YESTERDAY
DIRECTED BY ALICIA KESTER

Recipient of the first "The Future of Film is Female" Fund

YESTERDAY SYNOPSIS

34 days after Allegra Wu turns 13 years old her mother died. Now, stopping over night at a hotel with her father, she meets a teenager named Marine who's been kidnapped in this being sold. As the two girls bond and as Allegra works to help Marine, they find the strength to hope for a better future.

YESTERDAY depicts the human trafficking crisis through the eyes of survivors, young women and girls at risk. Allegra (Allayna Slate) and Marine (Mayou Roffe) must shed their innocence to confront their painful realities. As they grow up too fast their newfound friendship empowers them both. This is not a "savior" story;  the girls teach each other, as equals, to build strength and navigate survival.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Writer/director Alicia Kester is a writer and poet, as well as an accomplished filmmaker. Born in Los Angeles and raised between Los Angeles and Lagos, Nigeria, Alicia creates stories that reflect her experiences and the realities of her communities.

Alicia wrote YESTERDAY based on her ten (10) years of experience as a Rape Crisis Counselor and Advocate at San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR). She was further moved to make this film after the Nigerian Chibok School girls were abducted and trafficked in 2014. She hopes to shine a light on the ways that the crisis of human trafficking affects us all, specifically spotlighting the abduction and non-consensual sale of adults and children.

Alicia co-founded the film production company Light Show Pictures (LSP) in 2014, with fellow queer and trans filmmakers of color Alexander L. Lee and Dolan Chorng. LSP produces stories that give voice to marginalized communities. With LSP, Alicia most recently produced the narrative short El Camino (dir. Alexander Lee).

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

From the filmmakers: We are partnering with several nonprofit organizations that support human trafficking survivors and advocate for change. These community partners provided us feedback during the filmmaking process, and three of their youth members served as Production Assistants on set to give them introductory access to filmmaking skills. Each community partner organization will also get a free copy of Yesterday upon completion.

Our community partners are:
S.H.A.D.E. PROJECT
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Banteay Srei
 

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