The team behind the critically-acclaimed, award-winning hybrid observational work of non-fiction with the Sundance stamp on it, titled “The Hard Stop” (which was released in the USA in 2016), is in developing their next feature, another hybrid documentary that will tell the story of sex trafficking in the 21st century, specifically following a young woman from a West African country (the name of the country isn’t given) who is forced to work as a prostitute in Paris.
“She thought she had left a living hell and was coming to paradise, but she’s found the situation here isn’t much better,” says director Dionne Walker (speaking to Screen magazine) of the film, titled “Invisible Woman 2.0,” which will mix real-life footage with fictionalized sequences to recreate true events.
Walker last produced “The Hard Stop” which was directed by George Amponsah, who is now producing Walker’s “Invisible Woman 2.0.”, which she co-wrote with Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor.
“I’m a child of the transatlantic slave trade,” Walker adds. “If that seems like too distant a past then consider the immigrant experience in Europe now. ‘Invisible Woman 2.0’ is me negotiating the 21st century as a black European citizen.”
The project has received a boost after being selected for the Sheffield Doc/Fest MeetMarket – one of the world’s largest documentary film markets and the flagship pitching opportunity at Doc/Fest with the chance to meet with over 300 international funders, broadcasters, distributors, sales agents and exhibitors. Doc/Fest offers a unique way to pitch your projects through individual match made meetings between pitchers and the Decision Makers, so they can get straight into creative and financial discussions. Projects can range from long form to short form films, series and formats.
Walker is currently looking at non-professional actors in Paris to play the lead in “Invisible Woman 2.0.”.
Meanwhile, “The Hard Stop” (2016) which Walker producer for director George Amponsah, is currently streaming on Netflix worldwide. The very timely film centers on Mark Duggan, a young black man who was killed by armed police in London, on August 4, 2011 – an event regarded as the spark that set the London riots in motion immediately after.
Trailer below:
