The film follows Samantha, a teenage girl whose father dies, leaving her and her mother in financial difficulty.[1] Unable to afford her high school fees, Samantha decides to move to Kampala to look for work, despite her mother's objections.[6] In the capital city, she becomes homeless and is approached by a stranger named Sam who offers to help her find employment.[6] However, she is betrayed and sold to a brothel owner, who subsequently sells her to another brothel owner in Bangkok, Thailand.[1] Shipped in a container 14,000 miles from home, Samantha becomes pregnant and is pressured to have an abortion, but she ultimately takes her own life rather than comply.[1]
Production
"The Route" was Jayant Maru's directorial debut, produced using his own funds. The film was born out of Maru's 2011 undergraduate thesis, during which he interviewed various victims and perpetrators of human trafficking worldwide. Maru, who is of Indian descent and a graduate of Sociology & Law from the London School of Economics, was motivated to create an uncompromising portrayal of human trafficking without "sugarcoating the suffering and brutality."[7]
Release and reception
The film premiered in July 2013 and was subsequently screened at the National Theatre of Uganda in February 2014.[6] The film's explicit content generated controversy, with some audience members unable to watch the rape and torture scenes during its Kampala premiere.[6] Despite its controversial nature, the film received an 18-rating from the Ugandan Censorship Board, the most restrictive classification in the country's film-rating system.[8]
Cast
Sharon Detoro as Samantha
Thomas Kayondo as Sam
Edlyn Sabrina as Sabrina
Felix Bwanika as Mr. Nyobobo
Bwanika Esther as Mother
Isaac Kuddzu as Sex Predator
Ongaria Ezra as David
Awards and recognition
"The Route" won the Best Feature Film award at the 2013 Nile Diaspora International Film Festival.[6] The film was also nominated for Best Feature Film at the Uganda Film Festival, Silicon Valley African Film Festival, and Manya Human Rights Film Festival.[6] The African Movie Academy Awards invited the film for a private screening at the Bayelsa Book and Craft Fair on April 18, 2013.[6]
Nominated for the Best Feature Film in Uganda's Film Festival (2013)
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