Berlin’s international adult film fest returns

The annual PornFilmFestival Berlin is an alternative, independent film festival that focuses on sexuality, politics, feminism and gender issues, and is the only festival of its kind in Germany. Premiering in 2006, the festival has screened hundreds of films from around the world, featuring feminist and queer perspectives on questions around sexual morality, identity, and body norms, emphasizing artistic, and alternative approaches to the genre of pornography. Attracting an international audience of directors, performers, and fans of alternative adult film, the festival is framed by panel discussions, lectures, workshops, performances, exhibitions and after parties that create a space for conversations on the subject of sexuality today. Founded by filmmaker and producer Jürgen Brüning, the festival is organized by a dedicated five-member team, consisting of Berlin-based film producers and journalists, and countless volunteers. The festival is held in the oldest cinema in Germany, Moviemento in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

PinkLabel.tv was inspired by the PornFilmFestival Berlin, when Pink and White Productions founding director Shine Louise Houston first attended the festival and was overjoyed to find so many independent filmmakers whose work, much like her own, existed outside the traditional marketing of pornography. She found a deep appreciation for the unique works shown, but lamented the fact that so many of them would only be seen at the festival and did not have an online home where people around the world could appreciate new works and be inspired by ever evolving representations of sexuality. With that goal in mind, she launched PinkLabel.tv and continues to curate studio works that reflect artistic and marginalized film works.

In 2017, PornFilmFestival returns to Berlin with another action-packed year of screenings, workshops, performances and parties. There’s always something going on, so the biggest problem is deciding what to see. (It’s a great problem to have, and fortunately for us, the programmers often offer repeat program screenings. To see it all, you’ll have to spend some time browsing the program.

Here’s our highlights:

Panels

Pornocracy by Ovidie will be accompanied by panel discussion “Pornocracy: The State of the Industry” with  With: Ovidie (director, Paris), Patrick Bühler (TMC Content Group, Basel), Jürgen Brüning (Pornfilmfestival Berlin, Berlin) and Jiz Lee (performer/producer, Pink and White Productions) to address issues raised in the film and consider the state of the adult industry currently in 2017, after the arrival of web sites showing amateur and pirated clips has transformed the way porn is made and consumed. As the Pornfilmfestival Berlin is a niché for presenting alternative perspectives on sexuality we will ask us how these changes influence or impact independently produced porn.

Workshops

Award-winning adult filmmaker Shine Louise Houston of Pink and White Productions (The Crash Pad, SNAPSHOT) presents Better than Sex: Movie Magic of Editing Porn a special “Crash Course” class designed especially for new movie makers, though all are welcome to attend. She’ll address key principles and editing concepts, software options, show work examples, and reveal how editing can make or break the hottest porn film. This workshop is almost sold out, so please register ASAP by emailing info@pinkwhite.biz.

Jasco Viefhues, Bishop Black and Lina Bembe lead Reclaiming my Image, an open call for BPOCs in the porn industry to be a part of workshopping a new creation, brainstorming ideas to film a work that celebrates other sides of our sexualities and counters traditional stereotypes. Reservation is strongly encouraged: reclaimingyourimage@gmail.com

Performers/Filmmakers in Focus

Bishop and Lina are also Performers in Focus at this year’s festival, as well as Chelsea Poe. Browse their films here on PinkLabel.tv, including Bishop in Come Together, Having My Cake, and a short but captivating cameo in Sky Deep’s ENACTONE. Lina shines in Try My Boyfriend. And Chelsea‘s career can be followed in her CrashPad porn debut, Fucking Mystic, Silver Star, and The Training of Poe.

Screenings Galore

In addition to Pornocracy, several feature and short adult films will fill the festival screens. We’re looking forward to Female Porn Shorts, which will screen Bed Party: Jack HammerXL and Nikki Darling by Shine Louise Houston, as well as two films by Urvashi of SparkErotic: Breakfast in Bed and Merger. Urvashi’s film Daybreak will screen in another shorts program, Lesbian Porn Shorts along with Ms. Naughty’s Devourable which will also screen in the BDSM Porn Shorts program.

In the Trans and Queer Shorts program, we’ll see FULL by Aorta Films, and Hot for Vicky by Foxhouse Films. Finally, the saying “If you build it, they will come…” rings true for Berlin-made porn, with two overflowing shorts programs. In Berlin Shorts 1 we’ll see Blath and Valentine In Berlin. Preceding the feature film After Eden, is Shine Louise Houston’s most recent short film Writing in Bed, starring Ingrid Mouth and Tommy Pistol.

What will you be watching? 

Browse Best of PornFilmFestival Berlin for films that have screened from 2006 to the present! See pornfilmfestivalberlin.de for more festival info. Are you attending? What are you looking forward to seeing?