I am Jane Doe, is a powerful new documentary film that chronicles the epic battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their under-age daughters who were bought and sold for sex on Backpage.com, the adult classifieds section that for years was part of the iconic Village Voice.
Reminiscent of Erin Brockovich and Karen Silkwood, these mothers have stood up on behalf of thousands of other mothers, fighting back and refusing to take no for an answer. The Film is written and directed by Mary Mazzio, narrated by Academy-Award and Golden Globe nominee Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Miss Sloane), and produced by Mazzio and Academy-Award nominee Alec Sokolow (Toy Story).
The film shines a light on child sex-trafficking, a gut wrenching reality that affects every community in America.
I am Jane Doe launches worldwide on Netflix beginning May 26, 2017 and also launches on iTunes, Google Play, Vimeo and Amazon on May 12, 2017.
Esquire has called the film “a gripping legal thriller” while the Los Angeles Times has hailed it as “a powerful call to action.” The project and the issue of child sex-trafficking has garnered extraordinary coverage amongst critics and popular press, such as The New Yorker, Vogue, Cosmo and People Magazine, and NBC Nightly News.
A new Backpage case, filed by the family of Desiree Robinson, age 16, will coincide with the May release of I am Jane Doe. Desiree, a middle school student in Chicago, disappeared from her father’s home on Christmas Eve. Hours later, she was advertised on Backpage and subsequently murdered by the buyer. Her mother, Yvonne Ambrose, is determined to change current laws which have been interpreted by federal judges to protect Backpage from all responsibility.
Writer and director, Mary Mazzio is a force to be reckoned with. She’s a 1992 rowing Olympian and has negotiated a corporate contract on Boston’s State Street (she is a former partner with the law firm Brown Rudnick), and collaborated with the White House to raise over $100 million dollars in public and private partnerships to fund STEM education for low-income students, as she did with her last film, Underwater Dreams.
In all of Mazzio’s films, her mission is to shed light on compelling narratives of social significance, making her one of the country’s prominent filmmakers promoting stories of diversity. Fifty percent of profits from I am Jane Doe will be donated to organizations serving Jane Doe children.
