Mum (2016)

More than 70% of sex workers are mothers and since the austerity cuts have hit women especially hard, more have turned to prostitution as a way of earning much needed income. This narrative fiction film provokes thought and feeling by portraying a loving and nurturing relationship between a mother and her young child. The only difference between her and other mothers is that she works as a prostitute to make ends meet. By depicting the real dangers she faces, the film shows what it is truly like for so many mothers out there, mothers who are stigmatized and criminalised. Our decision to cast a doll as 'mum' is deliberate - turning a stereotyped sex object into a normal, hard-working, caring mother. Our film is full of surprises: the reveal of our 'silent' mother who is loved whole-heartedly, the apparent casualness of 'business on the street' with no protection, the stark brutal evidence of death whilst a child sleeps on, the realisation from a photo frame that this daughter had a real mother. The perception of how we choose to see this woman is challenged. Above all, this film encourages us to start seeing sex workers as real people.