Despite having never directing or written a feature-length film, Donahue decided to make his dreams into a visual story.
“I started to get better at writing [the film] and structuring it differently, to get the message across and to really develop the character, centered around [character] Mr. Gates, but fighting against this evil in a way that would inspire the community to not only be aware, but do something,” Donahue says.
Mister Gates tells the story of Christopher Gates, who returns home to Dallas after serving in the military. An unexpected tragedy leads to his dealing with the world of human trafficking.
Donahue dedicated several years to getting the story told the way he wanted to, going so far as to take a break from acting so that he could truly commit to creating the film with his vision.
“The thing I really had to do was really step away from acting at the time, go into the technology industry, save my money for five years and then be prepared to invest, to step out on my own faith to get this accomplished,” Donahue says.
Gates is played by Mack White III, whom Donahue worked with previously. White was not completely aware of the grave nature of human trafficking, but had become involved with the One Heart Project, which aims to help redirect children in at-risk situations and in the juvenile system to more successful lives. Being a spokesperson with the nonprofit led to White working with an organization that deals with human trafficking.
Putting a Cause to Celluloid
When Donahue presented White with the opportunity to star in Mister Gates, it seemed an obvious choice to the actor.“I just wanted to make sure that I was a part of bringing that message to light,” White says.
The film’s premiere will include a panel discussion with members of The Colony's police department and Tonya Stafford-Manning, the founder of It’s Going To Be OK, Inc, an organization dedicated to “eradicating human trafficking,” according to its website.
Donahue said he’s been friends with Stafford-Manning since she founded IGTBOK in 2014, and that they’ve been working together to help support one another’s projects.
“I consider her my big sister because of our connection through fighting against human trafficking,” Donahue says.
The choice to set the characters in Dallas was intentional — Texas is the second-largest hub in the country for sex trafficking, and both Dallas and Houston rank high in the number of calls received by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Donahue found that for most people in North Texas, the unfortunate reality is that sex and human trafficking is not “on their radar,” and that it was a “choice” to premiere the film in The Colony next month.
“To know we are going through our daily lives without paying attention or having that insight is really critical,” Donahue says.
Mister Gates premieres at 5:30 p.m. on June 8, at the Galaxy Theatres Grandscape, 5740 Grandscape Blvd., The Colony.
