Vilcek Foundation

Director: Mimi Chakarova
Screenwriter: Mimi Chakarova
Producers: Mimi Chakarova
Cinematographer: Adam Keker

Synopsis: Would you be willing to jump out of a three-story-high window to escape your situation? You might if you were a young Eastern European woman promised work as a housekeeper or waitress, only to find yourself forced into the seedy world of prostitution far from home. That’s the story told by photojournalist Mimi Chakarova in The Price of Sex. Across the world, from Moldova to Turkey and beyond, she leaves no stone unturned in this chillingly thorough documentary on sex trafficking.

The government, police, family members, pimps, johns — everyone is complicit in the trafficking of these women. The Price of Sex examines how these factors, coupled with the fall of communism, have left villages with few competitive options and, thus, open to traffickers eagerly preying on the naivete of their victims. With no easy solutions, this issue affects everyone. ­­

—Jeff Kent