Films by katja esson

Germany 2011, 72 min
by katja esson

The Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center: for more than 120 years, Mohawk ironworkers have raised America’s modern cityscapes. They are called ‘sky walkers’ because they walk fearlessly atop steel beams just a foot wide, high above the city. Who are these Mohawk sky walkers? What is their secret for overcoming fear? Has ‘sky walking’ replaced an ancient rite of passage? Or is it the pure need to adapt in order to survive? And what is their life really like, when eve

Germany 2009
by katja esson

Prostitutes work on the margins of society - even though their services are very much in demand. There has never been a shortage of punters. The film juxtaposes accounts of women in the trade both in the past and the present day. Throughout the ages, contempt and oppression have been a part of their daily reality. Neaira, a prostitute in ancient Greece, had to put up with it, and the same is still true for Sania, who works in Paris today. Why is this so? Why is sex work still not considered a re