From September through December 2009, five young filmmakers and a camera crew traveled across the United States to explore the problem of prostitution in America. They interviewed political figures, authors, porn stars, experts, and former prostitutes, just to name a few.
Sex + Money: A National Search for Human Worth, a documentary tentatively scheduled for fall release, is being made in partnership with photogenX, a ministry of Youth With A Mission. PhotogenX equipped students to use forms of media to raise awareness of injustice around the world and seek social change. While Sex + Money is not being touted as a Christian film, several of its participants are believers.
Last December, I spoke with some of the Sex + Money filmmakers while they conducted interviews and research in Washington, D.C. Photojournalist Tim Dyk explained that as Christians, “We need to be willing to go to those areas, be willing to have conversations about sex, about prostitution, about helping people who are coming out of prostitution, because even Jesus wants to [reach out to] prostitutes. He recognized that they are needy people just like anyone else, just like we are.”
The film aims to expose viewers to the problem of prostitution in America, specifically the sexual exploitation of minors, and to guide people to resources for fighting sex trafficking in America. “There’s so many different ways that we can work [against trafficking],” Dyk said. “I just think a lot of this requires the church, as followers of Christ, to walk out in what he’s calling us to do, [and] it can look different for each person. I think people just need to see how the Spirit leads and to see how they can use their gifts.”
Check out Sex + Money webisodes on YouTube.
