New feature film puts focus on child trafficking crisis in California

SAN FRANCISCO -- A new feature film is drawing attention to a grim reality in America: child trafficking. City of Dreams depicts the harrowing story of a child kidnapped and sold to a sweatshop in California.

Vanessa Russell, an anti-sex/labor-trafficking activist and founder of Hayward-based nonprofit Love Never Fails, says that child trafficking is a pervasive issue in California and across the nation.

"There's a lot of different ways that someone can be sold in our world, unfortunately. And this is happening to every age, race, gender and religion. It doesn't discriminate and, sadly, it's something that we really struggle with here in California," Russell said.

Russell's organization provides essential recovery resources for trafficking survivors, including clothing and housing. Her mission is deeply personal, shaped by her own experiences in foster care.

"I was in foster care as a baby and so -- I have a lot of my own personal trauma story that informed me working with inner city kids very much like me," Russell explained.

One of the significant challenges Russell faces in her fight against trafficking is raising awareness about the issue.

"I would say the hardest part is that this is a topic that is taboo and it's easier to raise money for cute little puppies," she said.

Russell expressed enthusiasm about City of Dreams , noting the importance of education in addressing trafficking.

"I celebrate now this new story that is being told to shed light on this issue," she said.

The film was written and directed by Mohit Ramchandani and produced by Tony Robbins. Robbins hopes the film will expose the severity of the trafficking crisis in the United States.

"It's a $150 billion-a-year industry. It's the fastest-growing industry in the criminal world because, when you sell a drug, you gotta sell it again. You sell a child, you use them over and over again. It's totally insane," Robbins said.

Ramchandani, who drew from his own family's history of child abuse in a Pakistani sweatshop, sees the film as a means of pursuing generational healing.

"I was like, I have to come to peace with him and the only way that's going to happen is if I really understand who he is and what he went through," Ramchandani said.

Recent reports from the California Department of Justice highlight a troubling rise in trafficking cases in the state. Over the past five years, human trafficking cases have increased by 27 percent, with a significant portion involving minors.

As activists like Russell continue their work, she emphasizes the importance of giving survivors hope and a sense of their own worth.

"I tell them that they have a future, they have things to look forward to and that they don't have to be anybody but who they are. Just who they are," Russell said.

Russell is inviting the public to a national freedom walk to help support survivors taking place in Oakland Sept. 21.

City of Dreams is in theaters now.