Tagged: films

Feminist Porn Awards Nominees List

Just a quickie post which I’ll expand on Monday when I have time:

Good For Her has released the list of nominees for the Feminist Porn Awards 2009. My little short, That’s What I Like, is listed.

This is fab, but I should reveal the facts behind it. I’ve actually withdrawn the film from competition because For The Girls decided to sponsor the awards after I’d posted off the movie. Given the conflict of interest, the film can’t really be in the running. Never mind, though, I’m planning to submit it to a bunch of other adult film festivals.

Oh, and For The Girls is very excited to be a sponsor. This is a great event that needs to be supported!

Update 30th March – Here’s the full list:

The Nominees for the 2009 Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards are (in alphabetical order – director first name)

1. Girls Lusting Girls – Abby Winters – Abbywinters.com
2. Voluptuous Biker Babes – Carlos Batts – Adam and Eve Pictures
3. Padded Cell – Cant Dog Productions
4. Roulette – Courtney Trouble – No Fauxxx
5. Intense Desires – Eli Cross – Lennox Films
6. One Night Stand: Emilie Jouvet – Hyst Productions
7. Barcelona Sex Project – Erika Lust – Lust Films
8. Exploring the O – Jamye Waxman – Adam and Eve Pictures
9. Monogamy without Monotony – Jamye Waxman – Adam and Eve Pictures
10. Toying with Pleasure – Jamye Waxman – Adam and Eve Pictures
11. Matinee – Jennifer Lyon Bell – Blue Artichoke Films
12. Head Shot – Jennifer Lyon Bell – Blue Artichoke Films
13. MySexTherapist.com 2 : Advanced Therapy – Kelly Holland – Chick Media
14. That’s What I Like – Louise Lush – Indigo Lush Media
15. Lesbian Life; Layover – Madison Young – Lesbian Life Productions
16. Lesbian Life: Real Sex San Francisco – Madison Young – Lesbian Life Productions
17. Madison Young’s Bride of Sin – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
18. Madison Young’s Tail of a Bondage Model – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
19. Perversions of Lesbian Lust – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
20. Undone – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
21. Strap-On Motel – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
22. Skateboard Kink Freak – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
23. Sex Mannequin – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
24. Post Apocalyptic Cowgirls – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
25. New Romantix – Max Royale – Babeland Premieres
26. Man Of My Dreams – Mimi Balfour – Cleopatra Films
27. Red Hot Touch: Genital Massage for Men – New World Sex Education
28. Red Hot Touch: Erogenous Zones and Orgasmic Massage – New World Sex Education
29. Red Hot Touch: Erotic Touch For Sexual Positions – New World Sex Education
30. Red Hot Touch: Exquisite Anal Massage – New World Sex Education
31. Red Hot Touch: Genital Massage For Women – New World Sex Education
32. Girls Kissing Girls – Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
33. Lesbian Noir: The Pool Girl – Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
34. My Little Minx: A (sort of) Silent Lesbian Farce Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
35. Feeling It! Not Faking It – Petra Joy – Strawberry Seductress Films
36. Pixie Licks – Pixie and Andy Ide – Sweetmeat Productions
37. Bag Ladies – Stelllaaa Kowolsky and BJay Pink – Jumbo Grab Productions
38. Champion – Shine Louise Houston – Pink and White Productions
39. Crash Pad Series 3 – Shine Louise Houston – Pink and White Productions
40. Doing It Ourselves: The Trans Women Porn Project – Tobi Hill-Meyer
41. Bill and Desiree: Love is Timeless – Tony Comstock – Comstock Films
42. Couch Surfers: Trans Men in Action – Trannywood Pictures – Brazen Garage Squad Productions
43. Tristan Taormino’s Guide to the G-Spot – Tristan Taormino – Smart Ass Productions & Vivid Ed
44. Penny Flame’s Guide to Handjobs for Men and Women – Tristan Taormino + Penny Flame – Smart Ass Productions & Vivid Ed
45. Chemistry 3 – Tristan Taormino – Smart Ass Productions and Vivid Entertainment
46. Chemistry 4 – Tristan Taormino – Smart Ass Productions and Vivid Entertainment

Amazing that there are so many amazing films to choose from this year! So many different viewpoints and ideas on display. It’s gonna be a great FPA this year!

