{"id":3907,"date":"2020-01-22T16:10:53","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T00:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/?p=3907"},"modified":"2025-07-10T11:05:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:05:32","slug":"pctv-documentary-begins-national-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/pctv-documentary-begins-national-distribution\/","title":{"rendered":"PCTV documentary begins national distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Providing an important take on a heavy topic, \u201cShattered Dreams\u201d has won dozens of awards and appeared in film festivals across the U.S. The film\u2019s director reflects on what it took to bring the story to the screen.<\/p>\n

SAN MARCOS \u2014 It was already the most successful documentary produced by Palomar College Television (PCTV) in recent years, and now \u201cShattered Dreams: Sex Trafficking in America<\/a>\u201d is coming to small screens everywhere\u2014millions of them, thanks to a distribution partnership with the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA).<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s public television debut occurred with a Sunday night airing on Las Vegas\u2019 KLVX on Jan. 12, and demand has only increased since then, with dozens of stations picking up \u201cShattered Dreams\u201d for their audiences to view.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe submitted the film to NETA in December, and last time it took three or four months to hear back,\u201d said Bill Wisneski, the PCTV producer who directed the project. \u201cThis time they responded within days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wisneski attributes this to the film\u2019s unique approach: \u201cWe focused on the psychology of why women are trapped in this situation and can\u2019t get out\u2014they call it the \u2018mental handcuffs.\u2019 And then we focused on the buyers more than most other films. Until recently, the women were focused on, they were considered the problem. But without the demand, you\u2019re not going to have the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShattered Dreams\u201d premiered on April 4, 2019 at Palomar\u2019s Howard Brubeck Theatre, and then commenced with a tour of film festivals from coast to coast. In June, the film won four Emmy Awards from the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, including \u201cBest Documentary,\u201d directing, writing and editing.<\/p>\n

\n

By the Numbers<\/h2>\n

According to a 2016 study by the University of San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene University, human trafficking is San Diego\u2019s second-largest underground economy after the drug trade, with an estimated $810 million in annual revenue. The study found recruitment growing via social media and on high school campuses, with female recruiters accounting for more of the underground sex economy.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 110<\/strong> \u2014 approximate number of street gangs involved in human trafficking in the region<\/li>\n
  • 16 years<\/strong> \u2014 average age of entry into what\u2019s known as \u201cChild Commercial Sexual Exploitation\u201d<\/li>\n
  • 3 years<\/strong> \u2014 average amount of time that victims were trafficked before reaching the attention of law enforcement officials<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    The PCTV team, which had already won awards for its previous project, \u201cThe Shadow of Drought,\u201d decided to take on sex trafficking after discovering that the illicit industry is a grave and growing threat to vulnerable women in San Diego.<\/p>\n

    But the project came with creative challenges, as well as safety concerns.<\/p>\n

    \u201cFilming the survivors was the biggest challenge,\u201d recalled Wisneski. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t get anyone who was willing to go on camera, and we learned that you can really endanger them by having them share their story too soon. People need three to five years of being out of the life before it\u2019s safe to share their story, for a variety of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

    As for filming crimes in progress, Wisneski said sex trafficking \u201chas moved off of the street corner\u201d in favor of online transactions and arranged meetings in hotel rooms.<\/p>\n

    To compensate for this, said Wisneski, \u201cWe got some footage from the FBI and the Police Officers Association, and we did a lot of reenactments\u2014we made that decision very early, that reenactments were the only way we were going to be able to tell this story.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The subject matter also took its toll.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI almost backed out of the project in the beginning because I wasn\u2019t sure I could handle it,\u201d Wisneski recalled. \u201cEvery person on our crew had a day where they broke down in tears because it was just so heavy, and we did feel a burden to do justice to the survivors\u2019 stories. The content was very raw.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Now that it\u2019s finished, he said he wants to see the film distributed far and wide: \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s all about\u2014we want the film to have as wide an impact as possible. That\u2019s what the PBS broadcasts will do\u2014people will be affected by this all over the country. The most important thing with this issue is awareness\u2014people don\u2019t understand what the issue is, and if they know anything about it, usually what they know is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

    January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and in addition to distributing the film, NETA developed an educational guide to be submitted to every station that airs \u201cShattered Dreams,\u201d in the hope of stimulating community screenings and discussions.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt is kind of crazy to think that, in major cities and small town America, someone is going to turn on their TV and see this thing we worked on. It will change minds, it will influence the discussion locally, and I think it will save lives,\u201d said Wisneski. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool for a community college to have that kind of impact.\u201d<\/p>\n