Michael Cory Davis
Encyclopedia
Michael Cory Davis is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist.
He was born in Brooklyn
, of Jamaican parents. He studied acting at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
, and upon graduation landed a recurring role on All My Children
.
Davis has been involved in the fight to end modern day slavery
since 2003 when he became a Goodwill Ambassador
for the organization, Face to Face Bulgaria
. Through that organization, Michael met a victim of trafficking, a 13-year old Bulgarian girl sold by her adoptive parents into prostitution
. Michael wrote, directed and produced the award-winning film, Svetlana’s Journey, based on her story. He lived in and toured Bulgaria
meeting countless victims and potential victims, using his film as the tool to educate the children. In 2005, the film aired on Bulgaria’s national television station and in the U.S., it won the Hollywood Film Festival
for Best Short Subject
as well as the HD Film Festival for Best Short, Best Dramatic Short and runner-up
for Best Director. Michael’s second film, Cargo: Innocence Lost, is a documentary focusing on sex trafficking in the United States—both films have been used by more than one hundred national and international agencies, organizations, churches, and educational institutions. Michael has worked with legislators, royalty, celebrities, and corporations to create social awareness. He is the recipient of the prestigious People to People International
(founded by Dwight Eisenhower
) Make a Difference award and has been covered by various broadcast and print media
outlets including on World News with Charles Gibson
, CNN
, NBC
, ABC
, KTLA
, and Los Angeles Daily News
, bringing light to the issue.
He was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, of Jamaican parents. He studied acting at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
, and upon graduation landed a recurring role on All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
.
Davis has been involved in the fight to end modern day slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
since 2003 when he became a Goodwill Ambassador
Goodwill Ambassador
Goodwill Ambassador is a collective term sometimes used as a substitute honorific title or a title of honor for an Ambassador of Goodwill; but, most appropriately for a generic recognition, it is a job position or description that is usually indicated following the name of the individual recognized...
for the organization, Face to Face Bulgaria
Face to Face Bulgaria
Face to Face Bulgaria was founded by former Miss Bulgaria Universe winner Magdalina Valchanova in 2002. While technically separate from Face to Face International, which was founded by the United Nations, it remains in close contact. Face to Face Bulgaria's primary mission is to prevent cases of...
. Through that organization, Michael met a victim of trafficking, a 13-year old Bulgarian girl sold by her adoptive parents into prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. Michael wrote, directed and produced the award-winning film, Svetlana’s Journey, based on her story. He lived in and toured Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
meeting countless victims and potential victims, using his film as the tool to educate the children. In 2005, the film aired on Bulgaria’s national television station and in the U.S., it won the Hollywood Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual Film festival which is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Festival was established in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington....
for Best Short Subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
as well as the HD Film Festival for Best Short, Best Dramatic Short and runner-up
Runner-up
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the...
for Best Director. Michael’s second film, Cargo: Innocence Lost, is a documentary focusing on sex trafficking in the United States—both films have been used by more than one hundred national and international agencies, organizations, churches, and educational institutions. Michael has worked with legislators, royalty, celebrities, and corporations to create social awareness. He is the recipient of the prestigious People to People International
People to People International
People to People International was established on September 11, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as part of the U.S. Information Agency...
(founded by Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
) Make a Difference award and has been covered by various broadcast and print media
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
outlets including on World News with Charles Gibson
World News with Charles Gibson
ABC World News is the flagship daily evening program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting Company television network in the United States. Currently, the weekday editions are anchored by Diane Sawyer and the weekend editions are anchored by David Muir. The program has been...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
, and Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
, bringing light to the issue.
"I want artists to understand that we have the ability to talk to billions of people through our work so we must be open to do more than just entertain. We have to find ways to empower, enlighten, and educate with our work. I also want people to be reminded that we don't live in an Utopian society and the only way to get there is through collective team work, honest dialogue, and making human rights our number one global priority." - Michael Cory Davis