Filed Under: Feminism, Filmmaking, Porn for Women, Porn Movies

Tags: feminist porn awards, films, movies, porn for women

27 Feb

“Feeling It” To Be Part of Candida’s Femme Line

Good news for female porn fans in the US – Petra Joy has revealed on her blog that Feeling It is going to be distributed in America through Candida Royalle’s Femme line of films, and Adam and Eve. I know Petra’s had a hell of a time trying to get her films out to the public, with numerous potential distributors either going broke or else trying to impose inappropriate ideas and marketing onto her movies. It’s great to see Candida continue her legacy of offering top quality erotic films to women.

Petra has two short films showing at the Cinekink festival in New York this weekend, excerpts from Feeling It. She’s also working on a documentary about women who make porn. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

Find out more about Petra’s films and where to get them here.

Filed Under: Porn for Women, Porn Movies

Tags: Candida Royalle, Femme, films, movies, Petra Joy, porn for women

10 Feb

Off With The Porn Fairies

Stills from the porn video
My poor blog has been neglected for a week now, but I like to think I’ve got a good excuse.

I’m currently editing the footage from my first ever video shoot which occurred over the weekend. It involved a heap of planning beforehand and a very busy couple of days in the city. It was my first time directing and working behind the camera. I’m pleased to say that whole thing went really well and it was a huge learning experience. There’s plenty of stuff I’d do differently but the only way to find that out is to have hands-on practical experience. The resulting footage looks amazing and now it just takes a lot of patience to choose the best shots and angles. We used two separate cameras, although I wish I’d had a third one. The stills above give a small idea of what it looks like.

The full video will appear on For The Girls in the future. I’m also going to edit up a shorter version for submission to festivals. Yes, delusions of grandeur already.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Porn for Women

Tags: directing, Filmmaking, films, movies, porn for women

14 Jan

Rated X Festival – Wish I Was There

Rated X festival in Amsterdam Tomorrow marks the start of another wonderful erotic film festival, this time in the Netherlands. The Rated-X Alternative Erotica Film Festival features a fascinating variety of unusual, artistic and very sexy films offering a very different view of sexuality and porn. It’s almost the exact opposite of what was recently on show at the AVN awards.

At the Berlin Porn Film Festival I was very lucky to meet one of the festival’s organisers, Jennifer Lyon Bell and I’ve been meaning to post something more substantial about her work. She runs Blue Artichoke Films and her movie Matinee is being screened at the festival. Jen creates intelligent, female-friendly erotic films and she’s also a lot of fun.

There’s also a number of familiar names being screened at the festival: Tony Comstock and Maria Beatty each have a major showcase of their films. Shine Louise Houston, Audacia Ray, Emile Jouvet and Erika Lust also have films at the festival.

Among the panel discussions is one called “Positive pornofication: Women strike back” – a look at whether positive depictions of sex in porn can change the way we approach sexuality in general. Panelists include Anna Span, Sue du Plessis from Mail and Female and the lovely Wendy Delorme, who I saw perform in Berlin (and developed quite a big girly crush on).

There’s also a bunch of thumping afterparties which I’m sure will be fantastic and I know those fun Dutch friends I met in Berlin will be there with bells on.

So I wish I was there, dammit. Once again, living in Australia leaves me out of the loop a bit. Maybe next year. And if you’re from the UK or Europe you might want to consider heading to Amsterdam for a few days this weekend and checking out the real deal when it comes to the future of porn and erotica.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Porn

Tags: erotica, film festivals, films, movies, rated x

03 Dec

Bill and Desiree: Love Is Timeless

Click here to find out more.

(Youtube video no longer works and has been removed from this post).

Tony and Peggy have finally released their sixth wonderful real sex film, Bill and Desiree: Love Is Timeless. Judging from this preview, it looks just as interesting and visually sumptuous as their previous efforts.

Right now they’re offering a discount for early orders.

