From Victim to Victory - Documentary

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Beyond Freedom

I first met Jennelle under rather unfortunate circumstances. I had flown from Northern Ireland to the US to attend a funeral of a dear friend; her brother and had no idea of Jennelle’s full story then.

A few years later, without any pre-amble, she sent me a few video clips of women talking about their experience as victims of sex trafficking, which it hit me quite hard. I asked her why she sent them and she asked for my help. I was ashamed to say that I didn’t really know much about the subject. When i started my research i couldn’t understand why I had to dig so much to learn more, which surprised and perturbed me a little. One of the first things you do as a filmmaker is start by looking at what’s already been done and one of the documentaries that i watched was one called “I Am Jane Doe. My eyes were opened. 

I responded to Jennelle with two questions; “why did you come to me?” and “what do you want to say that hasn’t been said before…”


My name is Sai Kelly and I am a filmmaker, father and husband from Northern Ireland. 

The documentary I would like to make next is about Human Trafficking. 

But not one that you’ve seen before. 


Every other day we hear about a human trafficking ring being disrupted by authorities; the headlines state that victims have been freed and offenders; arrested. 

But what happens next? 

A victim of trafficking has been totally dependent and controlled by their “handler.” Every phone call, meal, text, bill and moment of every day. 

Their lives were not their own. Their identities; not their own.


So what does that victim now do?

How do they start living an entirely different life? Becoming self-sufficient and avoiding welfare, poverty or worse; returning to that previous life or even death.

It has been recorded that when rescue finally arrives, it can be much harder on the victims as they battle the transition between captivity and freedom.

Life after trafficking shouldn’t be harder than during.


When Jennelle was released from slavery in the sex industry, there was no-one to turn to, no-one to help her on her journey from product to person. 

5 years on and against the statistics Jennelle lives a life worth noting as she completes an education, runs her own business in health and well-being, has founded and directs a non-profit organisation called Beyond Freedom and raises a young son, all while having to navigate the pitfalls of living on the other side of the wire….alone.

Jennelle’s message is that surviving is not enough, freedom from slavery means more than just rescue, it means restoration. 



My Proposal

I would like to follow a survivor named Jennelle Gordon, a victim turned victor, as she follows 5 other survivors and their progress from Victim to Victory.

She and her 5 colleagues have been invited to Unleash the Power Within conference with Tony Robbins in Los Angeles in several weeks time, (March 14th-17th 2019). Tony, a huge advocate and activist against Human Trafficking was so impressed with Jennelle’s progress after attending one of his conferences a year prior to her success, that he has remained in contact, offered his ongoing support and has now waived the usual attendance fee for Jennelle and her 5 colleagues to attend again this year. (If we don't make the target in time, although it will be a shame, we will still get to Jennelle and the others as soon as the funds are raised.)

I think this is a story worth telling.

I need to raise funds to fly from the UK to the US, attend the conference and pay for accommodation and food so that I can gather stories, film reactions and events and journey with Jennelle and her colleagues as they begin the process of transitioning from Victims to Freedom. This is such an incredible opportunity with great access to life-changing stories, but I only have 2 weeks to make it happen.

But…there’s so much more. 

The more time I spend in research and discovery, the darker the waters become. There’s a greater message here, a bigger issue and discussion that I feel needs to take place. A conversation regarding the role and regard of women (and men) in society. How we are parent our young men to see and care for women and how we raise our daughters and nieces to expect to be treated. The standard needs to be addressed. From pornography to sex education. From the sandbox to the first date, children are learning.


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Phase 1 - Establishing the problem, raising awareness

-Fly to the US with a colleague.
-Interview Jennelle and capture her story and journey from product to person.
-Interview the 5 survivors before, during and after the event.
-Edit and release the footage promoting Beyond Freedom non-profit in a series of short videos, mini docs and extras.



If all of the above is funded then I can begin work on fundraising for a feature length documentary/series investigating the bigger picture, asking bigger questions about human nature, the roles of men and women in society, sex and pornography, etc

What's going on in the sandbox?


Phase 2 - The Cause / "How did we get here?"

-Second round of fundraising assisted by previous footage 
-Interview the 5 survivors at a set period of time long after the event to see their progress.
-Reconnect with Jennelle and her progress.
-Interviews with politicians, police, pastors, parents, psychologists, charities and support groups, writers and educators and many more, both locally in Northern Ireland and Globally.
-Interview select celebrities and influencers who have shown a keen interest in the subject.


Thank you so much for taking the time to read this far. Any support wil be greatly appreciated, even just a coffee and a chat!

Warmest regards,

Sai