Newport International Film Festival 2008

Against an unforgiving backdrop of homelessness and madness, Begging Naked shows the endurance of the human spirit at its most extreme. In 1996 Karen Gehres was asked by her friend Elise to video tape her stories of being a teen runaway and prostitute. Elise had lived through experiences that a writer of fiction would have difficulty dreaming up. When Elise decided to go back into stripping at age 30, the story went on an unpredictable course. Over the next seven years, Mayor Guiliani wiped out the sex businesses on 42nd Street leaving Elise unemployed. Elise began to spiral mentally out of control, losing all she ever had. She currently resides in Central Park. After viewing Begging Naked you will not pass a homeless person again without wanting to know ‘their’ story.