By Presidential Proclamation, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and in recognition the Library is proud to co-sponsor with WISPPA (Women Involved in South Pasadena Political Action) a special screening of SANDS OF SILENCE, an award winning film by producer, director, and writer Chelo Alvarez-Stehle.

WISPPA is requesting a voluntary $5 donation, and proceeds will go to fund the film’s impact campaign and the Human Trafficking Survivors Foundation (Fundación de Sobrevivientes de Tráfico Humano).

Alvarez-Stehle’s film documents a 15-year quest to expose the underworld of sexual exploitation and trafficking from Asia to the Americas. This intimate story tracks the transformation of sex-trafficking survivor Virginia Isaias—a Mexican-American woman whose past is engulfed in a cycle of sexual exploitation—into an inspiring advocate committed to breaking that pattern. Sands of Silence celebrates the triumph of the spirit with a call to action to break the chains of sexual violence worldwide.

The film will be followed by a Q&A with Director Chelo Alvarez-Stehle and survivor Virginia Isaias.

Sands of Silence has been featured in festivals around the world, including Germany, Nicaragua, Columbia, Ethiopia, Spain, Belgium, and Denmark, and has received many awards, including:

• 2017 Winner Feature Documentary – 59th Southern California Journalism Awards
• 2017 Nominated as Best Documentary to the 32nd Imagen Awards
• 2017 Premio fada a la Cultura Award second prize