We are bringing the film to theaters in Australia opening October 22!
Tell all your friends to go out and support the film opening weekend and visit
the AU version of the website www.callandresponse.com.au for cinemas and times.

May peace be yours, and theirs, this season,

Thank you to everyone who has been coming out and supporting the film this week in Las Vegas, Grand Rapids, and New York. We here at Fair Trade Pictures keep getting stories of how well the film is being received, and even more important, what people are doing with it.

We believe awareness is a 20th century word, and the film is just the beginning.

There have been candlelight vigils , bake sales on Craigslist, sidewalks, and massive guerrilla flyering around the screenings of CALL+RESPONSE. The great thing is, it has nothing to do with us. YOU are doing it. As we have always said, it's your film.

There is one person in particular we would like to mention. Our new BFF, Alissa of NYC, has given the last three weeks of her life to this film and the showings at Tribeca. Alissa, you are what love looks like in public.

CALL+RESPONSE SOUNDTRACK ON ITUNES

We are pretty sure everyone should have this. We are not going to take out any ads in SPIN or ROLLING STONE. Pitchfork Media will likely not review this. So how about you just tell 10 people to buy it. That's easy. And way cheaper. And all profits from the film and soundtrack go towards projects we are supporting. We see nothing but a win-win-win.

Search "Call+Response" on Itunes!


UGHHHH....THIS IS WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING PEOPLE

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/09/Vietnam_prostitutes_kept_in_dog_cages/UPI-13271228845195/

EMMANUEL JAL IN NEW AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SONG

Watch and listen to this amazing cry for justice
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xevGz8_MBKk

GUNTARS AND JUSTICE....
Now you can wear your heart on your sleeve. These are going really fast. AND, they make incredible gifts....Order before the impending holiday. www.callandresponse.com


2009....C+R GOES ON TOUR
If you want it to come to your university or community email: bringit@callandresponse.com

OPENING THIS FRIDAY IN BOISE AT THE HISTORIC EGYPTIAN THEATER
Buy tickets at www.callandresponse.com

Dear Friends,

The story of this film never ceases to amaze me. Last night, on a Per Screen Average, Call+Response was the second best performing movie in the country.

Over and over again, we've been told that it couldn't be done, but people are turning out to see the film in record numbers.  Despite a bad economy, people care.  Despite spending zero money on advertising, people care. Despite everything...people are caring enough to make Call+Response a movie phenomenon. Just today World Magazine pointed out:

"Dillon's nonprofit film company, Fair Trade Pictures, has no budget for advertising and has to rent every screen where Call + Response plays. Grassroots volunteers advertise through flyers and friends, and the film is selling out in New York and Los Angeles-places he said he was afraid to go because they would have to compete with major movies. Some 30,000 tickets have sold since it opened on Oct. 10, and all profits generated go toward fighting human trafficking."

The response to the film at Tribeca Cinemas NYC has been incredible.   Shows are selling out fast.   A huge thank you to Alissa and the New York team for all their hard work. 


REMEMBERING ODETTA

An important voice faded this week.  This voice was known only as Odetta and she inspired a generation of musicians and activists with her story-telling and singing of people locked in oppression.

She was one of the most important voices of the civil rights movement because of her depiction of a race of people enslaved and marginalized.  Odetta is a perfect picture of the Call+Response both in her music and activism.  She brought protest and healing with her powerful off-cadence performances. 

Please take one minute to Google a video of her and watch this beauty use her skills to unlock mental and physical chains. 


CALL+RESPONSE SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE DEC. 9 ON ITUNES

You have been asking for it, and its finally here.  On Tuesday Dec. 9 we are proud to release the soundtrack for CALL+RESPONSE.   All your favorite songs along with some unreleased material from the film.  This is a huge record with 16 tracks plus a few goodies.   We are pretty sure it's the best gift you could give anyone. Please help us to spread the word.


NATASHA BEDINGFIELD ON THE TODAY SHOW

A couple days ago, Natasha Bedingfield talked about CALL+RESPONSE on the Today Show! http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/28070076#28070076

Chain Store Reaction
Everyone has 5 minutes.  You can spend it in lots of places.  I'd like to ask that you take 5 minutes and go to CHAINSTOREREACTION.COM.  We keep hearing about how people want to get involved DO something.  We have built simple time efficient tools that you can use in your downtime that will really make a difference.  Over 14,000 letters have been from this platform to Corporate Responsibility VP's of major brands.  And they are RESPONDING.  Small investments like these garner huge returns over time.   Please invest just 5 minutes now.

GET GOOD GOODS

GET GOOD GOODSJUSTICE IS WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE HOODIES AND T-SHIRTS

This is the quote, and now you can wear it. 

