Our Mission

By creating space for sex workers to speak for themselves and represent their case competently and in an atmosphere of respect, we can present a film that will be able to challenge the preconceived notions of audiences toward sex work.

About the Project

Distance: Sex Work in the Pandemic is a timely piece of journalistic media that addresses the still unfolding struggles of this vulnerable population. It is particularly urgent now, as attempts to mitigate the Trump administration’s failures regarding the pandemic are being drafted with gaps that prevent aid to some of the most vulnerable Americans. As the pandemic continues to unfold, the vulnerability of sex workers acts as a litmus test for all vulnerable groups experiencing the fallout of a mishandled crisis. 

"There wasn't many of us that had savings going into the pandemic before we went into lockdown. We were already screwed, and then we were doubly screwed." -Miss Honey Analverker, professional dominatrix/full service sex worker

Distance investigates how the pandemic has directly impacted sex workers by way of interruption to their work, increased personal risk, and financial destabilization. The film also explores the contrast between the US response to the pandemic and the responses of other nations.

The themes of the film are optimism and humanity. To these ends, Distance undertakes the task of humanizing sex workers who are heavily demonized and stripped of their agency in media. Under the guidance of the film’s contributors, the film portrays a number of solutions to the current quagmire of FOSTA/SESTA, the pandemic initiated industry shutdown, and the rampant dehumanisation of sex workers in media. This, however, also presents one of the great challenges of the film. 

Our Pandemic Film Strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic created circumstances during which it has been unsafe to film footage of interview contributors using traditional methods. The solution to this problem involved instructing sex workers to film themselves or have others within their households film them during the early pandemic period. The resulting impact on the film is that each sex worker being interviewed provided a segment of their own creation. As vaccination efforts rolled out across the United States and Canada, it once again become safer to arrange in-person filming sessions. Remaining interviews and B-roll shoots may be conducted in-person or remotely as preferred by each interviewee. 

About Us

Sosha Belle (they/them) is an established porn actor and online sex worker. They are a regular performer on XBIZ award nominated website yanks.com where they have been featured in interviews on the rise of feminism in pornography. They have appeared on multiple websites by Intersec, one of the top kink companies in the country, and are the most featured model on hdwetting.com, where they co-directed videos discussing the importance of consent in fetish culture. In 2017, Sosha Belle was part of a featured interview in Youporn’s female-created porn highlight series with multiple XBIZ, AVN, and YNOT award-winning director Lily Campbell. In 2018, Sosha Belle was a guest star in the pilot episode of Lifestyle-ohjelman Kultainen Venla award winning MTV show Ina <3 Porno. Sosha lends their industry expertise and connections to the film, and also appear as an interviewee.

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Director

Vivian Veidt (she/her) is an emerging transgender filmmaker and animator based in Portland, Oregon, and the co-founder of Chiral Filmworks. Her past credits include Our Trails Too (2019). Educated at the Portland State University School of Film, Vivian has turned her artistic lens to subjects important on a national and personal scale. Engaging in a unique style of participatory and reflexive documentary, Vivian brings sensitivity to difficult subjects like homelessness and sex work. As a former sex worker, Vivian conducts powerful, moving, and knowledgeable interviews. Vivian also appears in the film to direct the conversation around sex work versus sex trafficking as she unravels her own experience being trafficked.

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The Ongoing Struggle

"The idea that we are also in this pandemic and that our lives have changed doesn't register for [the general public] because our plight and our rights issues have never been a problem they would think about." - Sosha Belle

There is an immediate need for the public to be made aware of anti-sex work legislation and its effects on a community whose voices are seldom brought into relative discourse. This film intends to allow sex workers to speak for themselves and present solutions to issues that impact their daily lives and have increased the burden of the pandemic.

Distance is cultivated to show a diverse swath of sex workers whose experiences have been complicated by the pandemic and doubly impacted by the dangerous FOSTA/SESTA acts. These workers have been forced into more dangerous circumstances to continue to earn a living. As protections and access to public resources are being continously stripped away by an indifferent government, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a hostile environment for a community already suffering.

What is FOSTA/SESTA?

FOSTA/SESTA was an amendment made to the Communications Decency Act, which allows websites and other media to be held liable if they are found to facilitate sex trafficking. The result of the amendment, however, was the removal of tools used by consensual sex workers to keep themselves safe and a deliberate breakdown of the difference between consensual sex work and sex trafficking. The banning of sex work from online business tools such as advertising, distribution, and payment processing has made income harder to document for the purpose of receiving federal aid given to other self-employed workers throughout the pandemic.

In short, sex workers were barred from working online just in time for a pandemic in which online work become a health and safety requirement. Timing couldn't have been worse.

"Sex workers were not counted as essential workers. We were not taken care of by the powers that be but by our own communities and tenacity. This project is looking to tell people about that and I'm hoping they're ready to listen." - Maggie McMuffin, burlesque performer/full service sex worker

Supreme court cases such as US vs Martono in 2021 are still in the process of laying out legal precedent in regards to the continued application and effects of FOSTA/SESTA. There is a current push by sex work advocacy groups for congressional committees to re-examine the amendment and initiate research efforts to discover it’s true impact on sex workers - one that has been repeatedly tabled.

Why We Need You!

Creating Distance has been a labor of love, and thus far has been funded entirely out-of-pocket despite the financial setbacks our community is already facing. However, we need a little help with some remaining expenses now that we are on a roll!

This film has an opportunity to advance the cause of sex worker rights in the public forum, turn popular support in favor of this marginalized and vulnerable group, and legitimize consensual sex work. As many sex workers are on the brink of bankruptcy, homelessness, or financial ruin, your donation is helping us to ignite a public sense of goodwill that may protect those at greatest risk of the most devastating effects of the pandemic. 

Looking to the Future

Project Stage and Timeline

Distance is in currently in the final stages of principal filming and we have begun making assembly edits of interview and B-Roll footage. Once this stage is completed, the collected and pre-processed footage will be transferred to a post-processing team for completion. When the film is complete, it must be cleared by our legal team and insured for festival distribution. Screenings should begin in June 2022. Those who pledge $10 or more will receive screening links the same day as the cinematic premiere and those who pledge $50 or more will be given pre-screening access at each step of production and post-production. 

Thank you to all who have contributed, from the bottom of our hearts!