The Red Umbrella Diaries is a feature documentary that tells the personal stories of seven diverse New Yorkers who work in different sectors of the sex trade and come together to tell their tales on stage at Joe’s Pub. Using the performances as a framing device, the film digs deep into the personal experiences of people who trade sex for a living, and illuminates the complexities and contradictions that sex workers face as they try to do right by themselves and people they care about. The storylines weave in threads that many Americans struggle with: work, family, religion, health, and community. The film explores the question: what happens when people whose voices are never heard in mainstream media take control of their own stories and how they are presented to the world?

Since 2009, the Red Umbrella Project (RedUP) has created a safe space for sex workers from diverse backgrounds and experiences to share their stories, their frustrations, their triumphs and tragedies at a monthly storytelling event, the Red Umbrella Diaries, at Happy Ending Lounge (a former massage parlor turned cocktail lounge) in New York City’s Lower East Side. More than 100 sex workers have told their stories at the Diaries over the years, and now its time for a bigger venue and a celebration of some of the series’ brightest stars. On November 14, 2013 seven Diaries performers took the stage at Joe’s Pub – and we’ve documented the performers on their journey.

Visit: Red Umbrella Project