A candid documentary about a pair of 69-year-old prostitute twin sisters is to make its debut at New York's Film Forum festival this summer.
Louise and Martine, who are veterans of Amsterdam's famous Red Light District and have a century of experience between them, star in Meet the Fokkens.In a trailer, released today, they describe how times have changed since they started their career in the early Sixties, and how they feel about the public perception of their trade.
Turning tricks: Amsterdam prostitutes Louise and
Martine Fokkens are the subjects of a new documentary that sees then
discuss their 50-year careers in the city's Red Light District
Candid: The sisters share their opinions on everything from vibrators to young prostitutes today
'We hardly ever really f****d unless they paid us well.'
Comparing the early days of the prostitution world with the present day, she recalls: 'In the old days, the local copper would tap on the window if a girl was showing too much ankle, now the girls deal coke from their cubicles.'
Louise explains that arthritis forced her to retire two years ago, because she 'couldn’t get one leg over the other' - though her sister continues to work.
Intimate insight: The pair describe how times
have changed since they started their career in the early Sixties, and
how they feel about the public perception of their trade
Double act: Louise and Martine dance in matching dresses outside their Amsterdam home
The trailer then shows a scene in which Martine is preparing herself for a job. She is seen calling out to her unseen client: 'I'm almost there... Did you hear me?'
An anonymous voice replies: 'Yes mistress,' to which she responds: 'Good Boy.'
The sisters can also be seen browsing a display of vibrators together in a sex shop, discussing the quality of the products on offer, and how they might use them.
Riveting story: The sisters tell how they freed
themselves from the control of their pimps, ran their own brothel, and
set up the first informal trade union for prostitutes
Still working: Martine remains a practising
prostitute as she needs the money. Her sister, who stopped due to her
arthritis, points out: 'You can't live off a state pension'
The documentary, which will go on general release in the U.S. this autumn, also relates a more serious story: how the Fokkens sisters freed themselves from the control of their pimps, ran their own brothel, and set up the first informal trade union for prostitutes.
Directors Gabriëlle Provaas and Rob Schröde told ABC News: 'This is the story we wanted to tell.
'Louise and Martine are real old-fashioned Amsterdam hookers: liberated, cheerful and not scared of anybody.'
Defiant: The sisters dismiss any judgement from
others over their career choice: 'You did the work, you've been a
whore,' one says. 'They'll always call you names, so be one'
But though prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, their career choice has not been without judgement.
In one clip, the twins are seen discussing the subject, with one saying to the other: 'You did the work, you've been a whore. You'll never get rid of that name.
'They'll always call you names, so be one.'
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