Preview
NEIGHBOURS
HERLAND FEMINIST FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
Directed by Farrah Alladin
Sunday, May 8
Burns West Theatre (Fort Calgary)
With horrifying stories of abuse and murder of sex-trade workers in the media recently, one of two short films submitted to the herland Feminist Film and Video Festival by local filmmaker Farrah Alladin is depressingly topical. In Neighbours Alladin takes on stereotypes by interviewing a local sex worker.
"I called it Neighbours because people tend to treat sex workers as not part of the community. They don’t include them in discussions about how to build a better community," says Alladin.
"I had read a Calgary Herald article in the summer of 2003 called ‘Flophouse woes’ that referred to sex workers in an incredibly derogatory manner, and the letters in response were even worse," she says. "Our society has a really negative view of sex workers. We have a tendency to blame pimps and johns for the violence, but the way we all treat and talk about sex workers, I think, contributes to their experience of violence and victimization.
"When sex-trade workers are talked about, it’s always people other than sex workers who are talking about them. I wanted to ask sex workers how they feel about Calgarians’ attitudes towards them."
Alladin had to fight through biased attitudes to even begin talking to her subjects. Everybody she talked to had the same warnings – all the women would either be on drugs, or so abused that they wouldn’t be capable of discussion.
"Most of the women I talked to were there because they were poor. They were intelligent, articulate, complex, funny women. They were nothing like the stereotypes. I found that if you’re willing to treat them as human beings, with a bit of respect, they’re more than willing to talk to you."
In the end, although Alladin spoke off-camera with half a dozen women and one man, only one woman agreed to be filmed on-camera. After paring three hours of footage down to eight minutes, Alladin is conflicted about the result of her editing choices as a first-time filmmaker.
"I feel that sex workers are vastly misunderstood and objectified, so I set out to make a film that allowed them to speak," she says. "But in the end, the way I cut it and the questions I ask create a particular perspective for viewers. I almost feel as though I’ve re-objectified the woman in the film."
Alladin admits that this isn’t the definitive film on the subject due its complex nature. "We always focus on the degrading potential of the job, and there’s no focus on the possibly liberatory aspects of the work. There’s a certain amount of potential for autonomy in the work," Alladin says, sighing with frustration at the argument she’s framing with difficulty. "It’s not as simplistic as bad women forced into it by bad men with bad drugs."
For a first time filmmaker, Alladin has no fear of biting off meaty topics. Her second film in the festival, I Just Am, co-directed with Tansy Wong, features interviews with lesbian women of colour about their lives. Where most people address topics that speak directly to their lives and issues, Alladin has chosen the opposite approach.
"I can’t talk about the communities I’m part of," she says. "It’s not safe for me to speak about the kinds of oppression I’ve dealt with, so I find other women’s stories to tell.
"I may not identify as a sex worker or a lesbian, but I have been marginalized. I can relate to that feeling. I can’t speak about my experiences because it wouldn’t be safe for me to do so, but I want to use my position and privilege as a well-to-do, middle class, post-secondary student to allow other women to speak about their oppression."
Alladin is certainly passionate about filmmaking – "There aren’t enough women of colour filmmakers," she says – but is aware of the pitfalls of the profession. "From everything everyone says to me, I’d better not quit my day job," she says with a laugh. "But I’m passionate about it, so I’m happy to pursue it as a hobby for now." |
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