“Chained Silence Speaks” shines light on dark realities of Human Trafficking

Houston filmmaker and Director/Executive Producer Edwin Rose, of E. Rose Films, and Executive Producer Chris Senegal, hosted a private screening of “Chained Silence Speaks” on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, at the DeLuxe Theater.

The documentary, a four chapter series, shines the light on the dark realities of human trafficking in all its forms through a combination of survivor interviews and dramatizations.

The first chapter of the documentary opens with a powerful depiction of the world of child trafficking as it unfolds in the lives of an African family in Senya Beraku in Ghana, an area where child trafficking is prevalent.  The audience is introduced to Kojo (played by Timothy Agbeke), who is nurtured by loving parents who are invested in his education and growth only to watch his life transform in a blink of an eye at the hands of his aunt (played by a survivor of human trafficking). The tale brings awareness to the tragic way in which children are often brought into trafficking to settle a family’s debt leaving the child vulnerable to child slave labor and the trauma of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

The Houston filmmaker gathers locals, including adult and child survivors of trafficking, to depict the absolute devastation of trafficking from the innocent eyes of an African child whose normal life is stripped from him as he is thrown into a life of servitude and abuse. Rose intermingles the voices of adult survivors throughout the documentary that attest to the destruction and trauma that this trade has in shattering innocent lives and infusing distrust, anger and a sense of utter hopelessness in victims.

The poignant and tragic documentary also gives a voice to various Ghana-area organizations seeking to end a vile trade that has left a trail of countless victims in its path.

As heartbreaking and tragic as the subject of human trafficking is, the documentary offers a beacon of hope by raising awareness and sounding a rallying cry through those who have formerly been voiceless.

“Chained Silence Speaks” is powerful for the unsettling depictions the filmmaker uses to bring awareness to an inhumane trade that is taking place not only in small towns in Ghana, but in the U.S. and around the world. All of the children in the documentary are orphans from Becky’s Foundation in Senya Beraku.

The documentary is a much-needed awakening and voice that shines the light on man’s inhumanity to man in all forms of trafficking including child, labor and sex trafficking. The series has garnered an official selection by the Black Indie Filmmakers Association Houston Film Festival.

The private screening culminated with an eye-opening panel discussion moderated by Courtney Hall and featuring Rose and Senegal, executive producers, Ken Henry of United Against Human Trafficking, and Nissi Hamilton, a human trafficking survivor.

For more information and to lend your support to the film’s cause, visit Erose Films on Instagram @erosefilms.