ALFF Creator Talk hosted by Elamin Abdelmahmoud: Modern Whore

This event took place on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 12:00 pmYukon Theatre

Writer and performer Andrea Werhun, director Nicole Bazuin, and producer Lauren Grant discuss adapting Werhun’s memoir into an acclaimed hybrid documentary that premiered at TIFF.

Together, they explore collaboration, authorship, sex worker representation, and pushing formal and cultural boundaries in contemporary Canadian cinema.

ALFF Creator Talks are moderated by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, the host of CBC’s daily arts, entertainment, and pop culture show Commotion. He is an award-winning culture writer and the author of the No. 1 best-selling memoir Son of Elsewhere.

Andrea Werhun is a writer, performer, and producer based in Toronto. She is the author & co-creator of Modern Whore: A Memoir with filmmaker Nicole Bazuin. Andrea is the subject, performer, and producer of the award-winning short films Modern Whore and the CBC short doc, Last Night at the Strip Club. Andrea was a script consultant on Sean Baker's acclaimed, Oscar-winning film, Anora. She also consulted and played a lead role in Sook-Yin Lee's Paying for It, which premiered at TIFF 2024. Her writing can be found in the Opinion section of the Globe & Mail and her Substack, Public Figure.

Nicole Bazuin is an award-winning Toronto filmmaker and artist. She directed the short films Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie, which premiered at Sundance and was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten list for 2023, Modern Whore, which premiered at SXSW, and the CBC Short Doc Last Night at the Strip Club. She co-created and directed the series This Art Works! for CBC Arts and Climate Talks With Kids for The Image Centre. Nicole co-created and photographed the book Modern Whore: A Memoir (Penguin Random House Canada) with writer Andrea Werhun. Exhibitions include: Art Gallery of Ontario, Luminato, and Nuit Blanche. Modern Whore is her first feature film.

Lauren Grant is the principle at Clique Pictures, a vibrant film and television production company with a focus on working with female creative talent in front and behind the camera. Her latest production, Modern Whore by Nicole Bazuin and Andrea Werhun, with executive producer Sean Baker, premiered at TIFF and won two Best Feature Documentary awards (Silverwave and CUFF), a Jury Award (CUFF Docs), and a special mention for VIFF’s TIDES Award. Grant’s producing credits include Sugar Daddy, Riot Girls, Giant Little Ones, The Parting Glass, Wet Bum, Picture Day. She served as Executive Producer on The Sticky for Amazon. Grant is a Canadian Screen and Genie Award winner, a Hollywood Reporter Talent to Watch, and an alumna of ACE Producers, Rotterdam Lab, Berlinale Talents, and TIFF Studio. She is completing an MFA in Creative Writing at UBC.