Currently playing at the 2010 HollyShorts Film Festival in support of its recent DVD and Blu-Ray release, the short film Chains ups the ante on the issue of human trafficking by proposing, not so unrealistically, that the issue now has widened its grasp on humanity and traffickers are kidnapping upper class professionals into slavery.

In Chains, Michelle (Tracey Heggins) is a doctor who is kidnapped and forced to perform surgeries as a modern day slave. Her husband (Andre Royo) races against time to save her while working against time and society's apathy towards human trafficking.

Written and directed by Marcus Stokes, Chains is an intense and disturbing thriller featuring a strong performance by Royo in what is a condensed version of the first act of the original screenplay. The fact that Chains is essentially a concept short is evident, with this drastically shortened version occasionally feeling stuffed a bit too full of the inherent conflict and moral arguments that accompany the issue of human trafficking.

For more information on Chains, visit the film's website.