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Queer Pride Amsterdam | July 2024
Between 8-14 July 2024 we are joining the Queer Summer Film Program, an initiative by Queer Amsterdam: a collective of 8 organizations that formulate a new approach to a more inclusive and diverse Amsterdam Pride policy which results in Queer & Pride Amsterdam.
Together with 5 other film festivals, we will add to the cinematic variety to help reflect queerness from our vision of destigmatising sex work.
queer.red presents!… The Body Politique Sex Worker Manifestos | 10 July 19:00 @ LAB111 (tickets)
queer.red presents! the body politique: sex worker manifestos
Total duration 50 minutes + q&a with Deep and Cheap, LaMetro, & Goddess Coco from Door2Door Rotterdam
Full program here
Our queer identities – genders and sexualities – place queer sex workers at an intersection where the state (the so called politic) both politicizes and fetishizes our bodies. This collection of shorts represents the heart of what queer.red’s sex worker film and art festival aims to do: create a space where queer sex workers hold the camera and the microphone. This Queer & Pride we invite you to enjoy the beauty of the art of film and engage with the personal as political. A panel will follow with sex workers to discuss current politics in their contexts.
Cinemasia x queer.red presents!… Fly in Power | 11 July 19:15 @ LAB111 (tickets)
Fly in Power (FIP) spotlights the work of Asian migrant massage and sex workers of Red Canary Song (RCS), a mutual aid, abolitionist collective based in Flushing, NYC. We follow the stories of Charlotte (a Korean massage worker/poet), KhoKhoi (bodyworker/healer), and Prof. Elena Shih (Brown University, global human trafficking researcher) as well as the broader Red Canary Song community. The film is a glimpse into their practices of care, autonomy, and survival against the oppressive systems that face Asian massage parlour workers and sex workers. Calling for ‘rights, not rescue’ these women and non-binary queers fight for their community, for decriminalization, and debunking the myths of sex trafficking that pervade the Asian diaspora.
More about Red Canary Song: https://www.redcanarysong
Kissable Screens x queer.red presents! Down & Dirty DIY: Queer Sex Worker Porn | 15 June 20:30 @ CAVIA
queer.red presents!
Down & Dirty DIY Queer Sex Worker Porn Shorts
15 June 20:30 @ CAVIA
42 min + Q&A | English
Tickets €5 (€0 with Cineville)
NO ADVANCED TICKETS: Tickets can be bought at the bar, half an hour before the film starts.
What happens when a queer sex worker collective is invited to curate a collection of porn shorts created by trans and non-binary sex workers? We invite you to come explore your ideas about porn, the sex work industry and body norms. A q&a will follow after the screening with some of the filmmakers from the NL-produced films. These were part of the Down & Dirty DIY workshop that was held with a group of Dutch-based sex workers who came together over a month-long workshop to produce queer porn. Their works premiered during a sold-out screening at the Porn Film Festival Amsterdam last February. This whore-y fantasy was dreamed up by queer sex workers Mercy and Vivi and was sponsored by queer.red; a Dutch-based group of (former) sex workers, feminists, queer and trans people who organise events on the topic of sex work with the aim to destigmatise sex work through more nuanced and diverse representations.
Programme here.
Belle x queer.red presents… CAER | 6 June 19:00-21:00 @ Belle, Utrecht
Belle x queer.red presents…
In honour of Sex Worker Rights Day, which takes place annually on 2nd of June, Belle and queer.red joined forces to organise a screening of the film CAER.This film is a heartwarming story about a community of transgender Latina migrants in New York, and a fine example how real life communities can shape a truly collaborative process of community-led storytelling in film.
Thursday 6 June
Doors open/drink: 19:00
Film starts (with short intro): 20:00
Film ends: 21:10
After the film, there will be drinks and some space to chat with us about what you’ve just seen, if you’d like to share your thoughts or feel triggered by anything from the film. The film will be translated in English and the introduction will also be in English.
