Plot

Girl Up is a 50-minute documentary feature film directed, produced, and written by filmmaker Shreya Patel, about a young woman's journey from being a domestic human trafficking victim to fighting back to take her life back. The documentary sheds light on domestic human trafficking that happens regularly in the first world countries, but no one wants to know or talk about it. It also stars MP Laurie Scott and Journalist Tamara Cherry. Girl Up had a world premiere at the 18th Annual Filmi: Toronto's South Asian Film Festival. Toronto International Film Festival found reviews about Girl Up and partnered with it to showcase it at the Civic Action Summit where the documentary was used to start a conversation on how to combat human trafficking which was followed by a panel discussion with civic leaders including elected officials, senior business executives, and community advocates.

Critics are saying:

"A film can spark a conversation. And a tough conversation can lead to real change. Film is a powerful way to shine a spotlight on serious issues and put a face and story to what is sometimes seen as just a series of statistics. Girl Up, a documentary by Toronto filmmaker, Shreya Patel highlights the issue of human sex trafficking in Toronto effortlessly." - Cameron Baiely - Toronto International Film Festival, Artistic Director and Co-Head of TIFF

"A powerful way to get to understand an issue is to see it from the eyes of someone who has experienced it first-hand. Now we're exploring solutions with civic leaders who are gaining ground in the fight to stop sex trafficking." - Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO at Civic Action

"Despite voices of activists and journalists, many Canadians still do not believe that human trafficking is a social issue facing our country, much less in their own community. Films like Taken, which showcase human trafficking as something happening in foreign countries, only serves to further reinforce the notion that human trafficking is not a domestic issue. That's why Canadian films, like Shreya Patel's Girl Up, are so needed to bring awareness to what human trafficking looks like within a Canadian context. " - Free Them Organization

"Shocking, engaging and eye-opening" - National Security member

"Powerful Film. Go see it if you can" - Hiba Q

"It's excellent and eye-opening" - Aneil Gokhale, Director, and Philanthropist

"Every parent should watch this documentary with their children and have an open conversation about this!" - A parent at the screening

"Intriguing, Patel's film has the potential to save lives" - Police Officer at a screening

"Scary and powerful!" - Victim Services

"A must watch for every citizen of this country" - Human Trafficking Survivor