Sex, Lies And Zumba

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

December 2004 •English

Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

September 2006 •English

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.

Down by Law

September 1986 •English

A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.

Shanghai Express

February 1932 •English

A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.

Taxali Gate

February 2024 •Urdu

In the red light district of Lahore, when the daughter of an underprivileged wedding dancer is raped by the powerful Choudhary's son, the neighbourhood pimp and the top prostitute help the pair seek justice.

China Girl in Bangkok

January 2003 •Thai

Nop is a small time thief who gets a job from the local Chinese mafia in Bangkok. He and another guy have to pick up some girls from a small fishing port nearby who have been smuggled in from China to work in a Karaoke bar and deliver them to Bangkok. On the way back into town they are stopped at a police check point and the cops soon realize the people in the van are all illegal immigrants. He runs away with a girl who speaks some Thai named Liew who is coming to Thailand to pay back her family's debts. A chase leads to them nearly being captured and Nop is shot but they manage to escape and hide out in Pattaya for a few days. They have a relationship but Nop must hand over the girl to the mob no matter what. She does not want to work in the bar but is forced to. Nop does not agree...

Daughter

December 1994 •Thai

Filmed in documentary style, Daughter is the story of four girls who face family problems and turn to heavy drug use in order to cope with their sad realities.

The Women Outside

July 1996 •English

They're called bar women, hostesses, or sex workers and "western princesses." They come from poor families, struggling to earn a decent wage, only to be forced into the world's oldest profession. They're the women who work in the camptowns that surround U.S. military bases in South Korea. In 40 years, over a million women have worked in Korea's military sex industry, but their existence has never been officially acknowledged by either government. In The Women Outside, a film by J.T. Orinne Takagi and Hye Jung Park, some of these women bravely speak out about their lives for the first time. The film raises provocative questions about military policy, economic survival, and the role of women in global geopolitics

She Walks by Night

October 1959 •German

Based on an actual post-war murder in Frankfurt, this standard docudrama by Rudolf Jugert is a serious treatment of the story as compared to the earlier, satirical film The Girl Rosemarie. The history of the case of Rosemarie, a hooker, and how she came to be strangled in her apartment is not completely clear. One of the suspects in the case was first charged, later acquitted, but never really free of an aura of culpability. British actress Belinda Lee plays the title role with her voice dubbed over in German.

Born Winner

December 1976 •Italian

A young man whose passions are money, beautiful women and racing motorcycles comes up with a scheme that will allow him to combine all three, all while committing the "perfect" crime.

Hustle

December 1975 •English

The body of teenager Gloria Hollinger is found dead on a Los Angeles beach, and Lt. Phil Gaines is in charge of the investigation. Gaines learns that the girl, a stripper and prostitute, committed suicide, but he ignores the connection between her and a powerful mob lawyer, Leo Sellers. Hollinger's father, however, is not satisfied with Gaines's results, and attempts to investigate the case on his own.

69 - Praça da Luz

June 2008 •Portuguese

Prostitutes of old age make their living in Praça da Luz, in São Paulo. Unusual and surprising accounts of five women who reveal in detail their experiences in all these years of profession.

Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers

March 2007 •English

During the last half-century, Cambodia has witnessed genocide, decades of war and the collapse of social order. Now, documentary filmmaker Rithy Panh looks at an irreparable tragedy that is less visible, yet no less pervasive: the spiritual death that results when young women are forced into prostitution. Angry and impassioned, PAPER CANNOT WRAP UP EMBERS presents the searing stories of poor Asian women whose lives were violated and their destinies destroyed when their bodies were turned into items of sexual commerce.

St. Pauli Herbertstraße

December 1965 •German

The Good Thief

April 2003 •English

An aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.

A Wife Alone

June 2012 •English

A former prostitute ensnares a young investment banker into marriage determined to avenge her lesbian lover and rob a group of corrupt business men, her husband included.

Irreversible

May 2002 •French

A woman’s lover and her ex-boyfriend take justice into their own hands after she becomes the victim of a rapist. Because some acts can’t be undone. Because man is an animal. Because the desire for vengeance is a natural impulse. Because most crimes remain unpunished.

Eastern Promises

September 2007 •English

A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Kiss of the Dragon

July 2001 •English

Liu Jian, an elite Chinese police officer, comes to Paris to arrest a Chinese drug lord. When Jian is betrayed by a French officer and framed for murder, he must go into hiding and find new allies.

Las Poquianchis

November 1976 •Spanish

During the mid-1970s, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, authorities discover a clandestine burial ground. The corpses are from murdered prostitutes. The suspects are three sisters known as "Las Poquianchis".