Merf. Thinking is Hard.License to Pimp is a feature documentary about the choices that three San Francisco strippers make as their workplaces engage in illegal labor practices. Strip clubs refuse to pay strippers even minimum wages & actually charge them for the privilege to work. I worked in half of San Francisco’s strip clubs during the 1990s and witnessed their transformation into brothels as a result of these fees. Now as a filmmaker, I uncover current working conditions & try to find out how strip clubs are able to operate outside the law.
- What would you do to keep your job? 16 year old LOLA begins stripping after learning her mother has cancer & needs treatment. When her club increases their fees to $200, Lola can no longer just lapdance. As co-workers prostitute to make their fees, Lola must decide how far she’ll push her own sexual boundaries to keep her job. Lola’s story will be animated to protect her identity. Click HERE to watch a scene from Lola’s story in Update #2: What Would You Do To Keep Your Job?
- What would you do to change the system? DAISY ANARCHY goes public about the strip clubs’ illegal activities & demands that the city enforce the laws to uphold workers’ rights. One agency drafts legislation to end the club violations. But a battle ensues as strip clubs & most surprisingly the strippers themselves rally in support of the illegal conditions. Click HERE to watch a film excerpt from Daisy’s story (Update #4: What Would You Do To Stay In Control?).
- What would you do to stay in control? MARIKO PASSION quits stripping as the work becomes increasingly sexual. After filing wage complaints against former employers, she can no longer strip in San Francisco. She relocates to Los Angeles and teaches high school while moonlighting for an escort agency. Because the agency takes a 60% of the booking fees, Mariko goes solo. Can she work independently & safely and keep all of her earnings? Click HERE to watch film excerpts from Mariko’s (Update #3: What Would You Do To Stay In Control?).
Each woman makes distinctly different decisions yet our collective journeys are woven into one story of strippers negotiating our labor rights within the sex industry.
Whether you’re for or against sex work, this sounds like a worthwhile project. Currently, the documentary still needs around $25,000 to be made.
This project has less than a few days to go and isn’t yet fully-funded, so I thought I’d reblog it.
(via quixotess)