Edit 4th December
Youtube have removed the Comstock preview video for violating its terms of service. The little clip, which featured a short shot of Bill and Desiree making love (but did not feature any graphic nudity or sex), is apparently too pornographic for such a family enterprise as Youtube. Naturally Tony has a lot to say on this topic.

I’ve only just finished deleting a piece of comment spam directing me to a bit of porn advertising on Youtube. It didn’t feature any nudity but it was spam nonetheless. The clip remains live. There are some astonishing examples of selective censorship on display here.

Filed Under: Porn, Videos

Tags: Comstock films, documentary, films, movies, sex

27 Nov

2 Comments

AVN Awards Nominations Offer Few Surprises

The 54 page list of AVN Awards Nominations has been released and yes, I wasted too much of my precious time scrolling through it this afternoon.

There isn’t much to report really; AVN has once again nominated the standard selection of big-name porn movies and the same old stars as part of the industry’s yearly orgy of self-congratulation. Innovation or new ideas don’t really get much of a look in and there are very few female-friendly titles listed.

This year’s big move is the decision to include web sites and web-based companies in their award system… something that actually has me feeling kind of tetchy. The web is OUR turf, AVN. Keep your silicon boobs off it! Of course, the nominations for “Website of the Year” are all for big-name sites offering the same old stuff, although Abby Winters did get a look in.

Still, there are a few good news stories. Congratulations are in order to Tristan Taormino whose Expert Guide films have accumulated a total of 6 nominations. Jamye Waxman’s Personal Touch series is also up for a gong in the Best Educational Release field.

The Danish porn for women film All About Anna, released by Wicked in January, has been nominated for Best Foreign Feature, Best Packaging and Best Music Soundtrack.

Eon McKai’s Vivid Alt films have also got numerous nominations.

This year they seem to have added a “Clever Title of the Year” section. Nominations include: Charlie Wilson’s Whore, Strollin’ in the Colon, Hairy Movie and the rather-less witty Get That Black Pussy, You Big Dick White Bastard Mutha Fucka. Unfortunately the genuinely amusing title Night of the Giving Head wasn’t included in this section.

The awards are announced in early January 2009.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Porn

Tags: All About Anna, AVN awards, films, movies, Porn, porn industry, Tristan Taormino

26 Nov

Berlin Porn Film Festival Report and Video

It’s taken far too long but I’ve finally posted my video and report of my adventures at the Berlin Porn Film Festival. I was held up waiting for permission and excerpts from some of the films and unfortunately most of those I contacted didn’t reply. It’s a shame because I saw so much talent on display at the festival and I was eager to give those people a bit of publicity.

In any case I hope you like the vid. It’s only very amateur and the sound quality is crap but we made do with what was available. I’ll be editing together a much longer version and also writing a more in-depth article to feature at For The Girls.

Filed Under: Porn for Women

Tags: erotica, film festivals, films, movies, Porn, video

07 Nov

2 Comments

Porn Festivals Everywhere!

Paris porn film festival Maybe I’m just more aware of porn festivals since I went to Berlin, but it seems they’re popping up everywhere.

This weekend sees the second Pornotopia Feminist Porn Film Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Petra’s Feeling It and Erika’s Five Hot Stories For Her are featured, as is Audacia’s funny new short Dacia’s Love Machine.

The weekend we got to Paris saw the first ever Paris Porn Film Festival… which I unfortunately missed. The Guardian wrote a somewhat cynical article about the festival and the growth of feminism and female influence in porn.

There are similar porn festivals planned for other cities in Europe throughout next year.

In January 2009 my new friend Jennifer Lyon Bell is presenting the Rated X Film Festival in Amsterdam, dedicated to alternative, artistic and radical erotica. The call for submissions is still open; I wonder if I can slap something together in time?

Meanwhile, the Sexy International Film Festival is touring around the world after a successful showing in Melbourne. They marketed themselves as being “not porn” but it’s still a step forward for Australia to have something like this.

