Blowin' Up

Documentary Competition

World Premiere

USA | 94 MINUTES | English, Japanese, Mandarin | English subtitles

BLOWIN' UP

New York, Experimental, Documentary, Female Director(s), NY Director(s), Female Screenwriter(s), Asian American Director(s)
When a woman leaves her pimp, it’s called “blowin’ up.” And in Blowin’ Up, director Stephanie Wang-Breal zooms in on an experimental court in Queens that focuses on advocating for, rather than bringing to trial, women brought in on prostitution- and human trafficking-related charges, encouraging them to exit “the life.” In this courtroom, after they complete a series of mandatory counseling sessions, defendants see their charges sealed and dismissed. As the film illuminates the setbacks and triumphs they confront during this process, it also reveals the external pressures that channel these women, some of the community’s most vulnerable, into prostitution.

With unparalleled access to the inner workings of the court and the incredible women behind this compassionate approach to criminal justice, Wang-Breal captures the tenuous ecosystem that has developed in this particular Queens courtroom. Balancing intimate insight into counseling sessions with observations of the daily dramas that play out in and around the court, Blowin' Up is a gorgeous cinematic immersion into the human side of the justice system.

—Ian Hollander

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal

Stephanie Wang-Breal is the award-winning director of three feature-length films: Wo Ai Ni Mommy (I Love You, Mommy), Tough Love, and Blowin’ Up. Wang-Breal also directs commercials, sits on the board of the New York Women's Foundation, and is the mother of two kids.
Director
Stephanie Wang-Breal
Producer
Carrie Weprin
Screenwriter
Stephanie Wang-Breal
Cinematographer
Erik Shirai
Composer
Dan Michaelson
Editor
Jonathan Oppenheim
Executive Producers
Patty Quillin, Blaine Vess, Eric & Susan Fredston-Hermann, Agnès Mentre, David Panda Lee
Associate Producer
Daniel Claridge
Cast
Hon. Toko Serita, Eliza Hook, Susan Liu, Catherine Carbonaro, Leigh Latimer

CONTACTS

International Sales Contact
Jason Ishikawa
Cinetic Media
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 808 277 6195
jason@cineticmedia.com
Print Source
Carrie Weprin
Once in a Blue, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 646 588 8867
carrie@onceinabluefilm.com
US Sales Contact
Jason Ishikawa
Cinetic Media
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 808 277 6195
jason@cineticmedia.com
Press Contact
Adam Kersh
Fusion Entertainment
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 917 771 7021
adam@fusion-entertainment.com