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The Madam

1 x 45 / 1 x 52
Broadcaster:  SBS

Millionaire Mary-Anne Kenworthy is a woman of many titles: Mother, Rotarian, Entrepreneur and Brothel Madam. However, she is mostly known for owning two of the largest illegal brothels in Western Australia. This intriguing and humorous exposé of the sex industry follows Mary-Anne on her quest to launch an online brothel, and her crusade to decriminalise prostitution.

After a three-year stint as a prostitute, Mary-Anne bought her first house of ill fame and has since built a business empire, with a string of massage parlours, brothels and escort agencies, on the back of a thriving illegal sex trade. Outside the shadowy world of prostitution, this Rotarian striving for respectability has diversified her interests into fashion, sex toys and property development.

The Madam is a fascinating, funny and engaging documentary which follows Mary-Anne’s personal journey, revealing her in all her complexity.  She craves and searches for respectability and has a firm sense of social responsibility and morals, strongly justifying her actions in an industry that is often thought of as immoral and exploitative.  Seemingly ‘conservative’ in comparison to her peers, she is one manipulative business woman who works everyone towards her empire-building agenda. The Madam is universally enthralling as the characters walk a thin line between dark and light, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Personalities who feature alongside Mary-Anne and add different layers to the social tapestry of the film include Pamela Martin who took up sex work after three failed marriages and dreams of being a writer, Scotty the Sexy Super Gran, once a sex worker, but now a brothel tour guide searching for fame, and Warren George, Marry-Anne’s best friend.

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