I want to go to these things! And I want to make movies for them too. Just gotta get a bit more organised…

Meanwhile, my video mini-doco of the Berlin festival has been delayed while I wait for permission to use a couple of clips. Be patient, I’ll have it up on the blog next week, with a full version available at FTG.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Porn

Tags: erotica, film festivals, films, movies, Paris

14 Oct

All About Anna Trailer

This is the trailer for Innocent Picture’s explicit drama All About Anna. I must admit, the trailer doesn’t make it seem like much of a sexy movie. The film does, however, feature full sex as well as a proper story about Anna and her various relationships.

I’ve yet to watch this film because it’s not available in Australia and I’m waiting for the VOD to become available. Hopefully that will be soon.

Filed Under: Porn for Women, Porn Movies, Videos

Tags: All About Anna, films, Innocent Pictures, movies, porn for women, trailer

20 Aug

4 Comments

Erika Lust and the Barcelona Sex Project

Erika Lust behind the scenes of the Barcelona Sex Project
Erika Lust’s latest film The Barcelona Sex Project is a documentary-style erotic movie that aims to enlighten as well as arouse. The film features three men and three women talking about their hobbies, their work, their passions and their sex lives, after which they masturbate on camera.

I thought it was a wonderfully engaging movie, one that was both interesting and sexy. My review of the film is appearing at For The Girls on Thursday.

I was a huge fan of her first film Five Hot Stories for Her. I think Erika is one of the leading lights of women’s erotica so I’m pleased to offer this short-but-exclusive interview with filmmaker Erika Lust about the film.

How did you find your six subjects?
It was a casting amongst the most open and talkative performers and newcomers who live and work in Barcelona. We need people that was able to speak from their inside and perform a masturbation scene and do both things with passion.

Why did you decide to use both men and women?
Because I think that women want to see both how men and women masturbate. That we can find both men and women attractive, it’s all about the personality.

Did anyone have any difficulty coping with masturbating on camera?
It was a great shoot, but some of them told me that it was more difficult for them to masturbate in front of the camera than to perform sex with other person. Also because I wanted them to do it as themselves, not as “pornstars”, as true and real as possible, without thinking of the camera

Was it a difficult film to create?
It’s a very minimalist erotic documentary, and the production was also done with a very small team and just in 6 days. Besides that, My baby girl was only 8 months old and I only was able to be in the set from 9 to 5.

Do you have a favourite participant?
Maybe my favourite is Dunia, she is a very sexy, and funny Brazilian bisexual working mother, with tons of positive energy. Everyone is special in their own way and so different… That’s the great thing with the six of them, everyone can find their fave.

The film has been nominated at the Venus Berlin awards and will also be shown at the Berlin Porn Film festival. I’m excited because I’ll be in Berlin for the festival and can hopefully get together and meet Erika in person.

Here’s a few fab behind-the-scenes photos from the production.
Erika Lust behind the scenes of the Barcelona Sex Project
I like this real “behind the scenes” shot complete with snazzy equipment.

Erika Lust with Dunia, one of the participants in the Barcelona Sex Project
Erika with Dunia, the ex-Brazilina PR exec with a thing for toys.

Sylvia, a participant in the Barcelona Sex Project
Sylvia, the young metal fan with a lot of tatts.

You can purchase the film directly from Erika at her official site. 5% of all purchases go to charity.

Hot Movies also has it for download.

I posted the trailer for it on the blog here.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Porn for Women, Porn Movies

Tags: Barcelona Sex Project, documentary, Erika Lust, erotica, films, movies, porn for women

04 Aug

The Sex Film To End All Sex Films?

Since I’ve turned Francophile I went to the video shop and hired out a number of French-related films. On a whim I decided to watch Last Tango In Paris, partly to see if it had any good Parisian scenery. Yes, I am that jaded. I also got it because I wanted to watch the famed anal sex scene again, see if it was as shocking as I remembered.

Bertolucci’s 1972 film made waves when it was first released. Journalist Pauline Kael wrote: “This must be the most powerful erotic movie ever made, and it may turn out to be the most liberating movie ever made.” The News of the World called it “the sexiest, frankest picture ever made… the sex film to end all sex films.”

