The 5th Porn Festival Berlin takes place from 28 to 31st October at Kino Moviemento, Kottbusser Damm 22, in Kreuzberg. Particular highlights are:
Erotic film director, Jennifer Lyon Bell from Amsterdam, in discussion on whether porn can be feminist. She will be introducing the idea of 'sex-positive feminism' on Sunday 30 October from 16.00 till 18.00. A Whore's Guide to Safer Sex For Queers also looks to be an interesting work shop. Lead by sex worker Sadie Lune, who has worked in the industry for over 10 years on Friday 29 15.00 to 17.00. Click HERE for more details of workshops.
Documentary on Graphic Sexual Horror, concentrating on the story of Brent Scott and his horrifically explicit and notorious site Insex.com. This documentary discusses the internet revolution and how this opened and closed the boundaries for extreme BDSM practices on 30 October at 8pm. Click HERE for more info on documentaries.
In the short film section there are 6 shorts on female porn. I find this interesting for obvious reasons but also because porn for females is such a new industry, often made by men, often with over tones of incredibly bad, erotic, romantic fiction. I wonder how it will continue to develop now more woman are being turned on to porn because of easy access via the internet. Find out on 31st October at 16.15.
The porno musical section looks to me to be a particular highlight for any porno fan. With titles like 'Swingin' In The Rain, This Ain't Glee and Misty Beethoven... the musical, who could resist the opportunity for such hilarity? Check the website for times and dates.
Exhibtions, Art in the Cinema presents 8 different works displayed inside the cinema. You vote for your winner with a coin. The artist takes home the cash prize. A suitably crass way of deciding who wins!
If you feel like getting your party on after all that there's opportunity for the night of your life: The Great Annual Porn Film Festival Berlin Party! @ Monster Ronson’s Saturday 30.10.10 starts, 22.00. The festival party at Monster Ronson’s offers up a program including DJs Bobby Jules and Henri Steeg, the Nude Smoker’s Lounge with J&J, dressed French girls upstage and topless arm- wrestling! You can register for arm wrestling by e-mail office@pornfilmfestival.de.
Find it at Warschauer Str. 34, 10243 Berlin-Friedrichshain (U-bahn Warschauer Str and it's just across the street) Entrance (for non-accredited guests): 5 Euro. For more parties click HERE
Furthermore:
I debated with myself whether to put this event in the 'Arts' section.
My debate:
Arguments against: Porn is often so bad it invokes whole body blushes, that has nothing to do with being a bit modest, and more to do with buttock clenching cringiness for all those on screen. It degrades, debases, reduces the act of sex to pounding fleshy organs, and some feminist's would argue it makes violence sexy. It's aim is to stimulate in order for the viewer to want to have sex, there is nothing more grand about it.
Arguments for: The 5th Porn Festival includes workshops, documentaries, film, a short film competition and a retrospective of porno musicals (Swingin' in the Rain), these all have artistic qualities involving the act of creation (no pun intended). Then there's sex itself, which, if done well, is most certainly an art form. Whether porn is a particularly good art form or not depends on the quality of the actors, film crew, budget and director, like it does with every performance. Just because they happen to be naked and plunging each others nether regions is besides the point. Porn is dependant upon imagination filling in the gaps (if you'll pardon the pun) just like all art forms.
The arguments against did nothing to dissuade me that the porn festival has no place in my Arts section. Whether it's good art or bad art is also a matter for the individual to decide. Taste in porn is as wide and varied as human beings. For these reasons, the 5th Porn Festival Berlin, gets a shout.
If you're gonna do it, do it in Berlin.
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