Gallant’s winning entry was a 23-minute scene from the unreleased title “Atomic Skullfuck Orgy,” described in the show’s program as “a veritable orgy of bodily fluids.”
“It's the final scene of the movie; a hot and nasty confrontation between the coed ‘anti-media’ rebels [led by former adult performer Rod Fontana] and the ‘evil publicist’ [played by adult performer Annie Cruz],” Gallant told XBIZ. “It has a great, unusual intensity.”
Gallant said audience reaction was diverse; while he won the competition, an audience member sitting behind him at the screening slipped him a hate note voicing her dislike of the film.
“I plan on scanning the note and making a T-shirt out of it,” Gallant said. “The film received first prize in the international short film competition — 500 euros, of which I gave back 400, as a show of solidarity and to support next year’s fest.”
The director, who has garnered somewhat of a cult following with his own Black Mirror projects, as well as work done for several other studios, also was in Berlin to screen “Ave X,” a title that he produced for Hustler/VCA.
Like most of Gallant’s titles, “Ave X” features a socio-political plotline and is distinguished by the director’s trademark dark, dirty style. Once referred to as “thinking man’s porn,” Gallant’s movies are hard to categorize and walk the line between adult and independent film.
“Porn is really the last province of revolutionary thinking,” Gallant said. “Within that, shockingly little research has been applied to the psycho-sexual implications of the material itself, much less on the physiological phenomena associated with its viewing. All these areas interest me a great deal and are the prime motivators for my exploration of the art form.”
Other American adult films showcased at the 2nd Annual Berlin Porn Film Fest included alt auteur Joanna Angel’s title “Joanna’s Angels” produced for Hustler/VCA.
Adult multimedia company Adam and Eve screened two titles: Venus Hottentot’s “Afrodite Superstar” and Audacia Ray’s “Bi-Apple.”
Digital Playground’s mega-hit feature “Pirates” was screened also.
Mainstream documentary Angelique Bosio’s “Llik Your Idols,” which recently screened at the XFANZ Los Angeles Erotica Film Fest, was shown also. The film profiles underground filmmakers Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, Joe Coleman and Nick Zedd and the ‘80s Cinema of Transgression movement.
