“In books, movies, and every syndicated crime drama imaginable, sex workers are typically portrayed as victims or villains,” Andrea Werhun remarks. “It’s high time we told our own damn stories.” Through cheeky, stylized reenactments, colourful animated sequences, and hilarious sendups of her sexual encounters, memoirist Andrea Werhun recounts the joys and pitfalls of her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto. Along the way, she debunks misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession, reconceptualizing the archetype of the Modern Whore.
By turns earnest and riotously entertaining, this documentary feature expands on director Nicole Bazuin and performer and co-writer Andrea Werhun’s (recognizable for her charismatic turn in Sook-Yin Lee’s 2024 film Paying for It) book and short film of the same name. Werhun interviews a diverse community of sex workers and dancers, exploring their professions’ risks and rewards. Modern Whore is a revealing film that exposes the silencing effects of shame and stigma, a culture that fetishizes trauma, and the vulnerabilities that underlie a lack of labour protections.
Oct 9 & 11: Q&A
Presented by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Andrea Werhun
Canada
2025
English
Sexual violence, gender or sexual discrimination
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Sean Baker, Berry Meyerowitz, Jeff Sackman, James J. Yi, Amir Endalah, John Laing, Mark Gingras, Terry King, Martha Loewen, Alex Kingsmill, Justin Stockman
Producer
Lauren Grant, Nicole Bazuin, Andrea Werhun
Screenwriter
Nicole Bazuin, Andrea Werhun
Cinematography
Nina Djacic
Editor
Nicole Bazuin
Production Design
Chareese Steinhoff
Original Music
Tom Third
Nicole Bazuin
Nicole Bazuin is an award-winning filmmaker and artist from Toronto. She directed the short films Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie, which premiered at Sundance and was named in TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten list for 2023; Modern Whore (2020), which premiered at SXSW; and the CBC Short Doc Last Night at the Strip Club (2020); as well as digital series for CBC Arts and The Image Centre. Bazuin co-created and photographed the book Modern Whore: A Memoir (2022), and has exhibited her art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Luminato, and Nuit Blanche. Modern Whore (2025) is her first feature film.
Filmography: Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie (2023)
Northern Lights
See more films in this series
Hemela
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Akashi
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Clan of the Painted Lady
Jennifer Chiu’s engrossing documentary explores the Hakka — a people, a language, and a culture that have been obscured for far too long. Tracing her own lineage back to from Canada to China, the director creates an illuminating, bravely personal film.
A Welcome Distraction
In the wake of a personal tragedy, a young man living in Vancouver does whatever he can to avoid reconnecting with his family. An ambient ode to our city, and a sensitive and relatable portrait of life within it.
Modern Whore
In director Nicole Bazuin’s cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It, VIFF 2024) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.
Levers
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Follies
After two kids and 16 years of marriage, François and Julie decide to open up their relationship in a bid to rekindle their dwindling sex life. A painfully hilarious and brutally honest depiction of love, sex, and intimacy.