Lifetime greenlights the new Ripped from the Headlines movie, Girl in Room 13, a film inspired by actual events, exploring the dark underworld of the $150-billion-dollar human trafficking industry. Returning to Lifetime, Emmy nominee Anne Heche stars as Janie, and Larissa Dias stars as her daughter Grace, who is abducted by Richie (Max Montesi) for human trafficking. Under the Broader Focus initiative, Lifetime also reunites with Elisabeth Rohm for her third directorial project with the network, having previously directed 2021’s Girl in the Basement and Switched Before Birth. Debuting in fall 2022, Girl in Room 13 will bring to light important issues and continue to drive messaging for network’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign.
Girl in Room 13 is the latest movie in Lifetime’s successful “Girl In” franchise which included Girl in the Basement, Girl in the Shed, Girl in the Box, and Girl in the Bunker among others.
Inspired by actual events, Girl in Room 13 examines the story of Grace (Dias), who was addicted to opioids after her doctor prescribed them for a sports injury at a very young age and after three stints in rehab, she is finally ready to turn her life around. Under the watchful eye of her mother, Janie (Heche), Grace takes on a job at her family’s restaurant. But her past will not let her go and when her friend coerces her into meeting her former love interest and drug dealer, Richie (Montesi), she finds herself imprisoned in a hotel room with no way out. Held captive, Richie repeatedly violates Grace, forces her to consume drugs and alcohol, and starves her — all to break her down so that she becomes compliant and can be sold into human trafficking. Refusing to give up on her daughter even when her husband and the local police believe Grace has returned to a life of using, Janie starts an all-out hunt to find Grace. Stopping at nothing, Janie discovers the dark world of human trafficking and the shocking statistics about its widespread victims and its unexpected accomplices.
Heche returns to Lifetime having previously starred in 2004’s Gracie’s Choice with Kristen Bell, 2006’s Fatal Desire with Eric Roberts, and 2011’s Girl Fight with James Tupper. Dias also previously starred in Family Pictures in 2019, reuniting her with Rohm who also starred in the movie.
Girl in Room 13 is produced by Motel Productions Inc for Lifetime. Tim Johnson, Stacy Mandelberg, and Yvonne Chotzen serve as executive producers. The film is written by Maria Nation (The Gabby Douglas Story) and will be directed by Elisabeth Rohm.
In 2020 reporter Carmen Neithammer reported in Forbes that global statics on human trafficking are on the rise and the International Labor Organization estimates that there are currently 25 million victims worldwide, including men, women and children. The $150 billion dollar business of human trafficking knows no bounds and traffickers use banks, transportation, hotels rooms and social media to lure in their victims, often involving legitimate services and companies.
