Published at 8:43 AM on August 27, 2008

Call+Response Trailer

High Gravity

High Gravity is Paste editor-in-chief Josh Jackson's daily round-up of music, film and culture - and even great (high gravity) beer.

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I've said it so many times, but it still sounds surreal: There are more than 27 million slaves on this earth, more than existed in during any point in the trans-Atlantic slave trade 200 years ago. About 80% of those are women and children. No government officially condones it, but even in America, kids are trafficked from other countries or from state to state, forced into prostitution with the threat of harm or death. My own city of Atlanta is one of the Top 10 in the nation for human trafficking. There have been several good fictional films dealing with this issue lately, including Trade, Holly and Eastern Promises. But the most inspiring film dealing with this topic is coming out this fall—Justin Dillon's Call+Response.

The film opens Oct. 10 nationally.

The reality of modern-day slavery is presented clearly by people committed to fighting it from The Not For Sale campaign's David Batstone and International Justice Mission's Gary Haugen to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and actress Julia Ormond. But the musical response from folks like Cold War Kids, Imogen Heap, Matisyahu, Moby and Emmanuel Jal—himself a former child soldier—leaves you feeling uplifted and energized to do something about it. Plus Harvard professor Dr. Cornell West completely steals the show.

Watch the trailer below and be on the lookout for the film coming to your city this fall. And if you want to learn more about this issue, I'd recommend Batstone's book, Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade.

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