The jury of the Australian Catholic Film Office (ACFO) has awarded its 2007 Film of the Year to Dee McLachlan's The Jammed.
Tracing the story of three women brought to Australia under false pretexts for sexual exploitation, The Jammed reveals not only the horror of modern human trafficking and slavery but also peels back the complex moral layers involved for everyone, including governments.
Director of the office and jury chair, Jesuit priest, Fr Richard Leonard said, "This was one of the strongest years in many years for Australian films with The Jammed, The Home Song Stories and Romulus, My Father among the best.
"The jury felt that The Jammed was a singularly courageous piece of cinema. Even though the extremely violent world this film portrays means many people would not want to see it, that does not allow us to ignore the sex trade in women and children occurring in our nation."
Fr Leonard said that it would be hard to think of a social issue upon which the whole Church is presently speaking with such clarity.
"Pope Benedict XVI's statement on human trafficking for sex on October 28, 2005, his message to mark World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerants have strenuous calls for all Catholics, Christians and people of good will to do everything they can to counter the causes and the evil results of human trafficking.
"In Australia, Catholic Religious Australia has been at the vanguard of lobbying, education and working with victims in regard to the international trafficking of women and children.
"The Jammed plays the role of raising our consciousness on this issue. This uncompromising and confronting film illuminates a dark, tragic side of Australian society (one replicated in many countries across the world), and thus makes a significant contribution to increasing people's awareness of an under-recognised but important issue of faith and justice."
And in real life ...
Sister Pauline Coull SGS has just returned from the first meeting of the steering committee of the International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons (INRATIP) which formed out of an international Congress in Rome in October, 2007. Another Congress will be held in Rome in June, convened by UISG/USG, to work towards a truly international network of Religious.
Meanwhile, in Austraia, AGRATH will meet February 13-15 to review and evaluate its work and set the national body on a good path for the next three years.
Sister Pauline hopes that The Jammed will feature in the ACRATH presentations during World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney in July. ACRATH has been accepted as one of 270 organisations to be involved with the WYD festival.
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