Trust exclusive at Ayala Cinemas

MANILA, Philippines - David Schwimmer, best-known for playing Ross in the hit TV sitcom Friends, now directs Millenium Films’ psychological thriller Trust which stars Clive Owen, Catherine Keener and Viola Davis. The critically-acclaimed film on the dangers of Internet relationships will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma) starting Sept. 7.

When Annie, a 14-year-old girl, is seduced by a 41-year-old Internet predator she knows only as “Charlie,” it tears apart her family. While her father, Will (Owen) becomes obsessed with revenge fantasies, Annie enters therapy, where she refuses to admit she’s been victimized.

David is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Rape Foundation in Santa Monica and has been supporting their work at the Rape Treatment Center for more than 10 years. He has met many victims and their families, and has heard many stories, but a few years ago one particular father’s account stood out.

It inspired the actor-director to create a film about online predators in today’s Internet age. David explains, “One of our invited speakers was a father in the community who spoke about the process of coming to terms with his daughter being groomed, and subsequently raped, by an Internet predator. He described his conflicting feelings of guilt, rage, pain, impotence and responsibility and how it nearly destroyed him and his family. His incredibly frank and revealing story profoundly affected me and I realized then that I had found an unusual path into dramatizing this delicate and difficult subject matter in a way that everyone — especially men — can relate to.”

He continues, “We both agreed that we didn’t want to go the route of a revenge action thriller like Taken. We wanted to make this movie a very real drama, almost in the vein of Ordinary People. What we hope is that this movie starts a dialogue for parents and their children about Internet safety; and how sometimes the Internet can be the Scary Uncle that no one wants to acknowledge.”