In Chicago, Actor-Filmmaker Peter Mastne brings Sex Trafficking to the Screen.

"I’m looking for emotions that stir something actionable in you." he says emphatically. "Anger, hope, belief, compassion. These are emotions that drive action. And action is the only thing that will confront this issue."

I’m sitting opposite Peter Mastne, a young actor-turned-filmmaker, to chat about his new film, Imago, a drama about sex trafficking which he wrote and is now producing, directing and starring in.

We meet in the lobby of the Sheraton Grand, facing the river. We chit chat for a few minutes, then start to delve into his past. He’s lived an interesting life. Born and raised in Thailand to American parents, he also spent 7 years in India as a soccer coach. He studied sports coaching in Cambridge, England and has travelled all over the globe.

So why acting? “I was always performing from a young age” he says. “I come from a big family and we had a dance troupe that would tour the country. We were on TV all the time. It was pretty funny, actually. I was very involved in school plays and then when I was 17 I booked a small role in a Thai soap opera. I was supposed to be a British soldier who spoke fluent Thai.” He shakes his head, embarrassed.

But performing wasn’t his only focus growing up. He talks freely about his adolescent years spent smuggling aid to Burmese refugees and doing relief work with victims of the Asian Tsunami in 2005.

“I don’t think I really took acting seriously until I moved to Chicago several years back. That was when I decided to make it a career.”

Since then, Peter has delved into the Indie world, starring in several films, most of which are due for release this year. He also played a supporting role in the Indie pilot The Blockade Runner.

Eager to hear about his latest project, I dive in.

 

Note: The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

 

GS: So tell me more about Imago’s plot.

PM: Ok, so the story is actually about this African-American woman, Keisha, who runs a safehouse for girls that have been rescued from sex trafficking.  When one of her girls goes missing, she hires a private investigator to find her. But there’s a caveat. Keisha hates him.

 

GS: Why?

PM: (Smiles) That would be a spoiler. But let’s just say she has a very good reason. So together these two go down this rabbit hole and they’re confronted with all the horrific things that go on in the underworld of human trafficking. But at the same time there’s this awful tension between them because of what happened in the past. And eventually, they have some tough decisions to make because the stakes have been raised. And while they have to confront the situation, they also each have to confront themselves…and each other.

 

GS: Sounds intriguing.

PM: And at the same time, we’re following a few of the girls and how they get caught up in this ring and how each of them deals with it. So, there’s a lot of moving parts.

 

GS: How long did it take you to write it?

PM: About 10 months. I think it was last July I started writing, and I didn’t really have a final draft until early April.

 

GS:  How are you managing to produce, direct and act at the same time?

PM: (Laughs) I have no idea! On the first day of filming our script supervisor found some gray hairs on my head and I was like, I’m not surprised. Honestly though, we have a lot of great people working on this project and that makes my job easier. It takes a village to make a movie and it’s fascinating to watch a group of over 50 people come together and devote themselves to telling a story.

 

GS: Let’s backtrack a little. What inspired you to write this story in the first place?

PM: Growing up in Thailand, I knew all about sex trafficking, but when I came back to the US, I never really figured it was such an issue here. I mean, you never hear about it. And yet every year, more than 18,000 girls are trafficked into this country. And that’s not even mentioning the ones that are kidnapped right here, in our backyard. Some of them are only 5 or 6 years old. It’s horrific. And I wanted to do something, I just wasn’t sure what. And then it hit me. I’m an actor, a story-teller. I’ll make a movie about it.

 

GS: Tell me about the research process, what was that like?

PM: My sister works with A21 in Dallas and I used to spend hours on the phone with her listening to these stories about what actually goes on. And then a friend of mine here in Chicago is actually opening a safehouse for victims in Michigan. I had a couple of long chats with her and afterwards I was sick. I even interviewed a couple of survivors and heard their stories first-hand. It really struck a primal, visceral nerve in me, to know that this still goes on all around us every day. I almost feel stupid just writing about it because there’s a part of me that wants to do something more, something actionable. It’s like the caveman in me wants to take a weapon and go after some of these guys. But you can’t just do that. Or maybe you can, I don’t know. But it might not be such a good idea.

 

GS: What do you think would happen if you did?

PM: I’d probably be killed. But there’s an element of that in the story as well. We try to pose the question, at what point is it ok for average citizens to use force to protect their fellow human beings? Because I think there’s merit to the question, is law enforcement solely responsible to protect the freedom and safety of our citizens? And if for whatever reason they can’t, or don’t or won’t, then who’s responsibility, is it?

 

GS: Tell me a bit more about your character in the movie.

PM: So I play Scott Tanner, who’s the private investigator that Keisha goes to for help. He’s eaten up by guilt from his past and when she comes to him for help, he sees it as potential form of redemption. But he’s risking his life to go delving into this issue, and he's also married with a little girl, so there’s a lot at stake. And when things start to spiral out of control, he has some tough decisions to make.

 

GS: How do you tell a story like this without depressing your audience?

PM: I think it really depends how you tell it. It was paramount to me when I was writing that people didn’t leave the movie feeling depressed. Because that emotion that drives you inward. And I’m looking for emotions that stir something actionable in you. Anger, hope, belief, compassion. These are emotions that drive action. And action is the only thing that’s going to confront this issue. Ultimately, Imago is a story of redemption…for all the characters. Whether that’s a physical, literal redemption or something more internal, there’s hope that we as human beings are not bound by circumstance, that we have power over our own slavery.

 

GS: What do you mean by that?

PM: We’re all slaves to something, in a way. From the time we’re born, we’re told what we need to do, how we need to do it, what the world expects from us, and what we need in order to be happy. And it can be easy to feel trapped in a reality we didn't necessarily choose or create. But I’m hoping that the subtext of Imago is this. We are only slaves to the choices we make.

 

GS: Do you really think that watching a movie like this will generate an active response amongst viewers?

PM: I certainly hope so. I think, as Americans, we have an ability to take an honest look at ourselves and evaluate things in our society that aren’t right. We did it with slavery, we did it with women’s rights and suffrage, we did it with black segregation in the 60s and we’re still doing it today, in this political climate. And I really hope we can do the same with this issue of sex trafficking, that we’ll be able to ask ourselves, why is this still happening today, in the land of the free? And more importantly, is there something we should be doing about it?

 

GS: What are your plans for the release and distribution of the movie?

PM: We’re shooting for a 2018 premiere, hopefully at one of the major film festivals. But if not, we’ll definitely have our own distribution, both theatrical and VOD.

 

GS: It was great chatting with you. How do our readers find out more about the movie? 

PM: We’d love to partner with organizations or individuals who are actively fighting sex trafficking or anyone really who wants to bring their time and talents to this project. Anyone can find us on social media or they can email us at imagothemovie2017@gmail.com

 

To find out more about Peter Mastne and Imago, you can visit the social media links below.

https://www.facebook.com/Imagothemovie2017/

https://www.facebook.com/PeterMastne/