CAER (CAUGHT)
Nicola Mai and and Colectivo Intercultural Transgrediendo, 2021, UK, 61 min (English, Spanish with English subtitles)
CAER is an experimental and collaborative documentary combining fiction (ethnofiction) and observational nonfiction methods to include people whose lives are portrayed and who are directly concerned in all phases of its production. The documentary is the result of the collaboration between Nicola Mai and the Transgrediendo Intercultural Collective, a grassroots nonprofit organization defending the rights of transgender Latina migrant women in Queens, New York City. CAER is also a tribute to the work and legacy of Lorena Borjas, the mother of these Latin transgender women living in Queens, who was one of the first victims of COVID-19 in New York in March 2020. The story and the roles in the film were written and played by members of the Transgrediendo Intercultural Collective who were also involved in the editing of the film. They were written collaboratively through several writing workshops allowing the people directly concerned to express their real individual and collective experiences of migration, sex work, and exploitation.
Door 2 Door x queer.red x Worm the Pirate Bay | 2 June 12:00 @ Worm
Come celebrate International Sex Workers’ Day with us! On this day we aim to break stigmas and have real conversations about important subjects. We celebrate the sex workers in our lives and shine light on the struggles they face. Join us because sex work is work.
Programme:
Shibari performance by Papilicious
Movie Screening of Kokomo City in Collaboration with queer.red
Panel talk – The Future of Sexwork: Rights not Rescue with Beau Velvet, JeanPaul Paula, The Majestree, and Taneesha Savanna
Tickets €0 (register through event link) through Kriterion
72 min | English
Kokomo City | D. Smith | 73 min | USA | 2023
In the wildly entertaining and refreshingly unfiltered documentary KOKOMO CITY, filmmaker D. Smith passes the mic to four Black transgender sex workers in Atlanta and New York City – Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver – who unapologetically break down the walls of their profession. Holding nothing back, the film vibrates with energy, sex, challenge, and hard-earned wisdom. This vital portrait, edited and shot by Smith in bold black and white, is her feature directorial debut. A two-time Grammy-nominated producer, singer, and songwriter, Smith made history as the first trans woman cast on a primetime unscripted TV show. Executive produced by Lena Waithe, KOKOMO CITY won the Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Berlinale’s Audience Award in the Panorama Documentary section.
queer.red presents! a queered gaze: trans sex worker porn | 10 May 23:00 @ Kriterion
a queered gaze: trans sex worker porn is presented by queer.red as a part of TranScreen Rewind (11-12 May) – a mini festival with their best films from the last 10 years.
queer.red presents!
a queered gaze: trans sex worker porn
10 May 2024, 23:00 @Kriterion
Tickets €8.50 (€0 with Cineville) through Kriterion
72 min | English
What happens when a queer sex worker collective is invited to curate a collection of porn shorts created by trans and non-binary sex workers? We invite you to come explore your ideas about porn, the sex work industry and body norms. A q&a will follow after the screening with some of the filmmakers from the NL-produced films. These were part of the Down & Dirty DIY workshop that was held with a group of Dutch-based sex workers who came together over a month-long workshop to produce queer porn. Their works premiered during a sold-out screening at the Porn Film Festival Amsterdam last February. This whore-y fantasy was dreamed up by queer sex workers Mercy and Vivi and was sponsored by queer.red; a Dutch-based group of (former) sex workers, feminists, queer and trans people who organise events on the topic of sex work with the aim to destigmatise sex work through more nuanced and diverse representations.
The programme also includes shorts by Mahx Capacity, Jiz Lee & Vanniall. Read about the full programme here.
queer.red presents! Down & Dirty DIY Screening: Queer Sex Worker Porn | 10 February 20:00 @ Filmhuis Cavia
Down & Dirty DIY was presented by queer.red as a part of Porn Film Festival Amsterdam
KENYA | Wednesday Transday (w/ TranScreen) – 22 November 19:15 @ Kriterion
Gisela Delgadillo | Mexico | 2022 | 88 min | Spanish with English subtitles
Tickets: Regular price €11,50 / Cineville €0
After witnessing the murder of her friend, Kenya, a trans woman sex worker, embarks on a path of struggle and search for justice that leads her to face the fear and pain of seeing herself reflected in that tragic ending.
Queer Cinema: Kokomo City – 19 November 19:15 @ Lantaren Venster, Rotterdam
Queer Cinema: Private Chat + Kokomo City
19 November @ 19:15
€11,50 – Tickets available through LantarenVenster
English with Dutch subtitles
Read about the films here
Sex Worker Pride @ Door2Door (15 September 2023 @ 18:00)
Join us for an unforgettable night at Door2Door, located on Rochussenstraat in Rotterdam. Every year on September 14 we celebrate Sexworker Pride. And in honour of this day we will be hosting a cinema & discussion night. The beautiful documentary Rua dos Anjos will be shown. Followed up by the film we will have a panel of 3 different (ex-) sexworkers who will discuss the film, their own experiences in the industry and answer questions from the audience.
