To quote none other than Andrea Werhun's Modern Whore, "in books, movies and every syndicated crime drama imaginable, sex workers are typically portrayed as either victims or villains." Apart from the Julia Roberts-led Pretty Woman, which gave a very romanticized look at the profession, so often does everything from TV police procedurals to horror movies and psychological thrillers cling to such simplistic stereotypes that they keep sex workers unfairly stigmatized.

In that context, both Werhun's original memoir and its new film adaptation, co-written and helmed by Nicole Bazuin, are such a beautiful change of pace. Werhun, who served as a creative consultant on the Oscar-winning Anora (the director of which, Sean Baker, executive produces this new documentary), proves herself far more than a villain or victim with the bitingly hilarious, appropriately vulnerable, and wonderfully creative way she's brought her memoir to the screen.