Watching Bertolucci’s 1972 film is an uncomfortable experience. I would hesitate to call it an erotic film at all. In reality the sex is really quite awful. Brando’s character Paul hasn’t got a lot of respect for the word “no” which means he harrasses, taunts, rapes and stalks Jeanne, the female protagonist played by Maria Schneider. There’s really only once vaguely tender sex scene in the whole film and that occurs near the start, when the casual affair begins. Beyond that, it’s all just… well, nasty.

The film is based on Bertolucci’s own fantasy of meeting a complete stranger in an empty flat for sex without boundaries or commitment. That in itself sounds like a great idea for a porn movie but Last Tango In Paris is actually more about grief, isolation, degradation and death than it is about eroticism or pleasure. As an art film exploring dark human emotion and despair, it’s great. But a sex film, it aint.

The Independent wrote this retrospective on the film last year. I was caught by this paragraph:

It is easy to spot Last Tango’s lasting influence. Whether in the work of Catherine Breillat (Romance, Anatomy of Hell), or in such films as David Mackenzie’s Young Adam and Patrice Chéreau’s Intimacy, Bertolucci has opened the way for film-makers to explore sexuality in a frank and probing fashion without being labelled pornographers.

It’s funny how being labelled a pornographer is the worst thing that could possibly befall a filmmaker.

What’s interesting about the new batch of sex filmmakers listed here is that they all make films where sex isn’t really about pleasure. Films like Romance and Anatomy of Hell are about as sexy as a dead, wet fish; the experience of watching them just as discomforting as Last Tango In Paris.

Bertolucci’s real legacy is that a film featuring real sex (or a lot of it) can’t be taken seriously unless the protagonists are dysfunctional in some way. You can’t make a sex film that is simply about sex, or about enjoying sex within a relationship, because you WILL be labelled a pornographer. And that is a real tragedy because it means that filmmakers like Tony Comstock still don’t have permission from society to stand on a level playing field with those who create “serious” movies featuring graphic sex.

Filed Under: Censorship, Filmmaking, Popular culture

Tags: films, Last Tango In Paris, movies, sex

30 Jul

Erotic Spelling Bees and Other Hot Movies For Women

I’ve updated Porn Movies For Women again and added another batch of hot female-friendly titles. Sex Spells is the latest from the Playgirl factory. Interestingly, it isn’t about an erotic spelling bee, although dammit, that’s one hell of a cool idea.

Lennox Films, the offshoot of Inpulse responsible for the outrageously boring Ranch House Lust has a new film out called Intense Desires which promises a sex therapist, fantasy role playing, swinging, blindfolds and Tyler Knight. I must admit, that does sound good. I just hope Nina Lennox has learned how to edit her sex scenes down from 45 minutes each.

Tristan Taormino has of course been busy, releasing Chemistry 4 (see my camera-based obsession with this film here) and The Expert Guide To Positions.

I’ve also added a couple of older European films produced by the Puzzy Power Manefesto and Innocent Pictures. Constance and Pink Prison were made back in 1998 but I’ve finally found an online store that is offering them for download. I’ll have to try and review them soon.

I also had a go at updating the Nina Hartley instructional page, although it’s just impossible keeping up with that woman. She’s just so educationally prolific! I compiled a full list of every title she’s made since she got into the sex-ed-movie business. She’s still fabulous after all this time.

I’ve also now got my own storefront at HotMovies, with a large selection of my favourite movies on the front page. And it’s mostly purple, of course.

Filed Under: Porn for Women, Porn Movies

Tags: erotica, films, movies, porn for women

25 Jul

Barcelona Sex Project Trailer


BARCELONA SEX PROJECT
by lustfilms

Here’s the trailer for Erika Lust’s latest film, The Barcelona Sex Project. I’d like to review it in the near future.

You can find out more and buy the film at her site.

Filed Under: Porn for Women, Porn Movies, Videos

Tags: Barcelona Sex Project, documentary, Erika Lust, erotica, films, masturbation, movies

24 Jul

3 Comments

Chemistry 4: The “Distracted By Equipment” Edition