Manhattan College To Host Screening Of Acclaimed Documentary Call+Response

Film explores human rights offenses and fight against modern-day slavery.

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College will host a free screening of the acclaimed documentary Call+Response on Thursday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Following the presentation, director Justin Dillon will lead a discussion about the film and human rights offenses plaguing the world.

As part of the evening, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (District 81) will be honored for his work against human trafficking in New York State. Dinowitz sponsored the bill A.1898-b, The Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2006, which was officially signed into law by then-Governor Eliot Spitzer in summer 2007.

The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by JustPeace and Manhattan College’s office of campus ministry and social action.

Referred to as a “rockumentary,” Call+Response uses the power of music and creativity to express the pain and perseverance of the battle against slavery. The film was funded entirely by donations, with all profits going to fund global field projects on the front lines of the human trafficking issue.

Call+Response goes deep undercover to where slavery thrives, from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick kilns of rural India, to reveal that in 2007, slave traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined. Luminaries such as Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, Daryl Hannah, Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Nicholas Kristof, and many other prominent political and cultural figures offer firsthand accounts of this 21st century trade.

The soundtrack features performances from Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed artists including Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Talib Kweli and Five For Fighting.

For more information about the film, visit the Web site www.callandresponse.com.

Dillon came across the issue of human trafficking while on tour as a musician in Russia. Upon return to the United States, he immediately started to host benefit concerts to help organizations dedicated to the issue support and spread their work. His desire to do a benefit concert quickly grew into Call+Response.
 
A member of the band Dime Store Prophets in the 1990s, Dillon left to pursue music in the band Tremolo, which was featured on television shows such as The Mountain and North Shore, as well as a variety of MTV shows, including Pimp My Ride, Newlyweds, Bands Reunited, and Dismissed. With the release of the group’s first album, Love Is the Greatest Revenge  (2005), Tremolo did something unique; they donated 50 percent of the royalties to charities selected by their fans.

For more information about this event, please contact Sarah Cicuto at (718) 862-8281 or e-mail scicuto.student@manhattan.edu.

Members of the media who would like to cover any of the events should call Scott Silversten at (718) 862-7232 or e-mail scott.silversten@manhattan.edu. Manhattan College is located at West 242nd Street near Broadway in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, one mile from the Westchester County line and accessible by MTA subway line No. 1.

Founded in 1853, Manhattan College is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of undergraduate study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, along with graduate programs in education and engineering. For more information about Manhattan College, visit www.manhattan.edu.