Page 110 - AVN March 2018

EDITOR’S DESK | By Sharan Street
EDITOR’S DESK
(Continued from page 22)
The Best BDSM Movie, Cybill Troy Is Vicious, was
co-directed by Severe Sex studio co-founders Dee
Severe and Jimmy Broadway. (“It’s our first win—
the Susan Lucci of Best BDSM Movie no more,”
Severe joked. “I think we’ve been nominated like
seven times in a row.”)
Three women took home trophies for their
work directing trans titles. Coming in tied for Best
Transsexual Movie were Dana Vespoli, director of
Buck Angel Superstar (TransSensual/Mile High), and
Mona Wales and Arabelle Raphael, co-directors
of All My Mother’s Lovers (Grooby/Exquisite). And
Aiden Starr picked up a win for Best Transsexual
Series for Hot for Transsexuals (Evil Angel).
And 2015 Director of the Year Mason wasn’t
left empty-handed after this year’s awards show.
Movies from the Hard X helmswoman won in
three categories: Best Ethnic Movie (Asian Anal),
Best Oral Movie (Facialized 4) and Best Niche
Series (Squirt for Me).
For those who would ask what kinds of adult
movies are being created by women, the answer
would be all kinds. There’s Half His Age, the edgy
and violent story of a man who gets involved
with the wrong teenage girl, contrasted by the
light-hearted silliness of Jews Love Black Cock. And
compare the high-end gloss and hardcore sex
of Angela 3 to the dramatic lighting and quirky
fantasies in Sacrosanct.
“I truly love the fact that all the female directors
in the industry have such a different style of
directing,” Angel of BurningAngel Entertainment
said. “The term ‘porn for women’ always angered
me because it generalizes us as if we all watch the
same exact thing.”
That said, Angel added, “It makes sense that
female directors are dominating the field. Women
analyze and obsess over every aspect of sex in such
a meticulous way—it’s natural for us to bring it to
life in a visual form.”
Asked about other artists who inspired her,
Angel said, “My early female director influences
were Belladonna, and Tristan Taormino.”
Kross said, “I can’t speak for every female
director this year, but I know that the feeling that
I have a right to be taken seriously in this capacity
hasn’t been long established and, going in with my
first releases for TRENCHCOATx, I felt like I had
something to prove. That, and I was bored by the
porn I’d been watching men produce for the past
decade. It felt like a huge gamble, but I decided to
just make what I would want to make without the
market dictating what that should look like. It feels
surreal to have won. I don’t think it’s quite sunk
in yet.”
It’s safe to say that many in the mainstream
have no concept of the work that women are doing
in adult entertainment. For example, witness
that virtually no stories generated about Daniels
during the media furor over her alleged liaison
with Donald Trump even mention her work as a
director.
Brandt agrees with this assessment.
“Mainstream has NO concept,” said the veteran
AVN Award winner (her movie Cherry 2 for Digital
Playground was named Best All-Girl Release in
2012). “When I connect with my mainstream
contacts and share what I’ve been up to for the
110 | AVN.com | 3.18
Top left, Honey Gold in Sacrosanct, directed by Kayden Kross. Top right, Buck Angel and Tori Mayes in Buck Angel Superstar, directed by Dana Vespoli. Below left, Marica Hase
in Mason’s Asian Anal. Right, Edyn Blair, Anikka Albrite and Mick Blue in Kay Brandt’s Adventures With the Baumgartners.
past nine years, making adult films, they take the news
in a strange way. It’s like they simply don’t know how to
handle the information, or wrap their brain around me
(or anyone) directing porn and actually liking the work.
I don’t just like it, though—I love it. That disturbs them
even more. It’s unfortunate that the industry can’t just
embrace how much of mainstream looks like (and is)
pornographic material, mostly just to get high ratings,
and stop throwing a stigma on the adult business as
many steps beneath them. Game of Thrones, The Girlfriend
Experience, SMILF, many late-night animated shows
on Cartoon Network—I could go on—are all very
pornographic, in my opinion. To me, directing X-rated
material really isn’t any different than horror porn,
disaster porn, or dramas with very well-acted orgasms
throughout.”
Asked if it was any easier working in the business
now than when she first started, Brandt said, “I never
saw me being a woman as an issue for getting projects
made. Whatever hindrances I encountered were usually
due to some other conflict not directly associated with
me. I entered the adult business as a writer-director
for Girlfriends Films, and they wanted a female behind
the camera then. And, the same goes for the other
companies I’ve made films for. I know my fans from the
Girlfriends Films days were a mix of men and women
who loved that a woman was making their erotica and
have continued to support me throughout my journey.”
And it’s a journey that will continue for this talented
group of erotic filmmakers.
“I am so proud to be among such an incredible group
of accomplished women in our industry,” added Mills,
head of Gamma Films. “To see Angela White take a
record-setting 14 trophies alone for her on-screen and
behind-the-camera work is a testament to the unique
creativity and attention to detail we bring as female
filmmakers. I look forward to seeing what happens next
year!”