The PornFilmFestival returns to Berlin

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 thousands 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. The festival attracts an international audience of directors, performers, and fans of alternative adult film, and is framed by panel discussions, lectures, workshops, performances, exhibitions and after parties that create a space for conversations on the subject of sexuality today.

Fun fact: PinkLabel.tv was inspired by the PornFilmFestival Berlin, when Pink and White Productions founding director Shine Louise Houston attended the festival and was thrilled to discover 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 to curate studio works that reflect artistic and marginalized adult film — and you can find many of the marvelous films that screen in Berlin in our “Best of PornFilmFestival Berlin” collection.

This year, PornFilmFestival returns 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 good 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 just a few highlights:

Screenings Galore

Filmmaker in Focus: Nan Kinney
Wednesday, October 23rd, 18:45 

“In 1985, when Fatale released “Private Pleasures and Shadows”, there was no such thing as porn made by and for women. Porn was a dirty word. Now the industry is burgeoning with independent, women-made porn companies.” -Nan Kinney

Nan Kinney is president and founder of the porn label Fatale Media, co-founder of the legendary magazine “On Our Backs” and a legend of lesbian porn. Both her work behind the camera and her work as a public advocate of sex-positive pornography have changed since the “porn-less” lesbian days of the mid-1980s. Over the last three decades, Kinney‘s tireless passion has set the standard for women in the industry and encouraged other female porn filmmakers to adopt the once masculine medium. In our special programme, Nan Kinney shows numerous film clips and shares memories and experiences from her long career with us. Films include Hungry Hearts (1989) and Suburban Dykes (1990).

Good Hot Stuff – Jack Deveau (1935-1982) & Tom DeSimone
Screens Wednesday the 23rd, 22:45 (info)

As part of a major retrospective at Pornfilmfestival 2015, we presented several films by the legendary gay porn label Hand in Hand in the presence of Lifetime Achievement Award winning producer Robert Alvarez. Four years later, we are presenting the documentary film “Good Hot Stuff” in an exclusive screening of a 16mm film copy from a private collection. In it, director Jack Deveau and several other creative minds of Hand in Hand provide a glimpse behind the scenes of gay porn production in the 1970s. In addition to impressions from the shooting of the porn classic Left-Handed and numerous film excerpts and interviews, “Good Hot Stuff” also features long-lost scenes from mythical, unfinished masterpieces of queer cinema. As part of the screening, author and publisher Marco Siedelmann (Éditions Moustache) will present the new book Good Hot Stuff. The Life and Times of Gay Film Pioneer Jack Deveau.

Tickle Takedown! by Shine Louise Houston
Screens Friday the 25th, 21:30 and Saturday the 26th, 12:15 (info)
Queen of lesbian wrestling Mistress Kara dominates Juliette March physically as well as psychologically, teasing and torturing her with her fingers all over her extremely ticklish body. Juliette begs and struggles, tries to meet Mistress Kara’s demands, but the Mistress is cruel and a liar and even with kisses, Juliette gets no rest caught between the power of Mistress Kara’s strong thighs and scissor hold until she snorts hysterically. Mistress Kara peels Juliette’s sweaty lacy bra off her small soft white tits, next comes her pink little thong and now Mistress Kara has full access to all of Juliette’s flesh. Tongue, teeth, lips and fingers, the Mistress uses all her tools to tickle the desperate and vulnerable Juliette March.

Matzo Maidels by Jenni Olson
Screens Friday the 25th, 21:15 and Saturday the 26th, 12:00 (info)
Brooklyn Bloomberg and friends do some steamy kibbitzing in this fascinating piece of Yiddish-keit, circa 1923. Matzo Maidels combines rare 16mm archival lesbian porn footage overlaid with an outrageous Jewish porno voiceover—sprinkled with colloquial Yiddishisms. Written and performed by the hilariously sexy Brooklyn Bloomberg (best known for her appearance in the legendary SIR Video classic: Sugar High, Glitter City), Matzo Maidels is a wildly entertaining short that’s sure to amuse audiences of all persuasions.

Bloodsisters by Michelle Handelman
Screens Thursday the 24th, 20:45 (info)
From pushy bottoms to macho femmes, BloodSisters is an A-Z documentary guide that takes an in-depth look at the San Francisco leatherdyke scene during the mid-nineties, shattering assumptions about gender and lesbian sexuality. Michelle Handelman’s film doesn’t describe the bounds of permissible fantasy in the women’s leather community; rather it broadens the discussion about private expressions of eroticism and their political implications. Eight self-described leather dykes tell their stories about participating in a subculture cast off by its own immediate ally, the larger lesbian community.

