HOOKERS ON DAVIE

Q: What is Hookers on Davie about?

Hookers on Davie is a documentary profiling cisgender and transgender women working as prostitutes on Vancouver’s Davie Street, focusing on their community, safety efforts, and the context of the city’s attempt to 'clean up' the area.

1984 · 1h 28m · NR · Documentary · IMDB TMDB

A Canadian documentary film that portraits of a number of women, both cisgender and transgender, who work as prostitutes on Davie Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, the film profiles them in the context of the early campaign to "clean up" the street during the mayoralty of Mike Harcourt.

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Quick Answer

What is Hookers on Davie about?

Hookers on Davie is a 1984 Canadian documentary directed by Janis Cole and Holly Dale about the lives of cisgender and transgender women working as prostitutes on Vancouver’s Davie Street during the early efforts to 'clean up' the area.

Programmer's Pick

This isn’t your typical gritty exposé—Hookers on Davie is as much about grassroots solidarity as it is about the business of sex work. With a sharp eye for the lived realities of Vancouver’s underbelly, it captures the resourcefulness and frank camaraderie among women who refuse to be defined by stigma.

— SassyFlix Programmer

Overview

Hookers on Davie offers an unvarnished look at Vancouver’s Davie Street, once dubbed “the prostitution capital of Canada.” After eight months of research into sex work across North America, the filmmakers focus on the vibrant and organized community of prostitutes who have transformed this tree-lined neighborhood into a 24-hour marketplace. The women—cisgender and transgender—take active steps for their safety, meeting weekly to discuss self-defense and health, and even circulate warnings about dangerous clients. Shot with the cooperation and trust of its subjects, the documentary provides a rare, candid window into their daily realities, the challenges of street life, and the ways these women support themselves and each other.

Details & Specs

Directors: Janis Cole, Holly Dale
Writers: Janis Cole, Holly Dale
Release: 1984
Runtime: 1h 28m
Country: Canada
Language: English
Genres: Documentary

Why This Matters

This documentary profiles cisgender and transgender sex workers on Vancouver's Davie Street amid early efforts to 'clean up' the area, and was recognized with a Genie Award nomination and a Best Documentary win at the 1984 Chicago International Film Festival.

— SassyFlix Curator

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