Cinema night is open to everybody, sexworkers, allies and other open minded people. Please be respectful and understanding to one and another. Hate, intolerance and respectfulness will not be tolerated.
Summer School @ Netherlands Research School of Gender Studies, Utrecht University 31 August – 1 September 2023
NOISE: Network of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies in Europe
Screening: The Fabulous Ones
Panel: Archives of Convergence – The Place of Sex Work in Feminist, Queer, and Trans Culture and Politics
Invitation only/Private event
Queer Amsterdam (25 & 26 July 2023)
queer.red is PROUD to join forces with Queer Amsterdam to kick off the first week of Queer & Pride 2023. From July 22nd until July 28th, the city will showcase queer- and transness in all its shapes and sizes, in all its colors and shades of diversity. As red is the top color of the rainbow, we will sprinkle the film programme during this week with some stories from sex workers’ perspectives, adding some often underrepresented flavours of queerness.
Porn ShorTs at TranScreen Film Festival (18-21 May 2023)
Porn ShorTs at TranScreen Film Festival (18-21 May 2023)
Allow yourself to be surprised by this year’s collection of porn shorts, curated by us for TranScreen<3. With pleasure we will treat you to an hour of porn shorts with a focus on sex work and trans desire. Sit back, relax, and enjoy… Full programme here.
whorehouse cinema: sex worker film & arts festival | 31 March – 2 April 2023 @ Cinetol image by victoria catalina
Whorehouse Cinema: 2023 sex worker film and arts festival programme – queer red presents!
screening & talk 2 october 2022: whats (y)our story?
With the support of Arts Council Korea and Dutch Culture Center for International Cooperation, ‘What’s (y)our story?’ will be held in collaboration with Filmhuis Cavia and cultural space Mudaeruk in Seoul. In line with “Inclusivity”, the theme of the two countries’ cultural and artistic exchange project, Cavia will screen films dealing with intersectional queer and migratory narratives, alongside performances of local bands as well as talks with the audience.
For the collaboration with MU X CAVIA Film festival, two films have been selected that focus on the intersections between sex work, trans, Latinx and migrant communities. These will be presented by queer.red presents! on Saturday 1 October 17:00 (Korea time).
After the screening there will be a discussion with local sexworker activist Yeoreum. It will be a hightlight as it is not very common to talk openly about sex work industry in Korea.
_Yeoreum /Sexworker activist
The Scarlet Light Solidarity Cha Cha is an activist group that fights discrimination and stigma pointed at sex workers. They work in the sex industry and engage actively in social activism, fighting for sexworkers’ health, settlement, reproductive and civil rights. They provide legal support for incidents occurring inside and outside of the sex work industry.
Korean text :
무대륙X카비아 영화제
한국 문화예술위원회와 네덜란드 국제문화협력센터(Dutch Culture Centre for International Cooperation)의 지원 아래, 암스테르담에 위치한 작은 영화관 카비아와의 협업으로 2022년 서울에 위치한 복합 문화 공간 무대륙에서 영화제를 연다. 양국의 문화예술 교류 초청 사업의 주제인 ‘포용과 다양성’에 맞게 카비아는 이민과 퀴어 교차성을 다루는 영화를 상영하고, 상영과 더불어 관객과의 대화뿐만 아니라 기존 무대륙에서 활동했던 밴드들의 공연을 함께 선보인다.
2022.10.01. 토요일 17:00 @무대륙
퀴어.레드 여기에!
“우리는 암스테르담에서 성노동자 커뮤니티에 대한 예술과 영화를 그들과 함께, 그들에 의해 만들고 주도합니다. 우리는 성노동에 대한 보다 미묘한 표현이 가시화되길 희망합니다. 우리는 성노동자, 페미니스트, 퀴어, 성전환자들로 구성된 그룹입니다.
