Sex Worker Film & Arts Festival 20th Anniversary

A Personal Note

The Sex Worker Fest is a biennial event, established in 1999 to provide a forum for the accomplishments of sex worker film makers, artists, healers and activists and to present works about sex workers and the sex industries from around the world. 

This has been a hard period for our sex worker communities in the Bay Area, and also for those who have worked on the Festival for 20 years.  Most of all we miss our curator and loving friend, Laure McElroy who passed away in August of 2018. What a huge loss for the festival, and all of us! Meanwhile founder Carol Leigh has been dealing with cancer. And Erica Elena is busy and blossoming as a somatic therapist after recently graduating (besides activism and community work - www.oaklandswish.org). We almost didn't launch this season, but with FOSTA SESTA, and the the closing of Back Page, our community was rising up, and it seemed like we should keep upright too. Our funding was scarce as we lost our major funding within all this political momentum, but we got it together and we are presenting a four day fest (down from the 10 days we usually offer). 

As we move forward we appreciate even especially the smallest  donations from the community. It makes a huge difference, even  just $1, to let us know you care :-) Great amounts help open our doors to sex workers NOTAFLOF. Plus we offer scholarships to the sex workers who request them, as we try to make it easy to attend.

We want to give love and shout outs to those who helped make this happen including Erica Elena, Carol Leigh, Gina Gold, Carol Queen, Miki Mossman, Mireille Miller-Young, Jovelyn Richards, Grace, Joy Abounds, Scott Long, Mariko Passion, Ari Gatak, Bambi Katsura, Machiko, Tallulah Bankheist,  Lady Monster, Dee Dee Russell and Richard LeFrak, Kristen D'Angelo Robyn Few, Annie Sprinkle, Delphine, Joseph Kramer, David Bigeleisen, Bondassage, Bay Area Worker Support, Sins Invalid, Poor Magazine, the Roxie, Daniel, Janet and New Jersey Red Umbrella, PJ Starr, the Incredible Edible Akynos, Cinnamon Maxxine, Shade Books, Tom Orr, Juba Kalamka, Ckiara Rose, The M & M Fund, Froggy, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Fatso, Vixen Noir  Juba Kalamka, The Fox Family, and folks from afar like Lan lan,  Emi Koyama, Diskrete Kunst,  Erochica Bamboo, and so many many more. If we missed you, then please write us because we want to list you too! 

Plus out sponsors and benefactors, SWOP,  Desiree Alliance,  St. James Infirmary, the Foxes, ISWFACE, Media Alliance, Resist.org, Craigslist Charitable Fund, Open Meadows, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.