Section 1591 has its world premiere at Raindance Film Festival 2026.
The feature was edited and executive produced by GV Film Director Jeremy Shaw.
SECTION 1591 is an unflinching feature documentary exposing the sex trafficking of minors in the U.S.A. and the extraordinary resilience of those who have survived it. A powerful, confronting, and deeply human film. At its centre is Jeff Tiegs, a highly decorated former U.S. Delta Force operator now waging a very different battle against child sex trafficking. But as his story unfolds, the film reveals that Jeff’s own scars echo those of the survivors he is fighting for.
Anchored by survivor voices, not stylised reenactments or manufactured drama, SECTION 1591 is a visceral, deeply human exploration of courage, trauma, and redemption, as Jeff, advocates, law enforcement, and Homeland Security work to expose one of America’s most abhorrent hidden crimes.
Filmed over seven years on RED and finished in Dolby Vision (Scope) and Dolby Atmos, with sound mixed by Oscar-winning re-recording mixer Paul Massey, and post-production supported by Dolby, the film represents a bold new benchmark in independent documentary filmmaking, combining cinematic scale with an uncompromising commitment to truth.
Review
Counterterrorism and trafficking professional Jeff Tiegs fought as a soldier in both Afghanistan and Iraq. America may have lost those wars but Jeff is determined it won’t lose the one he’s currently engaged in, one much closer to home: the fight to end child sex trafficking in the United States. With the data agency SkullGames, Jeff and his team tirelessly collect webs of information with the aim of bringing an end to a criminal activity which is shockingly prevalent.
But the real heroes here are the survivors of sex trafficking with whom Jeff interacts, who step forward to share their stories. Their accounts of sexual abuse and human trafficking are not easy to hear but, as the film gently points out, it is vitally important that we listen – if we don’t engage with this difficult problem then how can we hope to solve it?
As the survivors share their experiences of grooming, coercion and abuse, sometimes at the hands of family members, it is their incredible courage that shines through. Sadly, we are reminded that many women cannot share their stories – traffickers spin tangled webs of fear and dependence from which most never escape.
Shocking in its subject matter but sensitive in its approach, Section 1591 is fearless filmmaking and essential viewing.
Review by Joanna Boyd