Nefarious: Merchant of Souls (2011)

'Nefarious' is THE BEST documentary I have ever watched on an issue that has been muffled for too long. It serves as a voice for the many voiceless victims of sex trafficking. It exposes the shadows lurking behind this oppression that is reaching epidemic proportions in our planet.Yet it does not leave us without hope. I particularly found the interviews at the end so inspiring that they have spurred me on to action.Check out exoduscry.com for more information on how to get involved! AND LET JUSTICE PREVAIL!!!

This film is one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever viewed! The issue of sex slavery is such a vast and horrendous topic to cover and yet, Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, does not leave you in despair but offers a message of hope through the testimonies of women who been rescued from this atrocity. After having read about this issue for many years and having seen numerous films on the topic, I was so relieved to finally see a film that captures the beauty of restoration and not just focus on the hopelessness that can so often be felt when talking about this injustice. Here is a beautiful quote from an interview I read with filmmaker, Benjamin Nolot. "Through Nefarious, we want to see people ignited with a passion for human dignity, for the sanctity of life and for the conviction that NO human being should be bought or sold." I highly recommend seeing this film!

I watched this film in a local screening months ago, and could not stop telling other people about it! Without a doubt, this is the best film produced highlighting the issues of human trafficking. It shares what most people don't know....uncovering the hidden faces and stories behind this horrific reality, abroad and in our own home front of the US. Each personal story catches you up in the raw truth. The interviews with former victims and former pimps/traffickers awakened me even more to feel for those who are caught in it themselves. Some like to think prostituted women have a choice, or that they enjoy their work....But listen to the testimonies in this film and you will know otherwise. You cannot deny the many firsthand accounts. Listen to how they got into it, what they endured, what roles their families or society played to feed their abuse, how hopeless and unspeakably broken down they were....then how a few most amazingly found hope! To me, that was what made this film stand out above any other documentary that could be made on the topic. Not only that, but the cuts between each country highlighted, and acting are superb! It is amazing and beyond disturbing to see how this same injustice can take so many forms across the world!! It makes you want to take more ownership for what is closer and more affecting to us here in the US than we realize. This is an BRILLIANT piece of work, but it is more than a work, it helps give a voice to those who deserve and need a voice more than anyone and do not have one!!!

Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, has been for me the most eye opening documentary I have ever seen. I believe it is critical to see this film to educate and begin to look into the in-workings of the global sex trade for what it is. What I deeply appreciate about the film Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, is that it takes you through so many different avenues of the global sex trade removing any boxes that may be potentially formed in our minds about Human Trafficking. It takes it from being a far away story to the brutal reality that happens not only "other nations" but in our own backyard. It looks not only at the issues but at the solutions as well, not leaving you with hopelessness on such a large problem, but with greater understanding and hope in your heart that, yes, there can and will be change. It is well thought out in its presentation, beautifully filmed, and easy to follow not jumping to and fro but a steady streamline of information that is heart-wrenching, hopeful, insightful, and inspirational. It not only needs to be watched over and over again, but you might as well add it to your library and share it with a friend. The world needs to know!