David on Formosa

Street Survivor (嘜相害) is a no-budget short film made by Lin Jing-jie (林靖傑) which screened at the Taipei Film Festival. Lin's film The Most Distant Course (最遙遠的距離) received an honorable mention in the Film Festival's New Talent Competition. 

Street Survivor depicts the life of a street walker in Wanhua, a district of Taipei City. Although actors are used in the film, it presents a realistic portrayal of the what happens in the streets. The style of the film is much like a documentary.

The sex worker's life is largely one of boredom and anxiety: long periods waiting for customers and trying to evade the police. As well as showing the women's perspective the film also gives the perspective of a police officer. The policeman laments that he has to spend his time arresting the women just to meet his quota. Both the policeman and the sex worker are just trying to do their best to make a living. There is a strong element of class analysis here, not something you would typically expect in Taiwan.

I think the film was interesting and informative and can help people better understand issues relating to sex work and the law.  

Links

• Street Survivor – movie blog
• Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters