Development - MANDARIN, ENGLISH, RUSSIAN, POLISH - Thriller, LGBT, Road movie - 102 minutes
Jia Song, a Chinese prostitute, endures exploitation and hardship in a society that scorns sex workers while accepting the trade because of its demand.
Year of production : 2026 Director(s) : Edward NORRIS Writer(s) : Edward NORRIS Cast : Bai LING Producer(s) : Edward NORRIS (Pristine Pictures)
With over six million sex workers in China, HOOK TO REDEMPTION reveals the life of Jia Song, who works in her dreary and cold “beauty parlor.” Her clientele is made up of married business men, migrant workers and civil servants. She is manipulated by her clients and must satisfy their perverted sexual fantasies in order to earn a living. One of Jia’s greatest fears are random police raids and the threat she faces of being arrested and imprisoned where sex workers experience harsh conditions. The "re-education through labor" policy involves working 14 hours a day (without pay) making toys for American children. Her work is a dangerous and volatile world where she risks disease, abuse and imprisonment. She endures psychological horror and public scorn. Jia lives on the edge.Jia encounters Mei, who was released after serving hard time in prison for prostitution. She confesses that, if arrested and detained again, her only solution is to commit suicide in front of the magistrate. As fate would have it, Jia is caught in flagrante delicto while policemen storm into her parlor. Fearing arrest and imprisonment, she quickly escapes through an alley with Mei, who is tragically struck by an unmarked car and killed. Jia searches desperately for a way out of her endless nightmare. With thoughts of suicide, Jia manages to bribe a Russian airline pilot who helps her board a Shanghai flight to Minsk, Belarus where she encounters Russian mafia. She saves a beautiful Ukrainian hooker, Alexandra, from a Russian pimp who threatens to kill them. They connect with intense passion and escape to Paris in search of redemption.
Country(ies) : USA, TAIWAN