The quality is top notch and each item is ethically produced.  All the proceeds go towards assisting our grass roots work.  Now you can look good, do good, and prove your superiority to those around you.  Who doesn't want that?

OPENING IN NYC, LAS VEGAS, GRAND RAPIDS, AND BOISE

We are also opening for a week run in Las Vegas and Grand Rapids tonight.  Next Friday Dec. 12 we open at the beautiful Egyptian Theater in Boise Idaho.  Don't know anyone in those cites?  Well, make some friends and tell them not to miss it.


NOW PLAYING
NEW YORK CITY TRIBECA DEC. 4-14
LAS VEGAS COLONNADE 14 DEC. 5-11
GRAND RAPIDS CELEBRATION DEC. 5-11
BOISE EGYPTIAN DEC. 12-18

Go to www.callandresponse.com to buy tickets!!

THANK YOU

Thanks for being a part of this story.   We have released this film into theaters in the hopes that everyone can have an experience and have it in community.    This has not been easy.  In fact, it's really a two-front war.  Fighting a disgusting but well defended trade in human beings, and pushing this film into a theatrical system that is built to keep us out.  We at Fair Trade Pictures have worked every day for almost a year to insure that people can watch this film in theaters.  With your help, we have done it.  And continue to do it.  With all my heart, thank you.

Peace, Love, and Understanding,
Justin Dillon

A true artist and humanitarian, Natasha Bedingfield gave CALL+RESPONSE some love today on her website.

Natasha says, "Please watch this movie. It is the thing I am proudest of being part of ever. It is a seriously powerful documovie all about slavery. Go to the website and request that they show it at a theater near you."

www.natashabedingfield.com

The LA times profiled C+R yesterday in an article on films that are paving their own path. Kind of like starting a movement?!!!

Check it out: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-word30-2008oct30,0,2457176.story

The Washington Times is running a similar interview with me...

Peace, Justin

THIS IS A GRASS ROOTS FILM FOR A GRASS ROOTS MOVEMENT.
THIS IS YOUR FILM. THIS IS YOUR CAUSE.
JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED!
NO STUDIO OR CORPORATE BACKING

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A FILM WITH NO DISTRIBUTOR, NO ADVERTISING, NO THEATRICAL SUPPORT AND ZERO BUDGET FOR PROMOTION
-Beats films like W and Max Payne on weekend screen averages?
-Is on track to be the 3 Political Documentary of the year?
-Out performs last years Academy Winning Documentary?
-Sells out showings across the country?
-Ranks 1 or 2 in almost every theater we screened in?


THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS:

-Scores of young girls in Cambodia who were brought out of the sex slave trade will now have valuable new skills that will lead to sustainable employment.
-Thousands of dollars are raised for global projects fighting human trafficking
-The calls coming into the Human Trafficking 800 number increase 400%
-Thousands of people use the TAKE ACTION platform on www.callandresponse.com calling upon major companies to join the SLAVEFREE movement by investigating their product chains. Two major apparel companies (Gap & Burberry) answer the calls and agree to further inquiry.
-Thousands of people sign up for the TEXT MESSAGING campaign

And all of this happened in ONE WEEK



We continue to play this week in:


SAN DIEGO
MINNEAPOLIS
DALLAS
EAST BAY AREA, CA
CHICAGO
AUSTIN
SEATTLE


More screens being added daily.
STAY TUNED.
TELL FRIENDS.
THIS IS ON! .

Another way to stay connected is to join our CRITICAL MASS text campaign. You get access to free songs from the film, updates, and up-to-the-minute info on the movement. We will be using the collective power of our CRITICAL MASS to make massive instant changes in this issue. Join the CALLS that will get a RESPONSE. TEXT "CALL" TO 90999. I promise you will never be solicited for anything other than justice.

Listen, this is a real story. There's never been one like it and you are a huge part of it. I hope you can stay connected to the story by visiting the website, www.callandresponse.com, often to see all the new RESPONSES to this issue. We are seeing real change come out of this platform, and it all comes from you. Use it. And watch what happens.

Please continue to spread the word about this little open source film that's being used to bring justice. We have just begun.

With respect,

Justin Dillon


It always seems impossible until its done.- Nelson Mandela

Check it out!
Top ten Per Screen Average for this weekend!!!

That means our little film with no distributor beat "W" and "Max Payne" for Per Screen Averages.

A little film about justice beating a big studio film.

Bring it!

Hey, Ben!

We did it! We released CALL+RESPONSE. And in doing so, we proved that art, justice, and commerce can all sit down at the table and get things done.

I am sitting here listening to some songs and thinking about how music is such an amazing and powerful thing. So many of you went to a theater this week to engage an issue that many would rather not touch. You heard the songs, you heard the stories....AND you began to do something about it. When has a film ever accomplished real change for an issue during its first week of release?! But it happened. Because of you, we have funded a program in Cambodia to train and employ survivors of sex slavery. IT TOOK JUST ONE WEEK!

