Tales of the Night Fairies is a documentary on female sex workers in the Sonagachi district of Calcutta, India. Focusing on voices often unheard or ignored, the film explores the power of collective organizing and resistance while reflecting upon contemporary debates around sex work. The women, self-possessed and dignified, forthrightly share their opinions on a variety of topics, including their right to a labor union, marriage, ethics, and production. These sex workers refuse to accept rape and violence perpetrated by the law against them. Instead they choose various forms of resistance: from getting corrupt policemen fired to establishing a theater company to tell their own stories, and from street carnival to performance. They also raise questions about the notions of “rehabilitation” and “rescue,” and debate what the difference between housewives and sex workers really is. Through the activists of the self-governing sex workers collective, we can witness a new model of a community of women. The song, “I am that woman,” will linger in ears long after the film is over; Tales of the Night Fairies is a trinity formed by the women, their community, and the director’s heartful affection for her subjects. In addition, the film delves into the universal subject: love. Through lighthearted musings about heterocentric celebration of love that is St. Valentine’s Day and the romantic movies she watched as a young girl, director Shohini Ghosh examines the possibilities of a different kind of love. (Ko Gaphee)