Mira Sorvino, starring in the upcoming two-part, four-hour Lifetime miniseries Human Trafficking, about the brutal realities of international sex trafficking of women and children, told a TV Critics Association (TCA) press tour session Saturday in L.A. that her role will extend beyond the program.
A spokesperson for Amnesty International, Sorvino said her group will team with Lifetime in an outreach campaign intended to increase public awareness of sex slavery and calling for public policy changes to address the issue in the U.S. and other countries.
Sorvino will cut PSAs aimed at college kids that she said would appear on MTV channels.
Human Trafficking Executive Producer Robert Halmi Sr., a principal in Hallmark's media holdings, made a rare public appearance during the cable portion of the press tour. Acknowledging that the miniseries differs from the type of fare he usually produces, Halmi emphasized its importance, calling it "a reality show that is not about eating bugs."
The project was filmed in Thailand, but panelists conceded the setting was changed to the Philippines in the miniseries because Thai officials were sensitive about that nation's image as haven for childhood prostitution.
Sorvino, one of two Oscar winners starring in upcoming Lifetime projects, said she turned down a theatrical movie with the same theme because the Lifetime script was "superior."
Appearing on an earlier Lifetime panel, Academy Award-winner Kathy Bates discussed why she chose to appear in the cable channel's Ambulance Girl, based on a true story in which she stars and directs.
