Pearl Gluck, assistant professor in the College of Communivations leads a panel on Women in Film as part of THAW 2015 in the HUB on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015.
Penn State Professor Pearl Gluck shares an eye opening statistic in the director’s statement for her upcoming film, “The Turn Out.”
“In 2014, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received reports of 3,598 sex trafficking cases in the United States alone,” according to her statement.
Startling statistics like these are what inspired Gluck to use her latest film to help bring awareness to sex trafficking in America.
“The Turn Out” exposes sex trafficking at truck stops in the rural Midwest.
“I was traveling through some truck stops, and I saw posters about truckers against trafficking. They were asking truck drivers to keep their eyes and ears open to anything suspicious. It was really powerful,” Gluck said.
The documentary, though fictional, was inspired by interviews Gluck conducted with sex trafficking survivors.
“I believe that it is important to educate. Sex trafficking is covered up in Columbus, Ohio and typically only thought of as a third-world problem,” sex trafficking survivor Barbara Freeman said.
Freeman, who was featured in the film and helped Gluck write, was sex trafficked for 16 years.
“It helps me overcome the more I share,” Freeman said.
Freeman has been sharing her story with the public for the past 23 years.
Today, Freeman is an activist against sex trafficking. She offers women an opportunity to leave sex trafficking at her six-bedroom safe house.
Freeman also acts as a courtroom housing advocate. She goes to court with women arrested for sex work, and requests that they are taken to a safe house instead of prison.
“This is something I survived,” Freeman said. “It is important for me to educate and to help.”
Pearl Gluck, assistant professor of film and video, left, talks about her short film ‘Where is Joel Baum?’ alongside actor Luzer Twersky during a screening at the State Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015.
Interviewing women like Freeman enabled Gluck to produce “The Turn Out.”
“I started interviewing survivors and truck drivers, and I was able to craft a fictional storyline based on what they shared with me,” Gluck said.
One of the film’s main characters, Nevaeh, was played by a woman who personally experienced sex trafficking.
Communicating directly with sex trafficking survivors allowed Gluck to impart a powerful message through a fictional film.
To add to the film’s authenticity, filming took place at Liberty Truck Stop in West Virginia.
Filming here allowed “The Turn Out” to “stay true to the regionality of the issue,” Gluck wrote on her film’s website.
“Unfortunately, women are being trafficked [at truck stops] because there is a demand. There is a lot of education needed,” Gluck said.
Gluck shared that many truck drivers are working to help prevent sex trafficking with the Polaris Project, a campaign to end human trafficking. The initiative provides stickers with sex trafficking hotline numbers to truck drivers. Drivers place the stickers onto their truck doors to show they are willing to help.
Musician and film composer Chris Rattie said working on the film helped him educate himself on the prevalence of sex trafficking in America.
“For me, it was a learning experience. I am glad to be a part of something that brings attention to such an important topic,” Rattie said.
Making people more conscious of sex trafficking in America was Gluck’s main goal for the film.
“The question of the bystander is very important to me. People need to go from not doing anything to doing something,” Gluck said.
