongst them. This is already a recipe for disaster but it may not be exactly what you think. These travel buddies broke the cardinal rule of group travel: have a clear idea on whether or not everyone’s vacation styles even mesh.
Add a likkle seasoning to the disaster soup with some intergroup jealousy and a side of forgetting to leave the unhashed beef at home, and this trio was down for the count before the story really started to unfold.
From the very first scene, doomed.
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Controversy was generated around the distribution of the film, that raises questions surrounding the protection of intellectual property and the need to spread a message. Garth and Natasha St. Clair are both hosts of a radio programme called Eye on Dependency, which focuses on drug addiction. The two approached film producer Sean Hodgkinson with the idea for the film.
Once the film was released their goal was to have as many people as possible view the film, however in the process, they broke copyright when they distributed the film for free, without approval from Hodgkinson. This private dispute became messy when both parties could not reach an agreement, especially because both parties are assuming ownership of the film.
Now, I can understand why the St. Clair’s would be eager to let everyone view this film regardless of cost, there is a message to be shared, it’s basically a PSA.
However, Creators deserve to be paid. It’s like any other job. And there is already a precedent set. Whether you are paying for movies each time you watch or you are paying for a streaming service, money is involved.
Could this situation have been handled differently? Is the message more important than supporting creators? Let us know what you think when you watch Trafficked!
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