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The Sex Trade

This feature documentary is a study of the sex trade, a reality that has expanded worldwide to become a true industry, both online and off, over the course of the past few decades. Part investigative report and part editorial, the film is a foray into a brutal world whose key players trivialize the impact of their actions by claiming that prostitution is simply a service like any other. But who’s really benefiting? To meet customer demands and keep this lucrative business rolling, unscrupulous pimps and sex traffickers target women and girls, who are afraid to speak out. High-end and street …

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This feature documentary is a study of the sex trade, a reality that has expanded worldwide to become a true industry, both online and off, over the course of the past few decades. Part investigative report and part editorial, the film is a foray into a brutal world whose key players trivialize the impact of their actions by claiming that prostitution is simply a service like any other. But who’s really benefiting? To meet customer demands and keep this lucrative business rolling, unscrupulous pimps and sex traffickers target women and girls, who are afraid to speak out. High-end and street prostitution, escort agencies, massage parlours, strip clubs, the porn industry, sex tourism - the sex trade is sprawling, and has even spread beyond major urban areas. Behind the glowing signs of clubs and bars and on various websites, men are paying for sex and buying the consent of the women. With incisive comments from experts and enlightening interviews with people who have left or are still in the sex trade, the film takes a behind-the-scenes look at this industry to reveal a modern form of slavery.

 This work deals with mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.
  • direction
    Eve Lamont
  • research
    Eve Lamont
  • script
    Eve Lamont
  • editing
    Louise Dugal
  • visual design
    Thierry Gauthier
  • computer graphics
    Thierry Gauthier
    Mélanie Bouchard
    Cynthia Ouellet
  • original music
    Thierry Gauthier
  • producer
    Nicole Hubert
    Sylvie Van Brabant
    Nathalie Cloutier
  • script consultant
    Francine Tougas
  • director of photography
    Eve Lamont
    Geoffroy Beauchemin
    Rénald Bellemare
    Katerine Giguère
    Tomi Grgicevic
    Julien Fontaine
  • camera
    Eve Lamont
    Geoffroy Beauchemin
    Rénald Bellemare
    Katerine Giguère
    Tomi Grgicevic
    Julien Fontaine
  • research camera
    Eve Lamont
    Michèle Garceau
    Mathieu Vlemincks
    Marcelo Riveros
    Pierre Latour
  • sound recording
    Eve Lamont
    Pierre Bertrand
    Mélanie Gauthier
    Catherine Van Der Donckt
  • sound design
    Olivier Calvert
  • sound editing
    Olivier Calvert
  • dialogue editor
    Francine Poirier
  • assistant director
    Michèle Garceau
  • additional research
    Michèle Garceau
    Mathieu Vlemincks
    Jean Lapalme
  • technical support - editing
    Pierre Dupont
    Isabelle Painchaud
    Patrick Trahan
  • online editing
    Denis Pilon
  • titles
    Mélanie Bouchard
  • re-recording
    Serge Boivin
  • cello
    Delphine Measroch
  • translation
    Vision Globale
  • subtitling
    Vision Globale
  • legal advisor
    Remy Khouzam
  • marketing manager
    François Jacques
  • marketing manager - assistance
    Theodora Kolovos
  • administrator
    Sia Koukoulas
  • production coordinator
    Hélène Regimbal
    Chinda Phommarinh
  • administrative assistant
    Larissa Christoforo
    Pascale Savoie-Brideau
  • technical coordinator
    Mira Mailhot
    Richard Cliche
  • associate producer
    Mélanie Lasnier
  • executive producer
    Colette Loumède
  • coordinator
    Amélie Lambert-Bouchard
  • secretary
    Amélie Lambert-Bouchard
  • technical supervision
    Théo Van Brabant
  • technical assistant
    Vanessa Abadhir
  • head accountant
    Lorette Torelli
  • accounting assistant
    Monique Rousselet

Education

Ages 16 to 18

Notes

Ideal for essays and debates on social issues. What is the sex trade? Why do some women work in the sex trade, and how can those causes be addressed? In some countries, prostitution is decriminalized or even regulated by the government instead of operating on the black market; would you be for or against such measures in Canada, and why? Does pornography have a damaging effect on human sexuality and relationships, and why or why not?

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The Sex Trade
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