Benjamin Nolot

Benjamin Nolot

A black-and-white photograph of four men standing in a room filled with equipment including a videocamera, a speaker, and a spotlight

Benjamin Nolot (left) working on Nefarious: Merchant of Souls with other members of the film crew
Residence Grandview, Missouri
Nationality United States
Occupation Filmmaker
Years active 2007–present
Organization Exodus Cry
Known for Nefarious: Merchant of Souls
Religion Christianity

Benjamin Nolot [1] is the president and founder of Exodus Cry,[2] a Grandview, Missouri-based[3] organization that opposes human trafficking[4] by raising awareness, by reintegrating victims back into society, and by praying.[3]

Exodus Cry

Exodus Cry self-describes as being "committed to abolishing sex slavery through Christ-centered prevention, intervention, and holistic restoration for trafficking victims."[5] Nolot founded Exodus Cry in 2007 after a woman he didn't know gave him $10000,[6] saying that God told her to do so in order that Nolot might found an anti-human-trafficking organization.[7] He founded the organization at a prayer meeting later that year[8] where attendees prayed for human trafficking victims. The organization claims that this prayer meeting occurred on the day before the announcement of the 2007 international child pornography investigation, which involved approximately 2400 human-trafficking-related suspects living in 77 different countries.[9]

Nefarious: Merchant of Souls

Nolot then wrote,[10] directed, produced, and narrated Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, a documentary film about human trafficking.[1] He also conducted the interviews in the film, speaking with such people as a police officer and a pimp.[3] Other scenes depict Nolot doing things like chasing a pedophile out of a town in which he was trying to purchase the right to sexually abuse a child.[1] The film was distributed by Exodus Cry.[11] Nefarious was Nolot's film debut.[1] Filming started in 2007. Nolot travelled to 19 different countries to collect the film's content.[3] These filming locations included countries in the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia.[4] Nolot attested to having found producing the film difficult because of the subject matter; he stated that "there is not a day that goes by that I am not mindful of the horrific tragedies we uncovered". He further said that he did not make the film in order to make money or gain fame but rather to rouse people to action against human trafficking, an issue he finds both personal and important.[3] Dan Preston of Godculture Magazine praised Nolot's writing and directing of the film.[10] Nolot said that the purpose of the film is "to draw people's attention to the issue, but also to inspire them in terms of what they can be doing... to take a stand against this injustice".[7] At the 2011 California Film Awards, Nefarious made Nolot the Grand Winner in the Best First-Time Documentary category.[12] At the 2012 Kingdomwood Christian Film Festival, Nolot was named Best Director.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jamie Rake (October 28, 2011). "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls". The Phantom Tollbooth. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ Joy Francis (2011). You Are Beautiful: A Journey of Discovery. WinePress Publishing. ISBN 1414117906.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Jimmy Stewart (January 2, 2012). "'Nefarious: Merchant of Souls' Exposes Sex Trafficking Industry". Charisma. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Leesa Smith (July 25, 2011). "Raising awareness of Sydney sex trafficking". Southern Courier. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "About Exodus Cry". Exodus Cry. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  6. ↑ Exodus, Cry. "About". Exodus Cry. Retrieved 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Julia Gabriel Williams (October 2, 2011). 'Nefarious' Docu-Drama Unmasks Global Sex Trade. Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  8. ↑ Darren Slade (July 7, 2012). "Vision of Jesus helped transform me, says former Boscombe prostitute". Bournemouth Daily Echo.
  9. ↑ "Exodus Cry Coming to Ferris to Educate on Human Trafficking". US Fed News Service (Washington, D.C.: HT Media). September 8, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Dan Preston (June 28, 2012). "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls". Godculture Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ted Baehr. "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls". Movieguide. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  12. ↑ "2011 Grand Winners". California Film Awards. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ "2012 Kingdomwood Crowned". Kingdomwood Christian Film Festival. Retrieved February 3, 2013.

External links