You are the response! No one believed it was possible, but we are beating other major Hollywood films. All without one penny of advertising. And we are just getting started.

Tonight we open the film in CHICAGO, SEATTLE, SAN DIEGO, AUSTIN, DALLAS, MINNEAPOLIS, and on Monday, DENVER.

Please use BETHERESPONSE, FACEBOOK, Texty Tele, Email and Carrier Pigeons to let everyone you know in these cites that we are coming. The world, quite literally, is watching.

This is such a limited time in theaters. And tickets for some showtimes are already selling out, so be sure to go to www.callandresponse.com/tickets.html to get yours today.

CALL+RESPONSE was made for communities to see together, so bring your community -- every one of them! Tens of thousands are spreading the word from coast to coast about this great cause. If you or someone you know lives in these cities please support CALL+RESPONSE. I promise you that it will be worth the effort. But don't just take my word for it. Here are the latest reviews:

"harrowing... a documentary with its heart and outrage in the right place..." -- Washington Post

... "Call + Response" is a passionate documentary on human trafficking ... remarkably informative ... succeeds in its aim to raise awareness of a genuinely disturbing issue." --Variety

"vivid and affecting...[a] call-to-action voice against a worsening global scourge."-- Los Angeles Times

"impassioned . . .eye-opening" and "ignoring this crisis is no longer an option." -- Seattle Times

"Dillon's approach is emotionally effective...Call + Response...a harrowing and important documentary" -- Austin Chronicle

"Dillon energetically combines studio performances [and] interviews with activists... Cornel West... is dramatically on target... as far as concert documentaries for causes go, "Call + Response" deserves attention" -- Chicago Tribune

"emotionally passionate...a powerful and potentially influential film, able to reach multiple generations" -- The North County Times

"a film that chronicles the movement by musicians and artists to both call attention to the world's 27 million slaves...and to do something about it." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"... a powerful film ... inviting the audience to 'open source' activism ... a powerful attempt at representing the power and dignity in the words and faces of the oppressed. It deserves attention." -- The Film Talk

Please help us continue to tell this story ... it is your story!

Love,

Justin

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a little tired. And I have yet to stop and ponder all that has happened so fast.

How about I just talk about last week?

I left my City by the Bay at 4am Sunday Morning (Oct 5) to head out to NYC for some media and our Tribeca Premier Screening. Pretty sure I get on a different plane every day now. The idea of playing the film in New York just seems right. It was one of the cities that we filmed in, and we have pretty much screened the film in every city we worked in…..except London….thats coming.

All day monday I had interviews with newspapers and radio. Got to go to Sirius Radio and do a fantastic interview with Larry Flick. What a great interview. I love it when people actually watch the film and ask great questions. I enjoy answering questions about human trafficking, but I am by no means an expert. But see, thats really what this film is about. I want it to provide infospiration…where views are both informed and inspired. I love experts! But I also love the spreading of knowledge out into the hands of everyone. So Larry, he asked me artist questions, film questions, ….and I could go forever on that junk. BTW, the Sirius offices are unreal. Everything is glass. Like a human fish tank with microphones and 200 stories up. So cool.

We had the Tribeca Premier that night. So many hipsters, biz people, artists, and activists came out. People from the film industry, broadway, talent promotions, commercial industry, non-profits, the United Nations,….an incredible mix. Just the kind of people-cocktail I like. Mixed and dangerous. We took over two screens at Tribeca and had a fantastic after-party. A friend of mine was in NYC from back home and ended up spinning for us all night. All I saw was potential in that party. All these variant groups and inspired and talented people. Man, we can make something out of this….

Got up at dark o'clock tuesday and flew to LA for our premier event there.Yes. Thats a long way. But I am very blessed to get to open the film on both coasts. We held the event at the Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy/Oscars) Screening Room. They have a huge 7 ft tall Oscar in there (no photos please). Beautiful Theater. Pitch perfect sound and gigantic screen. This was the first time I was able to see the film on 35mm. Its really bizarre to me that this project ended up on 35mm. It was supposed to be a viral video. I guess it still is….its just a bigger virus.

What a great after-party we had. Rocco Deluca played a live set….that voice! Jon Foreman from Switchfoot did a few of his solo tunes (buy them now…one for every season and mood you might have) and the Scrolls played a set (Sean and Sara Watkins, Benmont Tench and Glen Phillips). This was one of their first gigs as The Scrolls if I am not mistaken…..you will be hearing a lot from them. And it will be good for you. Natasha Bedingfield came to the screening as well. Never will you find such a fabulous star be so connected to the ground. A true human being. What a night. Everyone looked amazing and never lost sight of the true meaning of this film. Not easy to do, but EVERYONE was 100% present. We all knew why we were there.