이번 영화제를 위해 두 편의 영화를 준비했습니다. 트랜스젠더 이주 성노동자들이 공동으로 써내려간 그들의 이야기는 차별과 혐오 안에서도 서로를 돌보는 공동체의 힘을 보여줍니다”
screening & talk 4 september 2022:
sex worker activism
queer.red presents! has been invited by PIC (Prostitution Information Center) to curate a short film program dedicated to queer and trans, sex worker and HIV activism. Communities who have been disproportionately affected by HIV. We will recollect 80s activism, honor those who fought for our rights and share more recent stories of those still fighting the long battles ahead.
Our dear Dinah de Riquet Bons was supposed to join us for a talk after the film screening, but unfortunately cannot make it back in Amsterdam due to train strikes. But..we have a wonderful replacement: Sabrina Sanchez, Dinah’s colleague from Trans United Europe, Director of ESWA, active sex worker across various European cities and much more! We are sad to miss out on Dinah, but delighted to welcome Sabrina instead!
House of Hiv: de verhalen achter 40 jaar community initiatieven, takes place between 19 August and 9 September, and shines a light on the many initiatives within the Dutch HIV communities in the last 40 years. Come see the stories in different venues in Amsterdam. This exposition is an initiative of Hello Gorgeous, Mainline NL, Trans United, Black Queer Archives, Prostitution Information Center, IHLIA LGBTI Heritage and Hiv Vereniging.
Please visit the House of Hiv exhibition: https://fb.me/e/1KNgDW2Wt
The short films which we will screen:
1. Our Bodies, Our Business (Edited & directed by Geraldine George, 1989, Canada, 24:22min)
As part of ACT UP NYC’s Diva TV Project, in June 1989 filmmaker Catherine Gund videoed events and activism taking place during the Fifth International Conference on AIDS in Montreal. Included in this footage was Gund’s interviews with sex workers’ rights activists Cheryl Overs, Carol Leigh (AKA the Scarlot Harlot), Valerie Scott, Tracey TIEF, and the late Danny Cockerline and Andrew Hunter. In 2016, with Gund’s and the featured activists’ permission and essential support from Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association of B.C., filmmaker Geraldine George compiled the footage featuring sex workers rights activism into Our Bodies Our Business, Part One (OBOB1), a 24-min documentary. OBOB1 illustrates how in the early years of the AIDS crisis, while facing a mounting death toll, the withholding of life saving drugs and systematic scapegoating of prostitutes, these pioneering activists pushed back with incredible intellect, performance and actions.
2. Happy Birthday Marsha (Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel, 2017, USA, 14 min)
Happy Birthday, Marsha! commemorates Black trans activist, sex worker, HIV activist and drag performer Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson and her role in instigating the 1969 anti-policing riots at the Stonewall Inn, a watershed event for the gay liberation movement. The film interweaves imagined scenes with found archival footage to counter the endemic erasure of trans women of color from narratives of political resistance. Starring Independent Spirit Award winner Mya Taylor (Tangerine) as Johnson with cinematography by Sundance winner Arthur Jafa and an original score by Geo Wyeth.
Wath the trailer HERE.
3. Lucharé como una perra (I will fight like a bitch) (Guillermo F, Flórez, 2012, USA, 5.52 min)
Lorena Borjas (May 29, 1960 – March 30, 2020) was a Mexican-American transgender and immigrant rights activist, and known as the mother of the transgender Latinx community in Queens, NY. Her work on behalf of immigrant and transgender communities garnered recognition throughout New York City and the United States. These films highlight her life’s work, her fearlessness and the community she leaves behind. We love you Lorena! Rest in power.
4. Empower: Sex Worker Perspectives: Giovanna Murillo Rincon (Marianne Chargois, 2018, France, 22:59 min)
EMPOWER Sex Workers Perspectives – Giovanna Murillo Rincon is the first episode in a serie of political portraits of sex workers with heterogeneous trajectories. Combining personal backgrounds, political analyses, and collective resistance strategies, this focus on Giovanna deals with migration issues, and with the involvement in the fight against HIV, and against discriminations made on trans sex workers. Far from the objectification devices often used in documentary works, EMPOWER is a tribute to the voices, struggles and commitments of sex workers through active collaboration with the protagonists.
