Frances, a sex worker with a severed relationship with her father, learns about his unexpected death after her mother, Mary, visits her at work. Frances must decide whether or not she will attend the funeral, stepping foot in a church to say goodbye for the final time.

FRANCES (20s) - Estranged. Independent. Opinionated. Initially with a tough shell to crack, her father's unexpected death forces Frances to make a difficult decision, which leads to an unprompted and cathartic experience.

MARY (50s) - Pernicious. Cold. Devout. When Mary reunites with her daughter, Frances, at her place of work - the strip club, she must learn the powers of tolerance and forgiveness when things don't go as planned.

FATHER (50s) - A thematic presence throughout that serves as a reminder of strained relationships, overbearing afflictions, and the uncertainty of life.

Our focus for this film is to draw on our own real-life experiences and work closely with our team to make a mission-driven film. We will be keeping our cast and crew small and our budget low. Below is a graph of how the funds from this campaign will be used to create Our Father. In addition to our crowdfunding campaign, we plan to conduct outreach and network with pro-sex work organizations, foundations, and creators to obtain partnerships, collaborations, and other various resources to assist with production.

If you are looking to support us, you can donate through this campaign or even just share the link with friends. Every little action helps us achieve our vision. If you would like to make donations greater than $1000, please reach out directly to our producer at [email protected].

Our Instagram can be found at @our_fatherfilm and if you repost us or tag us sharing this page, you will get a little thank you from the team!

Our Father is not sensationalistic, not in its depiction of sex work, nor in how it critiques the Catholic Church. To make a film that is pro-sex work and pro-sex workers, it is at the forefront of our mission to work hand-in-hand with real sex workers, conduct thorough research through community outreach, and develop the script as needed to depict best and support the sex industry. The film must do its part to not only humanize sex workers, but also de-stigmatize sex work as an industry to advance awareness of the movement.

Our Father will be delicate in its artistic approach. My collaborators and I draw directorial and cinematographic inspiration from films like Ladybird and Aftersun to centralize Frances’ complicated parental relationships and shed light on a subtle critique of the Catholic Church and religious/familial traumas. Promising Young Woman lends further inspiration in its handling of the fine balance between forgiveness and retribution. Sean Baker’s Anora demonstrates how to find humor in tragedy, balancing a gut-punching ending with a lingering glimmer of hope. Baker also serves as an example of working hand-in-hand with the sex work community to uplift his real-world collaborators and in crafting his characters with care, humanity, and tenderness.

Our Father is a deeply personal story with universal themes that resonate beyond its narrative. Sex workers often endure violence, social stigma, and legal challenges, making their stories vital to tell. With films like Anora—nominated for six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, and seven Critics Choice Awards—bringing sex work into the spotlight, now is the time to further amplify these experiences. The protection of women and sex workers remains in flux, which is why my team and I are passionate about bringing this film to life now.

Our Father is my thesis film for NYU Tisch Film & TV. I am grateful to hail from an all-female household; my mother raised my two sisters and I to always share our voices and stories in hopes of impacting others’ lives and making a difference. I was also raised in the Catholic Church, and when I made the decision to move away from home at eighteen years old, my community made me feel as though I could be making the wrong decision. While some of my family has grown to support the path I’ve chosen, it hasn't come without a cost. With the huge burden of student debt, evolving and changing views from the community I once belonged to, as well as strained relationships with those I was once closest to, this journey has left its imprint. With Our Father, I aspire to create a space for unconventional grief, self-reckoning, and the weight of transformation. This film highlights the validity of sex work in efforts to break the stereotypes of the community and humanize the performers and their choice of career, while also interrogating certain notions of the Church, such as the afterlife, heaven, hell, and everything in between, through a broken father-daughter relationship. My film additionally sets out to acknowledge and grieve the burden that comes from renouncing your origins on the path of becoming who you’re meant to be. Through Frances grieving her father, Our Father depicts how the grieving process forces you to mourn not only the person you’ve lost but also the person you once were.