Booked

Make no mistake, this short is a heavy watch. It shows sex trafficking through the eyes of a new victim, Portia, who must learn to survive in a dark world where you are only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for you. The helplessness of the situation really comes through hard as the white mask removes traces of humanity . Will Portia ever escape this ordeal?

BOOKED explores the realities of exploitation. Brutal and complicated. The horror of the story is contrasted with vivid cinematography.

The strength of the film resides in Shawntay Dalon's screenplay that explores an interconnected web of exploitation targeting vulnerable women in America, particularly Black women. The recurring use of a white mask worn by both white and black characters is a constant reminder of the systemic causality linked to that exploitation and no one is untouched by its Horror.

The words of Sojourner Truth bookend the film with powerful resonance and the end credits outtake draws a chilling line connecting the extremity of the subject with a common interaction.

Strong performances on average with a visually expressive climax that shouldn't be missed.

I LOVED it. I didn't know what to expect and I am so happy I went into it without any expectations. It was so good, with wonderful actors and at the end when I realized what I just watched, I had to pause for a bit. The topic is something that needs to be discussed more because I feel like that was the first time it hit me. What a great film.

This film is about the important topic of sex trafficking worldwide. Shawantay Dalon is a really strong actor! Great Black cast which is awesome to see. I'm glad this project exists and hope it helps get the message out!

This is an intelligent and well put together short film. All the cast are great but a special word has to go to the lead who did a really good job.

As an aside it's really important to highlight this particular subject matter, and the team here did a great job of doing just that.

Highly recommended from here in the UK.