Details:
Location: OBA Amterdam, Oosterdokskade 143, Amsterdam, 6th floor)
Tickets: Free, but reservations are required via aanmelden@ihlia.nl
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/761184048266820
All films are English spoken or subtitled.
screening & panel talk 11 june 2022:
power exchange – collaborative film making
If you are part of our community, or up for making acquaintance with sex workers and all the cultural goodies that are produced by our communities: come to our screening on 11 June at 20:00 at Filmhuis Cavia!
During this event we present films that focus on the intersections of sex work, trans, Latinx and migrant communities. We will screen the film Caer/Caught (61 min) by Nicola Mai and Colectivo Intercultural Transgrediendo and What if Tomorrow I’m Next (4 min) by Cosmopolitrans (with Papaya Kuir). A panel discussion with the film makers will follow in order to further explore the experimental nature of Caer and the collaborative process of community-led storytelling in both films. The discussion is facilitated by queer.red Board Member Domi Olivieri, anthropologist, activist, researcher and teacher in the field of gender studies, media and society and will be pre-recorded to accommodate time zones, languages, and technical limitations.
CAER/Caught (Nicola Mai, 2021, UK, 61 min, English/Spanish) is an experimental and collaborative documentary combining fiction (ethnofiction) and observational nonfiction methods to include people whose lives are portrayed and who are directly concerned in all phases of its production. The documentary is the result of the collaboration between Nicola Mai and the Transgrediendo Intercultural Collective, a grassroots nonprofit organization defending the rights of transgender Latina migrant women in Queens, New York City. CAER is also a tribute to the work and legacy of Lorena Borjas, the mother of these Latin transgender women living in Queens, who was one of the first victims of COVID-19 in New York in March 2020. The story and the roles in the film were written and played by members of the Transgrediendo Intercultural Collective who were also involved in the editing of the film.T hey were written collaboratively through several writing workshops allowing the people directly concerned to express their real individual and collective experiences of migration, sex work, and exploitation.
What if Tomorrow I’m Next (Cosmopolitrans, 2021, GER/NL, 4 min, English/Spanish) is a film made by Cosmopolitrans as a part of a campaign to end violence against sex workers. It was recorded at the T-House in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) in May 2021. Cosmopolitrans is a collective based in Hannover, Germany led by trans* sex workers.
Event details:
Address: Filmhuis Cavia, Van Hallstraat 52-I, 1051 HH Amsterdam
Tickets: € 5 / Cineville €0
Start screening: 20:00
Drinks at the bar: 22:00
No reservations needed, but if you want to be sure of a ticket please email us and be on time! ticket@queer.red
https://queer.red
https://www.instagram.com/queer.red
https://www.facebook.com/queer.red
18 december 2021:
queering sex work launch event
In this first edition we are showcasing stories and narratives on the intersection of queer identities and issues related to sex work. We will screen a very special collection of shorts, curated from our hearts, exploring the important things in life, such as romance, remembrance, rebellion and farewell.
After the screening we will also have a live reading performance by Alejandra Ortiz, a local community member, about her experience as a migrant in the Netherlands.
1. PonyBoi | River Gallo and Sadé Clacken-Joseph | 2019 | 19 min | USA | English Ponyboi is an intersex runaway. He works at a laundromat and hustles as sex-worker. But after a mysterious encounter with a man from his dreams, he learns that perhaps he is worthy of leaving his seedy life in New Jersey behind. A queer film about discovering self-redemption and love.
2. Behind the Window | Emy Fem, Cat D, Vera Rodriguez and Nayra Green | 2017 | 5 min | the Netherlands | English
Before starting her shift at one of the windows of the Red Light District in Amsterdam, Nayra Green turns her gaze and shares her personal thoughts through stills and movement.
3. TOLOPOSUNGO in Medellín AEFest | Directed by Elvira Hernández, Produced by: CinePiso7 | 2021 | 3 min | Colombia | Spanish
Latin America is the region in the world where most transgender people are murdered (82% worldwide). The state denies civil rights and oppresses trans people through police brutality. A Queer Squad in Colombia fights against an oppressing society with voguing, their bodies, sexuality and lure. Toloposungo is the Colombian “ACAB”, it means ‘all cops are gonorrhea’, in opposition to bastards which in Spanish refers to being born from a sex worker. Dressed in fluorescent green, as the uniforms of the Colombian cops at the time, the Queer Squad takes on the streets changing and confronting the status quo. In this film Medellín’s Queer Squad acts during the Erotic Arts Festival of that city AEFest.
