Nicole Bazuin on claiming agency through form in 'Modern Whore'
From We Need to Talk About Oscar by Áron Czapek
May 1, 2026 · 17 min
About this episode
Nicole Bazuin discusses her documentary 'Modern Whore' and the creative journey behind it.
Director Nicole Bazuin's 'Modern Whore' began as a 2018 illustrated memoir collaboration with Andrea Werhun, evolved through multiple shorts including one that premiered at SXSW in 2020, and now arrives as a feature documentary that's traveled from TIFF to theatrical release. Nicole reflects on how over a decade of friendship and creative partnership shaped what the film ultimately became. The hybrid documentary mixes sit-down interviews, scripted reenactments with Andrea playing herself, unscripted conversations with her mother and partner, and animation. Nicole made the bold choice to shoot portions on a volume wall, bringing blockbuster LED technology into an indie documentary context, pushing back against conventional expectations of what a documentary about sex work should look like. Having worn every major creative hat on the film as director, writer, producer, and editor, Nicole built Virgin Twins with Andrea into a company whose first feature has won multiple documentary awards and secured both theatrical and digital distribution. She considers whether this feature represents the culmination of what they'd been building toward, or if it marks the beginning of something…
People in this episode
Host: Áron Czapek
Guest: Nicole Bazuin
Topics covered
- documentary filmmaking
- sex work
- creative partnership
- innovation in film
- agency through art
Keywords
- Modern Whore
- Nicole Bazuin
- documentary
- sex work
- creative process
- film innovation
- agency
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Virgin Twins
Books & works: Modern Whore
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