“Who Cares” is a prime example of why Dransfeld has earned a reputation for being a Master of cinema vérité. Every night the RCMP with project CARE have to ask multiple girls and women in the sex trade for samples to make a record of their DNA for future identification in the case of accidental death, homicide or suicide. In Canada the discrepancies between those on the social fringes and the rest of society is so great and the numbers in this circumstance growing, that shocking as it may seem, Edmonton, Alberta is an epicenter for sex trade worker homicides. Who Cares is an indictment of Canadian policy on prostitution, which leaves the most vulnerable unprotected. Follow Shelly on her quest to get clean and retire. This film tugs at your conscience and never lets go.

Immediately any preconceived notions and judgments I had about Sex Trade workers was replaced by a longing for the happiness and well being of Courtney and Shelly. In one particularly gut wrenching moment, Shelly listens to the robins chirp and reminisces about her daughter, Robin.

“Because if I wasn’t selfish, I wouldn’t have killed her with my own drugs. I had to face what I did to her.”

A moment that left me shattered.

Dransfeld’s enormous empathy for these women is apparent from start to finish and her ability to put her subject matter before the success of the film is what MAKES this film successful. Not many movies touch on such poignant stories as this one does. A must see at this year’s Doc Festival.

Stay tuned for our interview with director, Rosie Dransfeld as she talks about the process of making this film, the challenging aspects and what happened to the women in the film once the production was over.