4. Rosie | Paula Cajiao | 2021 | 9 min | USA | English
After a long day at work a man walks into an after hours bar for his last drink before heading home, there he meets someone that is not who he expects to be.
5. Wie man Rad in Latex fährt mit Emy Fem (How to Ride a Bike in Latex) | Objects of Desire [collective] | 2018 | 2 min | Germany | English
In this short educational video Emy Fem teaches about the skills which are needed if you want to bike to your client.
6. Mes Chéris | Directed by Ethan Folk, Ty Wardwell (Cutenon Film), Written by Jamal Phoenix | 2020 | 12 min | Germany | English
Part documentary, part pornography, Mes Chéris is a transboi’s farewell to his boobs. One month before his mastectomy, Jamal Phoenix takes on the role of Chéri, a character modeled after his experiences as a Fierce Fem sex worker. This raunchy tribute subverts straight porn tropes and mainstream trans* representation in a radical act of self-love.
1 august 2021:
the journey of monalisa
On 1 August 2021 queer.red introduces ‘The Journey of Monalisa‘ in VondelCS in Amsterdam, our first live screening… in collaboration with our friends at TransScreen and the screening was part of the Queer Currents programming.
In this program, you will be treated to both a beautiful documentary and the short film ‘Rosie’. This short sets the scene in its black and white image. In the main feature, we follow the intriguing Iván Monalisa and their life in New York.
Rosie
Paula Cajiao | USA | 2021 | 9 min | English spoken | No subtitles | Short film, Drama
After a long day at work, a man walks into an after-hours bar for his last drink before heading home, when he meets someone that is not who he expects to be. This compelling short film centers an African-American transgender woman, who is sitting at a bar reflecting on her life’s story and remembering the lives of friends lost too soon along the way. The film is a moving tribute characterized by a combination of warmth, love, defiance, grief, and anger, that demands both compassion and accountability.
The Journey of Monalisa
Nicole Costa | Chile | 2019 | 98 min | Spanish and English spoken | English subtitles | Documentary
After 17 years, Nicole Costa gets in touch with Iván Ojeda, her old Chilean friend from college. Back then he was a talented theater director and playwright, and now he has radically re-invented himself. She now goes by Monalisa and works as a sex worker on the streets of New York. Intrigued by this transformation, Costa decides to follow Iván Monalisa, a “gender-neutral two-spirit,” in their tough and vulnerable life filled with fleeting sexual encounters and addiction to hard drugs. Nonetheless, Monalisa remains a true artist and continues to write beautiful, raw pieces about life and survival in New York.
www.transcreen.eu
https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-queer-currents-2021-transcreen-163792821739?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
13-27 May 2021:
the journey of monalisa (online)
queer.red presents The Journey of Monalisa at the online edition of TranScreen Filmfestival. In this program you will see, in addition to a wonderful documentary, the short film “Rosie”. This film is in atmospheric black and white. In the main film we follow the fascinating Iván Monalisa and life in New York.
https://www.transcreen.eu/2021/04/29/the-journey-of-monalisa-voorfilm/
Rosie
Paula Cajiao | USA | 2021 | 9 min | English spoken | No subtitles | Short film, Drama
After a long day at work, a man walks into an after-hours bar for his last drink before heading home, when he meets someone that is not who he expects to be. This compelling short film centers an African-American transgender woman, who is sitting at a bar reflecting on her life’s story and remembering the lives of friends lost too soon along the way. The film is a moving tribute characterized by a combination of warmth, love, defiance, grief, and anger, that demands both compassion and accountability.
The Journey of Monalisa
Nicole Costa | Chile | 2019 | 98 min | Spanish and English spoken | English subtitles | Documentary
After 17 years, Nicole Costa gets in touch with Iván Ojeda, her old Chilean friend from college. Back then he was a talented theater director and playwright, and now he has radically re-invented himself. She now goes by Monalisa and works as a sex worker on the streets of New York. Intrigued by this transformation, Costa decides to follow Iván Monalisa, a “gender-neutral two-spirit,” in their tough and vulnerable life filled with fleeting sexual encounters and addiction to hard drugs. Nonetheless, Monalisa remains a true artist and continues to write beautiful, raw pieces about life and survival in New York.
