Child trafficking is rampant along Lake Volta, Ghana. Human traffickers trick poverty-stricken families into selling their children by using terms like “short term work” to disguise child enslavement. Children often disappear, with an estimated 20,000 children being currently exploited. Kwame, a survivor of child trafficking himself, spends his days on the lake rescuing enslaved children from the “slave masters.” After being rescued, the children stay in a rehabilitation centre for a year while the social workers locate their families. The Rescue List closely focuses on two children, Peter and Edem, during their one-year stay in the centre. The filmmakers delicately observe the kids as they work through trauma, take care of each other and prepare to return to their families. By capturing Kwame’s rescue operations alongside the children’s personal journey, this activist documentary offers a moving portrayal of survival, courage and recovery. - Anastasia Akulinina

Screening with: Behind the Door: Jola's Story

Directors Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink in attendance.



