‘Pretty Babies’ Director Tyler-Marie Evans on Depicting Real Women in Sex Work — and Winning Over Christine Vachon: “I Lost Sleep!”
Director Tyler-Marie Evans’s debut feature, Pretty Babies, will premiere in competition at the Edinburgh Film Festival, following a five-year effort to bring the project to screen. The coming-of-age drama examines young women’s dreams of Hollywood and their vulnerability to exploitation, seeking to depict sex work from a perspective centred on real women rather than familiar male-led portrayals.
The film follows Marie and Luna, played by Emily Alyn Lind and Sadie Stanley, whose road trip towards an imagined Hollywood draws them into the sex industry through characters played by Ashley Benson and Madelaine Petsch. Evans, who grew up in a cult-like Texas church and later worked as a waitress in Los Angeles, secured backing from Benson, Petsch and producer Christine Vachon after pitching widely, including at Cannes; she cites Agnès Varda, Thirteen, The Virgin Suicides and Taxi Driver as influences.
- Pretty Babies premieres at Edinburgh after a five-year production journey.
- The film explores ambition, exploitation and sex work through young women’s experiences.
- Ashley Benson, Madelaine Petsch and Christine Vachon supported Evans’s debut.
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Sex work refers to the exchange of sexual services for money or other payment. It is a subject often shown in films through crime stories or from the viewpoint of male characters, while women involved may be portrayed in simplified ways.
Hollywood has long attracted young people hoping for careers in film and television, but newcomers can face financial pressure, unequal power and exploitation. Stories about this setting often explore the gap between the promise of fame and the realities facing those without money, contacts or security.
Coming-of-age dramas focus on young people making choices as they enter adulthood. A road-trip story can be used to show characters leaving familiar surroundings, meeting new influences and confronting risks as their plans change.