Laeticia, a young Congolese girl, is kidnapped and sold to an American sex trafficker, Vannie, who lives in a quaint Southern California neighborhood. While Laeticia is held captive, she discovers a girl her age next door, Zora, and begins to plot her escape.

2014, USA, short narrative, 13 min., Drama

starring Kennedy Zimet, Brooke McNeal, Michole Briana White, Michael Beach, Aaron D. Spears.

Directed by
Evita Castine

Written by
Thembi Banks

Produced by
Elena Ostroumova, Zachary Skipp
(University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts)

ONLY LIGHT is a film about the unseen and dehumanizing world of International Human Sex Trafficking in the United States and essentially asking the audience to take their blinders off.

The film takes place in two different countries: the Congo and the US. There are elements of the film that fall into fantasy and magical realism. We are striving to bring this story about the second-largest criminal industry in the world ($32 billion a year) to the screen in an emotional and moving way.

546 is the most competitive graduate level class at the University of Southern California's film school, where 60 filmmakers compete for the opportunity to make one of three films that the school backs financially. ONLY LIGHT is one of those films. Several 546's have gone on to great success, including Ryan Coogler's Fig and Steven Caple Jr.'s A Different Tree. Both were HBO Short film winners and have aired and will air on HBO.

CAST
Kennedy Zimet, as Laeticia
Brook McNeal, as Zora
Jackson Mboma, as a FDLR Soldier

Casting Director: Tracy "Twinkie" Byrd

Director Evita M. Castine and Casting Director Tracy "Twinkie" Byrd