Fly in Power
Documentary Feature Film
Fly in Power is an award-winning documentary that follows Charlotte, a Korean massage worker and core organizer of Red Canary Song (RCS): a social justice collective of Asian diasporic massage workers, sex workers and allies who basebuild through mutual aid. Through her story, we learn how the incarceration system is pitted against Asian migrant women and their survival. Other RCS members, including Khokhoi, a young body worker, and Prof Elena Shih, Brown University, share powerful insights that debunk the myths of sex trafficking. Fly in Power is a glimpse into the intimate spaces that not only connect these workers, but is also a testament to the global advocacy of women's rights to work and thrive. This is the first film to center the narrative of an Asian massage worker in her own words, with her own agency of storytelling and editing. The intention of Fly in Power is to honor their practices of care, autonomy, and survival and to raise awareness of the oppressive systems that face us all.
This film has been produced entirely by women, non-binary, trans and queers of the Asian diaspora –– more than half of the production team are former sex workers. The production of this film has been generously supported by donations from our community and grants from Asian Womens Giving Circle and NYWFT.
Our film has had over 50 screenings since premiere, including at film festivals and academic institutions. Highlights include:
QueerRed x Cinemasia, Netherlands, 2024
New Zealand Sex Worker Collective screening, Aotearoa, 2024
Tuscon Sex Worker Arts Festival, Tuscon AZ, 2024
Respect QLD, Brisbane Premiere, QLD Australia, 2024
Winter Film Awards International Festival, NYC, 2024
NE Spicy Coffee Collective, UK Premiere, 2024
Flower Spa: Solidarity Outside In Exhibition, Storefront News Gallery, NYC, 2024
Scarlet Cha Cha, South Korea Premiere, 2023
Vixen, Melbourne Premiere, Australia, 2023
Scarlet Alliance Sex Worker National Forum, Australian Premiere, 2023
Our Inner Quarters exhibition, co-presented with A/P/A Institute at NYU, Center for the Study of Gender & Sexuality, and Intersectional Feminist/Queer Studies Collective, 2023
UCLA Transnational Gender and Labor Working Group, 2023
Red Umbrella Film Festival, Dublin Ireland, 2023
National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Baltimore Maryland, 2023
SWOP Hawaiʻi Oʻahu, Honolulu, 2023
Asian American International Film Festival 46th Edition (AAIFF46), 2023
San Francisco Bay Area Sex Worker Arts and Film Festival, SF, 2023
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Islander Film Festival (LAAPFF23), LA, 2023, Winner of Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary
Tisch School of the Arts NYU, NYC, 2023
University of Massachusetts, MA, 2023
NYU, NYC, 2023
New School, NYC, 2023
Brown University, RI, 2023
World Premiere, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing NYC, 9 Mar 2023
Since 2024 our film is now available for acquisition and rentals on GOOD DOCS.
Production Team
Co-Director: Yin Q + Yoon Grace Ra
Producer: Xen Nhà
Cinematographer + Editor: Yoon Grace Ra
Story Consultant: Mengwen Cao
Production Assisant: Kai Yang
Original Music Score: Melanie Hsu