A FILM-making husband and wife duo are using their skills to put the underground world of human trafficking in the spotlight.
Becky and Mike Peacock, who run Altrincham-based Peacock Productions, have written and produced their second short film, Alicija.
Jade Atkins-Spelling (co-producer) Becky Peacock (co-producer) and Mike Peacock (writer/director) at the Alicija premiere
The film tells the story of a young Polish girl duped into coming to England and trapped in the dark world of human trafficking.
The couple were joined by fellow Altrincham resident Jade Atkins-Spelling in producing the 20-minute fiction flick.
Mike and Becky are no strangers to the topic of human trafficking. After becoming involved with anti-trafficking organisation IJM (UK), they created ‘The It’s Not Fair’ – a two-man theatre production highlighting the issue of modern-day slavery, which has toured nationally. The film was the natural next step for Mike and Becky.
Scarlett Marshall plays the role of a young Polish woman who unwittingly got snared by human traffickers
“It is another way to communicate the issue to a wider audience and the main thing we want to do is make people aware of what is going on,” said Mike.
“We wanted to tell the story of an individual so that people got to know her – know key people in her life, see the first stages of her relationship and having a life – but yet it still it happened to her.
“She is not a figure or a statistic – she is someone we feel we actually know.”
Throughout the film, viewers see flashbacks to Alicija's life in Poland before she was tricked by human traffickers
Another aim of the film was to connect the viewing public with anti-trafficking organisations, such as Stop the Traffik.
Mike and Becky want to raise the profile of such organisations and charities, who work tirelessly to tackle the world’s slave problem – with an estimated 38.5million enslaved people worldwide.
Snapshots of her life before being trafficked are contrasted with harrowing scenes in a UK brothel. Some of the scenes were shot in locations in Altrincham
Representatives from Stop the Traffik, along with the film’s cast, crew and the production team, attended the premiere of Alicija at Gorilla in Manchester on Friday January 29.
Detective Constable Collin Ward, the Modern Network Slavery Coordinator for Greater Manchester, was also present, and he gave a post-screening talk about tackling human trafficking in the city and boroughs.
“I have seen quite a few films about human trafficking and I’m so impressed, it is so life-like,” he said.
To see how you can make a difference or spot the signs of modern slavery in your community, visit stopthetraffik.org
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