I got up early the next morning and flew to Atlanta for some media. Lots of radio, a few TV appearances, and a speaking gig. I was invited onto MSNBC with Nick Kristof to talk about the film. Unfortunately, I could not make it up to NYC to do the interview so they had to satellite me in from Atlanta. Whenever you see people talking on the news and they have a picture of said city behind them…..be aware, they look disjointed because they typically cannot see who they are talked to, or with. Its just a camera, lights, and an audio feed into one ear. So you are hearing everything thats going on in the loud newsroom in somewhere else, like NYC, while you are sitting in a quiet little room with a camera somewhere else. This is where my body began to fight back against the travel. My voice began to leave my control right as the interview started. Lots of fun. Especially when I am being interviewed alongside one of my heroes, Kristof. Keeping it real people.

I had a chance later that day to speak to around 15,000 individuals at a conference in Atlanta as well. They all wanted the same thing we want, JUSTICE, and its a quite a feeling to hear that kind of collectiveness all at once. Fortunately my voice held on. That night my friends at Metromix put on a screening of the film in midtown ATL. They do it right...

Hey friends, check this out.

* CALL+RESPONSE is ALREADY in the top 5 biggest openings for a Political Documentary in 2008.
* In some markets we stunned Hollywood by beating out, The Duchess (Keira Knightly) and Body of Lies (Russell Crowe/Leonardo Dicaprio), both with major stars and studios backing them, not to mention millions in advertising.
* On Thursday night, in seven theaters, we beat out Clooney, Pitt, "Nick and Norah", "Choke" and Woody Allen's new film.
* We had a bigger opening weekend than last year's Academy Award winning documentary!

All of this was done with a FIRST-TIME DIRECTOR. . . a 100% NON-PROFIT FILM. . . absolutely NO STUDIO BACKING . . . NO DISTRIBUTOR . . . NO ADVERTISING, NOT EVEN NEWSPAPER LISTINGS . . . and we were in 10 MARKETS on 12 SCREENS. This has never been done before.

In an uncertain economic time, Americans certainly showed their concern for the issue of Human Trafficking and we've only just begun. We've been hearing reports about people starting forums and action committees - people seeing the film and then bringing back their friends who have never heard about the issue. Everyone who sees this film is responding.

4,000 people have joined the text coalition in just two days, by texting "CALL to 90999" and we are on our way to funding a Not For Sale Campaign project in Thailand through text donations alone. (if you haven't already, you can give $5 right now by texting RESPOND to 90999). Several cities saw Not For Sale's lantern vigil leading up to the theaters, and the Human Trafficking Hotline is ringing off the hook with a 10x increase in calls. Tens of millions heard about the film when Justin was on Dr. Phil, MSNBC's Morning Joe and CNN . . . and we are just getting started. Do us a favor: Tell your friends about these stories!

Over the next week, we are moving into Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis, San Diego, Chicago, Dallas and the San Francisco East Bay Area. Please help us continue to tell this story - a story about a film, that is not only talking about an issue. . . but is doing something about it. Thousands of people are using the online action pages , such as SlaveFree, Chain Store Reaction, SlaveryMap and Open Source Activism. We have yet to see an activist platform like CallandResponse.com, and its working! We are starting to see people respond to the call, by funding the projects we are sponsoring around the world. Never has a film been more about action, than it is about awareness. This is your story now. You are giving a voice to the 27 million people who've had their voices taken from them.

Please help us write the 2nd Chapter this week by inviting everyone you know out to the theaters, and directing them to www.callandresponse.com. Will you forward this email to 10 people? If you are in Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis, San Diego, Chicago, Dallas and the San Francisco East Bay Area - will you buy 10 tickets?

You have the power to show that, "Justice is what love looks like in public."


Justin Dillon
Director/Producer

Joel Day
Operations Director

Vicki Ward
Project Director

Jeremy Meier
Distribution Director


Rocking The Reviews!

"impassioned . . .eye-opening" and "ignoring this crisis is no longer an option."
Seattle Times

"powerful performances . . . a collective call to the world community to stop slavery. . . assures viewers that they can make a difference."
Denver Westword

Call+Response is "harrowing. . . a documentary with its heart and outrage in the right place. . ."
Washington Post

"a film that chronicles the movement by musicians and artists to both call attention to the world's 27 million slaves. . .and to do something about it."
San Francisco Chronicle

"vivid and affecting. . . [a] call-to-action voice against a worsening global scourge."
Los Angeles Times

"Dillon's approach is emotionally effective. . . Call + Response. . .a harrowing and important documentary"
Austin Chronicle