Prostitutes’ Rights Activists at the 5th International Conference on AIDS in Montreal, 1989. Edited and directed by Geraldine George with historic footage from ACT UP New York filmmaker, Catherine Gund for the PrEP and Sex Work consultation in Toronto, October 19-20, 2016. Sponsored by Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association of B.C. in partnership with University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health with funds from Elton John AIDS Foundation.
As part of ACT UP NYC’s Diva TV Project, in June 1989 filmmaker Catherine Gund videoed events and activism taking place during the Fifth International Conference on AIDS in Montreal.
Included in this footage was Gund’s interviews with sex workers’ rights activists Cheryl Overs, Carol Leigh (AKA the Scarlot Harlot), Valerie Scott, Tracey TIEF, and the late Danny Cockerline and Andrew Hunter.
In 2016, with Gund’s and the featured activists’ permission and essential support from Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association of B.C., filmmaker Geraldine George compiled the footage featuring sex workers’ rights activism into Our Bodies Our Business, Part One (OBOB1), a 24-min documentary.
OBOB1 illustrates how in the early years of the AIDS crisis while facing a mounting death toll, the withholding of life-saving drugs and systematic scapegoating of prostitutes, these pioneering activists pushed back with incredible intellect, performance and actions.
ACTIVISTS FEATURED, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
CAROL LEIGH (AKA THE SCARLOT HARLOT)
CHERYL OVERS
DANNY COCKERLINE
VALERIE SCOTT
TRACEY TIEF
ANDREW HUNTER
CAMERA AND INTERVIEWS:
CATHERINE GUND/DIVA TV
ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS:
GERRI WELLS
POSTPRODUCTION SOUND:
JACKIE GALLANT
SUBTITLES:
JELENA VERMILION
EDITOR/DIRECTOR:
GERALDINE GEORGE
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
CAROL LEIGH (AKA THE SCARLOT HARLOT), CHERYL OVERS, DANNY COCKERLINE, VALERIE SCOTT, TRACEY TIEF, ANDREW HUNTER, CATHERINE GUND, ANDREW SORFLEET, JELENA VERMILLION, TRIPLE-X WORKERS’ SOLIDARITY ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, THE ELTON JOHN FOUNDATION, and DALLA LANA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
