$pread Blog

Photo Credit: Audacia Ray/International Women's Health Coalition.

Sex Workers & Allies Screen Documentary Shorts, Discuss Advocacy Strategies

BROOKLYN, NY - On Saturday, October 24th starting at 6 pm, UnionDocs
(322 Union Avenue, Brooklyn) will host two programs of short
documentaries produced by sex workers and their allies from around the
world. Curated by activists and media makers Audacia Ray and Sarah
Jenny Bleviss, the two programs of short films and a panel of activist
media makers will explore the possibilities of documentary media for
furthering the human rights of sex workers and reducing the stigma and
violence that sex workers face.

"We thought it was important to put together this program because sex
workers and their allies are working hard at local, national, and
international levels to represent their experiences and struggles in
an authentic way that is not being captured by mainstream media," says
co-curator Audacia Ray. Sarah Jenny Bleviss was inspired to create
this program after the June premiere of "In Our Own Image: Sex Worker
Made Media & The Story of $pread Magazine." "It quickly became clear
to me that there were other people making documentaries about sex
worker activism that portray the complicated range of experiences,
deviating from single faceted portrayals and sterotypes. UnionDocs is
the perfect place to host a serious exploration of this subject," says
Bleviss. UnionDocs presents a broad range of innovative and
thought-provoking non-fiction projects to the general public, while
also cultivating specialized opportunities for learning, critical
discourse, and creative collaboration for emerging media-makers,
theorists, and curators.

A panel titled "Moving Image to Movement" will feature a discussion
among Audacia Ray (International Women's Health Coalition), Nancy
Schwartzman (director, The Line) and Violeta Krasnic (WITNESS) about
video as an advocacy tool for sex workers and others working for
sexual rights and justice. They will discuss their successes and
challenges in building advocacy campaigns based around video and other
multimedia.

The October 24th event will feature a screening from 6 - 7:30 pm,
panel discussion from 7:30 - 8:15 pm, and screening from 8:30 - 10 pm.
Admission to one program is $7, attendees can see both screenings and
the panel discussion for $10. Visit http://uniondocs.org for more
information and to buy advance tickets.

CONTACT:
Audacia Ray
aray@sexworkawareness.org
718-554-1714
101 West 23rd Street
NYC, NY 10011