The faces of the secretly filmed men have been obscured by specially-designed "digital masks" in the finished documentary. "I have problems with some situations that didn't bother me so much before, like if somebody looks at me for too long or is flirtatious in a pushy way," says Pithartova, who is 22.Įven before its release "Caught in the Net" became a cause célèbre in the Czech Republic, with much attention dedicated to the legal and ethical issues surrounding it. Indeed, she requested therapy after the shoot due to the psychological pressures she endured. One of them, Anezka Pithartova, says she doesn't regret taking part but would not agree to go through the experience again. Anezka Pithartova on the set of "Caught in the Net" Image: Milan Jaros, Hypermarket Film Given the sensitive nature of the project, the filmmakers have provided security and other support to the three young actors. "She must have been aware of the girl's psychosexual development, but still she proposes a threesome." "The woman asks if the girl is menstruating yet and knows she is still a virgin," she says. One particular instance in which an adult woman accompanied the expected male predator left the whole crew gobsmacked, says Chalupova. That was followed by threats and blackmail."įace-to-face meetings with predators in Prague cafés were monitored not just by hidden cameras but also covert security staff. "After child porn, there was animal porn. "What shocked us during the shoot was that whenever we thought we'd seen the worst, something even worse came along," says co-director Vit Klusak. Nevertheless, the film traces a clear escalation in the aggressive methods employed by the predators, including in some cases attempted blackmail when the "girls," repeatedly pressured, sent (photoshopped) revealing pictures.
#MOVIE ABOUT ONLINE PREDATORS CODE#
They established a code of conduct according to which the "girls" were to state clearly that they were 12 and respond reluctantly to overtly sexual commands or proposed "dates." Directors Barbora Chalupova and Vit Klusak (middle) spent three years on the project Image: Milan Jaros, Hypermarket Film Throughout the nearly three-year-long project, the documentary's makers were in regular contact with a number of professionals, including a children's helpline operator, sexologist, lawyer and police officers specialized in this area of cybercrime. "That's the reason we opted for this approach." "This phenomenon takes place completely behind children's bedroom doors, which was the stumbling block of the entire shoot," Chalupova says. The three protagonists were cast on the basis of their unusually young appearances and appropriately dressed and made-up for the shoot.Ĭo-director Barbora Chalupova says this painstakingly conceived set-up was the only possible way the "Caught in the Net" team could record genuine online predators, who request video sex, nudity, explicit photos and personal meetings and in some cases offer money. They also drew on anonymous transcripts of actual communications between predators and victims to help train the unknown leads for the singular project, which was initially conceived as a short viral video highlighting how easily girls can face online exploitation. The makers recreated convincing preteen bedrooms for the "girls," containing plush toys and mementos from the actors' own childhoods, in a large film studio. Read more: Police: German chat groups trade child sex abuse videosĭuring the making of the often chilling documentary no fewer than 2,458 potential sexual predators contacted the "12-year-olds" in 10 days. In the film, three over-18 actors repeatedly put this question to men - some of them in their 60s - who contact them on specially-established fake social media profiles that imply they are young adolescents. "You don't mind that I'm just 12?" is the tagline on posters all across the Czech Republic advertising "Caught in the Net," which enters the country's cinemas on Thursday.
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