Spit and Ashes by Maria Beatty
Spit and Ashes is a reimagining of the historical violence waged against women by patriarchal forces in the name of religion, medicine and family. The High Priestess embodies the wild, sexual and grotesque – the un-tamable hunger of female desire and the ultimate threat to male power. The Midwife is the spirit of all women who sought knowledge and agency over their own bodies and paid for their agency with their lives. Through a series of erotic and brutal rituals these women come together to reclaim their bodies and prepare for the fight ahead.

Love Your Cunt by altSHIFT
Screens Wednesday the 23rd, 20:45 and Saturday the 26th, 15:00 (info)
A short film by altSHIFT starring Kali Sudhra and Ivy de Luna. Every cunt is different and we’re sick of vagina owners only seeing one portrayal in mainstream media so we’re here to say “Love your cunt! Love it if it’s hairy; love it if it’s shaved. Love it if your lips swing low or if they’re all shy and tucked away.” Not one cunt is the same. Don’t let anyone tell you how your cunt should look. Don’t let anyone tell you how your cunt should feel. Your cunt isn’t on trial, your cunt is the fucking judge!

Fisting Club Ep.1 by Shu Lea Cheang
Screens Wednesday the 23rd, 12:15 and Sunday the 27th, 19:00 (info)
Fisting Club gathers an array of well-known sex performers like Jiz Lee, Sadie lune and Lina Bembe as well as newcomer Romy Furie and Sky Deep to celebrate the rules of the Fisting Club, a new series by Shu Lea Cheang.

Foxy Strikes Back by BEYONDEEP (They are crowdfunding to attend the festival — please lend your support!)
Screens Wednesday the 23rd, 12:15 and Sunday the 27th, 19:00 (info)
Foxy Strikes Back is a pornographic short film that shows a couple in their kinky role play. It pays homage to the groundbreaking blaxploitation film, Foxy Brown (1974) and gives an overtly queer twist to the iconic film. Foxy Strikes Back is a modern day reclamation of the historic era of blaxploitation filmmaking.

Even Teachers Make Mistakes by Pandora Blake
Screens Thursday the 24th, 18:30 and Sunday the 27th, 19:00 (info)
A stressed Headteacher laments his recent leniency after discovering that his wallet is missing – presumed stolen. When Pandora/Blake arrives at his office wearing skimpy clothes in flagrant disregard of school uniform, he is determined to ensure proper discipline. Brooking no argument, he orders the girl to bend over his desk for six of the best with the cane. When she protests he decrees that the punishment will be administered on the bare. But as Mike Pain is about to find out, even teachers make mistakes…

Pizza Roles by Queer Church (Nominated for the Short Film Competition!)
Screens Thursday the 24th, 19:00, Friday the 25th, 12:30 and Monday the 28th, 21:30 (info)
A porn production is run off the rails by a corporate cult of diversity that sees only the bottom line. This meta-porn captures our experience, as genderqueer mixed race people of color, living in Seattle during the age of diversity incorporated. Opportunities to explore meaningful differences in experience are cast aside in favor of glossy, diverse, marketing photographs as the ultimate proof of corporate status.

Therobromon by Pixel Aphrodite
Screens Thursday the 24th, 22:15 and Sunday the 27th, 13:15 (info)
August Ash and Polly Clyptic come together as their lust and hunger for flesh overwhelm them. Breast, lips, ass, flesh converge as they devour one another. One animal is indistinguishable from another. Which is the crocodile, the gazelle, the hyena, the lion, the leopard, the buffalo, the human, the camera, the voyeur? Watch these two fuck and give in a little to your primal side.

Crystal Clear by Max Disgrace
Screens Thursday the 24th, 22:30 (info)
An erotic narration of a date unfolds packed with fantasy, expectations and unnecessary emotional baggage, whilst we watch from a face-sitting, boob smothering point-of-view.

Ladies and the Tramp by Morgana Muses/Permission4Pleasure
Screens Friday the 25th, 14:15 (info)
Experience a world of pleasure with Morgana and Marina. A beautiful afternoon between friends with good food, great sex and trampolines! Starring Morgana Muses and Marina Lee in an outdoor scene that will really get you jumping for joy.

