A lifelong, talented musician, Justin Dillon skirted the fringes of success without making it "big." Despite having always been a conscious student of world affairs, filmmaking was never in his blood – or at least so he thought. Yet a 2003 show in Russia opened his eyes to the globe’s most overlooked social issue: human slavery, which, as revealed by his subsequent documentary debut, is more prevalent now than ever.
Due for national release on Oct. 10, "Call + Response" emotionally provokes its audience into action. Perhaps, too, Dillon’s creative, personal journey which brought politicians, musicians, academics and film stars together and included a global trek into slavery’s crannies, represents the ascendancy of one man from a solitary decrier of injustice into an agent of positive change.
“In a lot of ways, making a movie is like making music. I use the same muscle groups but instead of a sprint, it feels like I’m running a marathon at sprint-pace, editing, re-editing, directing and producing. The wrangling of all those things represents a journey in itself. From beginning to end the whole thing took two years.
“I chose the title, ‘Call + Response,’ because when an issue comes your way, you’re going to respond. Even if it’s inaction, it’s still a response. I think one of our greatest downfalls, as a people, is that we make excuses, particularly that we’re ‘too busy.' Well, I wanted to respond immediately; this issue just hit me."
“A New York Times article first brought human slavery to my attention in 2003, just before I went on tour in Russia. When I was over there, I met several girls who were acting as translators. They told me how were getting the same kinds of offers that I’d read about. It was like 'Wow, now I’m seeing it, how do I find a way to connect immediately?'"
“I realized that two things were needed: re-learning the meaning of slavery was one. We’ve relegated it to history, as though it no longer exists but when people are sold against their will it’s the same thing and alive now more than ever. The second thing is clarification: roughly half are involved in the sex trade and the other half in domestic service and manufacturing.
“So in America it’s everywhere. I’ll give you a personal example of how I experienced it before the documentary. In my hometown, Berkley, my friends and I used to go to an Indian restaurant. We noticed that many of the servers were young boys and girls. Well, it turned out that they were brought here illegally, forced to work in the restaurant during the day and into prostitution by night, and the owner was behind it. He’d personally subjected more than 500 people to this. So my chicken tikka had inadvertently financed this. You have no way of knowing the cleaner you’re hiring, the clothes you’re wearing or the cell phone you’re using does the same."
“When I consulted the artists about the project, a lot didn’t realize the extent of modern slavery and it’s a testament to their humanity that they responded. Even now, more and more are taking it on."
“I’ve talked with politicians and business leaders and, obviously, no-one is in favor of this issue. But it’s the second highest illicit trade; and we have a drug tsar, so why not a human trafficking tsar?"
“The reality is that it’s a supply and demand issue, and we, as consumers, are the only ones who can bring about the change. When I went to the United Nations, a guy pulled me aside and said, ‘Justin, people think we have two things – money and power but we don’t have these things.’"
“So if we, collectively with power and money, demand slave-free products or services, we can effect change. That’s one of the reasons I wanted the film to be more interactive. From your seat, at the movie theater, you can text a donation and we have further plans to keep waging the issue. For example, we’ve created a global standard, similar to what they’ve done with the ‘Fair Trade’ brand."
“So the film follows a through line: my story, then the democratization of participation of others and, hopefully, an analogue of continued activism.”
To join MMX for the Call + Response Atlanta premier October 9, 2008 at 7p.m. and 9 p.m. screening click on the link to the right of this article.
