Whitestone Motion Pictures is currently working on a short film in the fantasy genre called The Candy Shop, starring Pan’s Labyrinth‘s Doug Jones.  Its purpose is to raise awareness about the sex trafficking of children, but uses creative, fairytale images and metaphor to tell the story.

It is based in a city the dirty thirties, where a young boy notices a candy shop across the street from his fruit stand.  An evil-looking man sells candy to a specific group of customers, and soon the boy discovers that this man is snatching little girls off the street, turning them into pieces of candy in a machine in his basement, and selling them to the hungry patrons who frequent his store.  Check out this promo video:

As director Brandon McCormick says in his blog, this is quite possibly the “most important film” he will ever get to make.  Sex trafficking has been an issue on his heart for many years, and making this film is like a dream come true.

The Candy Shop is coming out in November, and all the proceeds are going to Street Grace, a non-denominational alliance of churches, community partners, and volunteers whose goal is to bring an end to commercial sexual exploitation in Atlanta and duplicate these efforts in cities across America.

So let’s keep our eyes open for this excellent film!  You can follow Whitestone Motion Pictures on twitter to get regular updates and premiere info.  We will let you know on HFTS about how you can get your hands on The Candy Shop and spread it at anti-trafficking events and among your friends.

To Brandon McCormick and The Candy Shop team, keep up the great work and know that we at HFTS are excited to see your masterpiece and put an end to sexual exploitation together!

Michelle Brock