The Red Umbrella Diaries started as a monthly story-telling event at the Happy Ending Lounge on New York 's Lower East Side that sought to shed the stigma around sex work , make it less isolating and show that it can be both exploitative and empowering " at the same time . The Red Umbrella Diaries was listed by '' The Village Voice '' as " The Best Way to Meet Sex Workers ( for Free ) " , and was listed as " Best of New York City 's Sports and Recreation " in 2010 . The monthly event eventually led to a documentary produced by Audacia Ray and multi-Emmy Award-Winning director David Kornfield and funded by the Red Umbrella Project . The documentary featured seven sex workers telling their stories about trading money for sex on the streets of New York City . The documentary premiered at the Portland Film Festival , in Portland , Oregon and at the IFC theater in New York City , and was a Doc NYC official selection
Portland Film Festival
Portland Film Festival
Red Umbrella Project