SOLD the Movie: Behind the Scenes
Christopher Buck: The other thing we thought was so interesting about the film was your religious symbolism and the cultural symbolism from things like Lakshmi’s name to the connection of her mother through Champion Mantras and finally to her escape during the Festival of Kali, which, one of these facets is the protector of abused women was perfect for the story.
Jeffrey Dean Brown: Well, interestingly, we learned a lot. We had great Indian mentors in the women cast, and almost all of our cast was from Bengal, even though we cast them in Mumbai. And it turns out that the Kali Puja, when they worship Kali, it has to have the statue that they actually make Kali from, some of the clay has to come from the brothel area. You can’t make a Kali statue without incorporating that aspect, as well. If you go into the ancient Kali tantric rituals, there’s a lot of merging of death and rebirth, which is very much a part of the film. You know, all of the goddesses in the Hindu religion are just considered a philosophical aspect of the same, mother goddess divinity. They call them different Rupas. I studied a lot in Kali and Lakshmi, we all think of her as the goddess of wealth and abundance, but if you dig deeper, the reason she is the goddess of wealth and abundance -she is the goddess of community, which is our wealth and abundance, the real wealth and abundance, the interrelationship of community and how powerful that is in life to have the support of friends and family and loved ones.
Our goal with our film Sold is to bring it to communities, not just to people in the movie theater who don’t know each other but to entire communities, yoga communities, church communities, Rotarian communities, United Way groups, Save the Children supporters. These are communities of people that are already working together, doing good work in the world, and then sparked by the film, they’ll connect with these kids who have been forgotten, who are invisible, who need our help, you know, because these kids, whether they’re in the US or India or Nepal, they’re separated from their families. And the shame and stigma of what happens to them often will not allow them to go back to their families, even in the US, that can be true These kids might be 14 or 15, and they’re on their own, they don’t really have anyone else. So, we have to adopt them. We have to be their community. And that’s our goal with the film is to connect communities to support these kids. We’re so grateful for Richard and Molly and Samantha and the iRest community because they’re going to bring a huge deal of healing to these kids, you know, on a spiritual and emotional level.
Christopher Buck: Thank you very much for speaking with us for so long and for sharing not only what you’ve done but what you’re in the process of doing. You’re very much an inspiration; together we can to ripple it out and to help raise awareness of all of it.
