Group to screen human trafficking doc at Red Lion

Kalispell’s Red Lion Hotel will show a documentary about human trafficking, “I Am Jane Doe,” Thursday at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the showing are $15 at the door.

The documentary includes Montanans Nic McKinley and Jeremy Mahugh, a Kalispell native who will be present for the screening. The duo co-founded DeliverFund to, in part, raise awareness of human trafficking in the United States.

THE FILM chronicles the battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex trafficking on Backpage.com.

Narrated by Academy Award-nominee Jessica Chastain, directed by award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio, and produced by Mazzio and Academy Award-nominee Alec Sokolow, the documentary reveals how, after rescuing their daughters, these mothers filed lawsuits against Backpage. Although many of the lawsuits have not gone well, their efforts have sparked a political movement that now includes a Senate investigation.

The Jane Doe plaintiffs featured in the film include middle school girls from Boston, a 15-year-old violinist from Seattle, and a 13-year-old girl from St. Louis. The documentary follows the journey of these young girls and their mothers in real time as they run headlong into a collision course not only with Backpage but with judges, special interest groups, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, an internet freedom law that provides a safe haven for website publishers.

PROCEEDS FROM the evening will be donated to DeliverFund and their mission to end human trafficking by partnering with law enforcement agents and resourcing their efforts.

For more information, visit www.deliverfund.org.