Jawbreaker by AORTAfilms
Screens Saturday the 26th, 19:00 and Sunday the 27th, 16:45 (info)
Did Corey bite off More than they can chew? Papi Femme finds Corey More lounging in a pile of sweets, gorging themself on hard candy. Morning sun pours through Corey’s bedroom window, casting soft light on the delicious candy mess. Papi knows just what he has to do to with dirty little Corey – grabbing them by the hair and confiscating their gum, Papi shoves them down onto the bed…with hands, toys, and a jawbreaker ball-gag, he proceeds to give Corey just what such a naughty sweet-tooth deserves.

Highlights include films by Vesperal, Ethan Folk & Ty Wardwell, Marit Östberg, Madison Young, and more.

Panels & Workshops

Porn Meets Academia
Thursday October 24, 15:30
Watching porn in university? Hell yeah! Believing that it deserves academic attention, porn scholars across the globe made it their mission to bring adult content into the ivory tower. This raises a tricky question: How to ethically and productively include the voices and work of porn producers and performers? In this panel, Madita Oeming – a fledgling German academic with close ties to the porn industry – and Jiz Lee – an experienced US adult performer with close ties to academia – will discuss the challenges and opportunities of doing Porn Studies: How can we avoid miscommunication between those who do sex work and those who study it? What are concerns and goals on both sides? What are mutual misconceptions? And how can we not only coexist, but possibly join forces?

Programers’ Meeting
Friday October 25, 15:30
At this informal networking get-together, visiting organizers and curators from various international film festivals have a chance to introduce their festival and future projects. Also, filmmakers and other artists can promote their projects and look for collaborators. The networking meeting is moderated by the Pornfilmfestival and will be held in English.

Navigating the Gentrified World of Feminist Porn; What Full-service Sex Workers Want You to Know
Saturday October 27, 16:00
Sex work is perhaps one of the broadest and most debated field of work today – and yet in the fight to decriminalize and destigmatize our work, many sex worker rights activists – particularly those with more privilege – fall in to the trap of appealing to respectability and artistic freedom to justify the industry and its right to protection. This panel aims to center the voices of full service sex workers in the debate – and provide an opportunity for those in the ethical / feminist / indie porn industry to learn more about how to advocate for the rights of all sex workers without invisibilizing or further stigmatizing workers from migrant, undocumented, survival, full service, high volume or otherwise less glamorized areas of the sex industry. Topics covered will include the gentrification of the sex industry as a result of interest in feminist / indie porn, talking to the media as a sex worker, the challenges facing full-service sex workers today and the implications of working in a post SESTA/FOSTA world. Panelists are Andie Macario, Isabel, KAy Garnellen, and Dion De Rossi as moderator.

“Let me ask myself first”
Friday, October 25, 12:30
An advanced workshop to help you get closer to your own desires, away from the usual patterns and expectations of negotiation. Different strategies to deal with consent and negotiation in sex / kink. We will share tools, negotiation incidents, and exercises to reconnect with your body. Your daily negotiations with the power structures around you are permanently training you to doubt yourself and your body, your instinct, your reactions. This is a workshop for people who want to explore getting tuned in with their own desires, and who probably have had a couple of play incidents around consent / negotiation from which they can think / reflect / grow. In small groups, you will be invited to a collective and personal reflection about strategies, incidents, desires… Our goal is also to help you understand what your body is telling you, so that you can identify these sensations when you feel them: how does it feel when you are not sure about something, when you don’t want something, or when you can’t wait to have it? To help you to find your way, in your private life, but also as a performer. Led by Dijk and Maryann Peony (director of For A.E., with love).

Camera Work: A Crash Course for Adult Filmmakers
Saturday, October 26th at 13:00 and 16:00
Learn the techniques for shooting and directing a sex scene that Pink & White Productions director Shine Louise Houston has developed throughout her career as an award-winning adult filmmaker. Designed specifically with Pornfilmfestival Berlin participants in mind, attendees will receive intensive hands-on instruction in the 2-camera technique which gives Shine’s work its intimate quality. Covered topics include: Camera selection, Best practices for working with talent, 2-camera shooting technique, and Lighting considerations. In order to provide the best hands-on experience for participants, this class will be limited to a maximum of 12 participants, and taught in two separate repeating workshops.

Will you be watching? 

If you’re not in Berlin, browse Best of PornFilmFestival Berlin for selection of 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?