Some of the most unthinkable atrocities happen in broad daylight.
After viewing the documentary “Blind Eyes Opened,” a film on human sex trafficking in the United States, for the first time, Jody Deckard felt determined to share it with fellow community members.
She went to her church elders to request a viewing, which has now turned into much more.
Later this month, Brownstown Christian Church is partnering with Brownstown Central Community School Corp. and Seymour Community School Corp. to show the 2020 documentary.
The movie will be shown at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Brownstown Central High School auditorium and at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Seymour High School auditorium.
“’Blind Eyes Opened’ is a first-of-a-kind Christian documentary that dives deep into the sex trafficking industry in the U.S.,” the film’s website states.
“The film exposes the darkness that fuels demand, highlights survivors’ transformations through Christ, engages lawmakers, law enforcement, organizations, ministries and experts across the country committed to ending the atrocities, all while showing Christ as the hope for all involved.”
Deckard said the film, directed by Geoffrey Rogers, is mostly real life interviews with victims of human traffickingand perpetrators of the crime.
She said she learned a lot from the documentary, and both her church and the schools agreed with the importance of the film’s content matter.
“You immediately start noticing little things out in public,” Deckard said. “I think the title is very suiting. We have been so desensitized about what is going on around us. Our elders felt the same way. Rather than just showing it to just our congregation, we wanted to show it to fellow congregations more since it was so powerful of a movie.”
A follow-up program, led by an expert in trafficking in Indiana, also will be visiting Jackson County.
On Feb. 19, Laura Donatelli-Bow with the Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program will provide training and education at Brownstown Christian Church. She will return to the area Feb. 24 for the same program at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour.
The training is 90 minutes and starts at 6 p.m. It will show how to define, identify and report suspected cases of trafficking.
“We offer a survivor-centered and trauma-informed training to ensure human trafficking is discussed in an accurate manner, along with resources for those who are interested in becoming involved in the anti-trafficking space,” Bow said. “We also help dispel some of the myths perpetuated by movies, TV shows and news articles.”
Deckard said having an expert on hand who will answer questions is important to tackling the subject.
“We don’t know who we’re going to touch,” she said. “There might be someone that watches the movie and realizes they are being trafficked or there is someone there who is being trafficked. We need to provide some assistance.”
There is no cost to attend the follow-up program.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department will be present at both school events for precautionary measures.
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Brownstown Christian Church has partnered with Brownstown Central Community School Corp. and Seymour Community School Corp. to show "Blind Eyes Open."
The movie about sex trafficking in the United States will be shown at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Brownstown Central High School auditorium and at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Seymour High School auditorium.
Advance tickets are $9 for ages 13 and up and $7 for ages 2 to 12. Tickets will be available at the door for $11 for ages 13 and older and $9 for ages 2 to 12.
Ticket prices are set by the distributing company, Faith Content Network.
Tickets for the Brownstown Central showing: faithcontentnetwork.brushfire.com/blindeyesopened/463730
Tickets for the Seymour showing: faithcontentnetwork.brushfire.com/blindeyesopened/463708. A trailer of the movie is available at youtube.com/watch?v=eN2XMwSdDd4&feature=youtu.be
Free follow-up presentations, put on by Laura Donatelli-Bow with the Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program, will be Feb. 19 at Brownstown Christian Church and Feb. 24 at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The 90-minute sessions start at 6 p.m.
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