{"id":16660,"date":"2013-11-22T12:02:14","date_gmt":"2013-11-22T17:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediastorm.com\/blog\/?p=16660"},"modified":"2025-05-27T22:50:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T02:50:35","slug":"the-long-night-screens-at-paley-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediastorm.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/22\/the-long-night-screens-at-paley-center\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Long Night\u201d Screens at Paley Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday night, influencers in media and activism gathered at the Paley Center for Media<\/a> to celebrate the first private screening of The Long Night<\/em><\/a>. MediaStorm\u2019s first feature-length film and the first project funded by the Alexia Foundation<\/a>\u2019s Women\u2019s Initiative grant, The Long Night<\/em> is a shining example of both organizations\u2019 commitment to driving change through the power of storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first started working on this film, we thought we were producing a 10-minute piece about domestic minor sex trafficking in our country today,\u201d executive producer Brian Storm<\/a> said while introducing the film. \u201cWe quickly realized that this story was too big and too important to try to fit into that framework.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Brian Storm, Executive Producer and Founder of MediaStorm, introduces the film.
Photo: RayLlanos.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Long Night<\/em> follows the lives of Lisa and Natalie, two girls who were forced to work the streets of Seattle at just 13 and 15 years old. For over a year, filmmaker Tim Matsui<\/a> delved deeply into their lives, into the lives of their loved ones, and the men and women who fight for their survival. Months of post-production work by MediaStorm\u2019s Tim McLaughlin<\/a> and Joe Fuller<\/a> weaved the subjects\u2019 stories together to shed light on the commercial sexual exploitation of children.<\/p>\n

The screening was followed by a panel discussion led by civil rights and women\u2019s justice advocate Gloria Browne-Marshall<\/a>. Filmmaker Tim Matsui, sex trafficking abolitionist Rachel Lloyd<\/a> of GEMS, and film subjects Natalie, Nacole and Tom discussed the obstacles faced by young people in the grips of sex work and how to advocate for solutions to this complicated issue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Panel discussion, from left to right: Gloria Browne-Marshall, Tim Matsui, Natalie, Nacole, Tom, and Rachel Lloyd.
Photo: Shameel Arafin \/ MediaStorm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We heard many things as the audience filed out of theater, trying to wrap their minds around the dangers faced by children in our own communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cShocking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPowerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGritty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cImportant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of all the things that were said that evening, nothing encapsulates the spirit of The Long Night<\/em> quite like the words of the film\u2019s protagonist Natalie: \u201cSomeone else might see this and understand that other people go through this. It\u2019s not just me. Maybe there are a lot positive things later that are going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Samia Khan (center), MediaStorm’s Director of Partnership Development, mingles with guests before the screening.
Photo: RayLlanos.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tim Matsui, director and field producer of “The Long Night”
Photo: Shameel Arafin \/ MediaStorm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aphrodite Thevos Tsairis, Co-founder of Alexia Foundation, makes remarks.
Photo: Shameel Arafin \/ MediaStorm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Film subjects Natalie and Nacole participate in the panel discussion.
Photo: Shameel Arafin \/ MediaStorm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From left to right: cinematographer Carey Wagner, film subjects Nacole and Natalie, director Tim Matsui, Alexia Foundation co-founders Peter and Aphrodite Thevos Tsairis, executive producer Brian Storm, and Syracuse University’s Chair for Documentary Photography Mike Davis
Photo: RayLlanos.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n