'Undercover Asia: Girls for Sale' finalist at NY competition

Miditech's documentary "Undercover Asia: Girls for Sale", which follows an anti-trafficking activist as he searches for two missing minor girls, is a finalist at the New York Festivals World's Best Film & TV Awards.
The New York competition honours programming in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries.
Produced for channel NewsAsia, the documentary is a finalist in the Social Issues category.
The documentary follows anti-trafficking activist, Rishi Kant on a gritty, tension-filled search, from West Bengal and Jharkand through Haryana and Punjab, for two minor girls, a 17-year-old from West Bengal and a 14-year-old from Jharkhand, who have been abducted.

"This is one of India's dirty secrets (as reported in the Verma Commission Report). We wanted to tell this story in a way that it gets under you skin and so decided to meet anguished parents whose daughters have gone missing. We then followed the search for these girls by Rishi Kant founder of Shakti Vahini, a human rights group that works on rescue," said Pria Somiah, executive producer of the film.
"The problem is very rampant and growing. The demand comes from within India, for prostitution, for sex brides, for domestic help. This is currently hugely under-reported."

Rishi Kant knows they are up against a dangerous network. "We always say that trafficking is an organised crime and we have to be organized to fight this problem. We see how partnerships are critical to the fight against trafficking."

"Girls for Sale", directed by Radhika Chandrasekhar, goes undercover into brothels, placement agencies and homes to see the horrors that these young girls are subjected to.
"Making this film was a harsh reality check for the entire crew. We lived through the agonies of each of the children - the sexual abuse most went through, the rescue and escape attempts, the rebuilding of a life," Radhika said.
In 2014, Miditech's Silent Screams won three awards at the New York Festivals.
The winners this year will be announced at a ceremony next month.