DOCUMENTARY FILMS A-Z

Abbreviations:
H = Hetero, S = Gay, L = Lesbian, T = Transgender, NX = does not contain explicit sex scenes, X = contains explicit sex scenes, D = documentary film, FT = Fetish, SW = Sexwork (films on this year's special theme sex work & prostitution), F = films made by female directors

Hiromi in Chiba / H X D SW
25.10., 22:00, Eiszeit 1, screening together with "Straight A's!"
Japan, 2006, 36 minutes, SIG, International Premiere, Japanese original version with English subtitles
A cameraman visits a shy widow to film her interview for a telephone sexclub hotline.

The Last Pimp / H NX D SW
27.10., 20:15, Kant 1
Germany, 2007, 90 minutes, Ingo Hamacher, World premiere, German original version
Highly effective documentary about Big Bert, a flamboyant pimp in Düsseldorf.

Laufhaus (Cathouse) / H NX D SW F
25.10., 16:00, Kant 2, screening together with "Pornography The Musical"
28.10., 20:00, Eiszeit 1, screening together with "Pornography The Musical"
Germany, 2006, 29 minutes, Stefanie Gaus, Berlin Premiere, German original version no dialogue
As a journey in pictures, the film enters into Europe`s biggest brothel, the "Pascha" in Cologne, Germany. Exploring its architecture, the rooms with their scenery and the topography of the area it is situated in, the film approaches an organism which is planned for the fulfilment of sexual satisfaction.

Llik Your Idols / H X D
27.10., 20:00, Eiszeit 1, screening together with "Fingered"
28.10., 22:15, Eiszeit 2, screening together with "Fingered"
France, 2006, 70 minutes, Angelique Bosio, German Premiere, French-English original version with English subtitles
"Llik Your Idols" deals with "The Cinema of Transgression" movement (New York, 1984-1991) and introduces its four main figures: Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, Joe Coleman and Nick Zedd. Named so by a bunch of young and angry art students, it challenged the academism of Hollywood along with the politics of Reagan and Bush, but also perpetuated the tradition of the underground cinema of Russ Meyer, Jack Smith, John Waters and the 42nd street Grind houses. The films were short features shot in Super 8, presenting various aesthetics. They were full of violence, drugs, perversions, and dark humor. The soundtrack was donated by local bands. As the infamous offspring of Punk, they formed the No Wave scene, among them bands like Sonic Youth, The Swans, Lydia Lunch, The Butthole Surfers and Foetus. Thanks to the success of Sonic Youth in particular, the movement has now become cult and therefore influenced many young artists, whatever their format (cinema, photography, fashion). Among the interviewees are Thurston Moore, Richard Hell, Jarboe and Bruce LaBruce.

Made in Serbia / H X D SW
25.10., 16:00, Eiszeit 1,
28.10., 20:15, Eiszeit 2
Serbia, 2005, 97 minutes, Mladen Djordjevic, Serbian original version with English subtitles
"Made in Serbia" portrays the Serbian video porn industry by presenting four life stories of domestic porn actors. Unlike their Western counterparts, these people work in the porn industry in order to survive and obtain their basic life supplies. The film follows the young hot shot porn star who travels to a shoot in Hungary, a bisexual actor who visits his hometown, a 40 year old actress who invites her husband into the porn business and a peasant who became a local legend thanks to working in the porn industry. The whole story is framed within one young man's search for the long lost girl who appears to have entered the world of porn. He shoots the documentary in order to find her.

Die Pornografinnen (The She-Porn Makers) / H NX D SW F
27.10., 16:00, Kant 2, screening together with "Sailor's Bride" and "Eye Candy"
Germany, 2007, 50 minutes, Marita Neher, World premiere, German original version with English subtitles
"The She-Porn Makers" presents women who create images to arouse women. But what kind of images do women want to see?

Pornography The Musical / H NX D SW
28.10., 20:00, Eiszeit 1, screening together with "Laufhaus"
Great Britain, 2003, 49 minutes, Brian Hill, German Premiere, English original version
A sideways peep at the British porn industry and the women who work in it. Kelly Cooke, a forty-something retired porn star, gives the low down on the sleazy mechanics of the industry. During the course of the film, Kelly finds herself unable to pay her rent and comes out of retirement for "one last job". We also meet web-cam porn star Karina Currie, "bukkake" specialist Faye Rampton and the youthful pub-stripper Rebekkah Jordan. Porn industry documentaries have become a stale staple of late-night television, but this film is different in that it's a musical, with lyrics about the pain and pleasures of porn stardom. With porn culture and overtly sexual attitudes becoming pervasive in society, this film takes an oblique, pop-cultural look at the more unpleasant aspects of the industry. "The whole notion of creating a 'musical' from such contentious and intimate recollections sounds utterly crass. But Simon Armitages's lyrics, Simon Boswell's music and inspired production techniques all bring a fresh poignancy and meaning to these experiences." (Neil Crosley, The Guardian)

Straight A's! (Sve Pet!) / H NX D SW F
25.10., 22:00, Eiszeit 1, screening together with "Hiromi in Chiba"
Croatia, 2004, 45 minutes, Dana Budisavljevic, Croatian original version with English subtitles
The life story of Lidija Sunjerga, the first woman in Croatia to talk openly about her profession as a porn actress. From an unhappy childhood in a small village through trafficking and forced prostitution in Amsterdam to the acclaimed porn actress and Playboy cover page ... and then... back again to a small village...

WADD: The Life and Time Of John Holmes / H X D SW
26.10., 20:00, Eiszeit 1
USA, 1998, 105 minutes,Wesley Emerson & Alan Smithee, English original version
This documentary about pornography's greatest name both unravels and thickens the myth about John Holmes. It's an unpleasant story that starts rolling as Holmes' life is dissected through the aid of his secret wife, underage mistress and homicide detectives. As his life begins to become more and more of a soap-opera one constantly wonders: "Whatever will happen next?". The definitive story of John Holmes. And, yes, you get to see what it was really all about. (Joachim Tevebring)

Zoo / NX D FT
27.10., 20:00, Kant 2, screening together with "IML-2003/3 Dog Eat Dog"
USA, 2007, 75 minutes, Robinson Devor, German Premiere, English original version
"Zoo" tells the story of a seemingly average businessman whose secret sexual life led to his shocking death. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Robinson Devor ("Woman Chaser", "Police Beat"), the film explores the ensuing media coverage and public outcry that uncovered a secret community of apparently upstanding citizens who share an extreme and exotic appetite for horses, revealing the enormous gulf between what we appear to be and who we really are. Inspired by the events that led up to and followed the Enumclaw horse incident of 2005, "Zoo" has a distinctly unsensational and philosophical tone and incorporates actual documentary elements such as interviews with those who were directly and indirectly affected - friends of the deceased, animal advocates, law enforcement members, horse rescuers, urban and rural community members, and government officials. The film uses impressionistic imagery to augment the interviews of those who do not wish to be seen on camera.

Abbreviations:
H = Hetero, S = Gay, L = Lesbian, T = Transgender, NX = does not contain explicit sex scenes, X = contains explicit sex scenes, D = documentary film, FT = Fetish, SW = Sexwork (films on this year's special theme sex work & prostitution), F = films made by female directors