Documentary films have certainly come into their own in regards to popularity with the viewing public. Once restricted to late night/off hours programming on pay cable channels, documentaries are among the most popular productions on streaming services; this is to say nothing of the accolades they receive from the film community. 26 Seconds is a perfect embodiment of everything that is excellent about this type of filmmaking, and its editor Wei Li is an integral part of this. 26 Seconds is a documentary film which exhibits all of the drama and emotional impact of a big-budget marquee name star studded production but possesses one extra ingredient; the ability to make an actual change in the world that lasts far longer than its running time. A three-stage production which is still ongoing, the first offering of 26 Seconds received awards from across that planet at such prestigious events as the Mumbai Entertainment International Short Film Festival, Venezia Shorts Italy, Indie Shorts Awards Cannes, Docs Without Borders Film Festival, and numerous others. While the next phase of this full length feature documentary film is in production, editor Wei Li describes the approach and content that has already made it such an important and lauded documentary.
Facts should be enough to inspire people to bring about change but the reality of the world is that we are more swayed by emotions that data and statistics. A film like 26 Seconds which illuminates the ways in which children are brought into the sex trafficking industry is most impactful when those who tell the story are masterful at the delivery of emotion. The ability to wield this simultaneously with reality is a daunting task. Pacing and perspective are paramount to placing the audience into the experiential state of those presented in a documentary. For this film, Wei Li (along with director Kelly Galindo) has surgically sculpted the presentation of interviews and scenarios which are as impressive as they are concerning. To those who might suggest the culpability of drug addicts involved in prostitution, the case of Melissa highlights how an abusive home and forced drug use leads to a seemingly inescapable life of imprisonment. Oree Freeman’s experience of being sex trafficked next to Disneyland proclaims that there is no community so innocent that this blight cannot be found near it. Numerous tales of similar victims across the world in places like Thailand & Cambodia communicate that this is an ill of humanity rather than of specific restricted societies. Perhaps the most important facet of what Wei has established with his edits is that these experiences are cross cultural and must be dealt with as such.
26 Seconds is a three-stage project that reveals the pandemic of child sex trafficking. The first stage was the documentary short which has been released and garnered multiple awards. Wei Li informs, “We are now at the second stage which will be a feature documentary filmed in nine countries including: Thailand, Cambodia, India, Iraq, East Africa, Mexico, and the United States. The third stage will follow with a dramatic doc-series highlighting the survivor stories only. Covid has made such an undertaking more challenging than it might have been, making us short staffed and leading to me taking on the responsibilities of post-production manager, but Director Kelly Galindo and I are deeply committed to this project. It’s taking twice as long as we expected and there is no shortage of late nights. Still, the response has been overwhelming and there’s no shortage of awards to remind us that this project means as much to the public and the victims as it does to us. I became a filmmaker to connect with people and move them, and I got exactly that with 26 Seconds.”
Writer: Coleman Haan