Email to Dirk

Hi there Dirk,

I hope you don’t mind me contacting you; Ella gave me your email address because she advised me that you might be able to help me with a project I am currently working on. I believe that she has dropped you a text to check that you are OK to be contacted. I am a third year student studying Performance at Northumbria, and am in the process of putting together a film whose goal is to create an accurate portrayal of the escorting industry in the North East, in my opinion it is an industry which suffers from a great deal of misrepresentation, both in the media and in popular culture. My motivation for this is that I strongly believe that these representations push those working and seeking service in the industry to the fringes of society, further perpetuating the discrimination that they face in mainstream life. As public opinion has a huge impact on the laws of our country, I feel it is incredibly important to challenge these misconceptions, in order that these laws are fair and appropriate to the reality of what goes on.

The film that I want to create will be written in a verbatim style, meaning that the script will be made entirely from transcripts of interviews that I hope to record with yourself and others working in the industry. This will then be performed by actors, meaning that everything you say during interviews would be completely anonymous, and your identity would not be revealed at any point in the project. If you did not feel comfortable meeting with me then I would be more than happy to communicate via phone, email etc. My only intentions are that the women working in this industry have the opportunity to voice their opinions, and to challenge the narrow portrayal of the industry that I have encountered.

Ella has told me that you have some very strong opinions about the industry, as it is something that you have both purchased time in as well as knowing girls that are working on a more personal level. I think its really important to represent both sides, as I have found plenty of documentaries from the perspective of the girls, but hardly any from the perspective of their clients. I imagine that paying for sex is something that many will judge a man for, and I strongly believe that this is unfair and that these sorts of views should be challenged.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email, I hope that I have communicated my project in a positive light as I really do feel passionately about the issues I have raised. If you have any questions then please feel free to ask them, and equally if you feel I am approaching this in the wrong way I would really welcome the feedback.

If you would rather call me, my number is ***********

Hope to hear from you soon,

Bethany