Feminist Porn Directors
The traditional area of filmmaking is where many new wave feminist porn directors have made their mark. Here's an incomplete guide to those directors who have made their mark in this "genre". Many have been recognised by the Feminist Porn Awards.
Note: These bios are only very short and a little outdated. If you want to know more, click on the links! Or you may want to check out Female Porn Directors which has extensive bios, filmographies and free videos.
(In alphabetical order)
Carlos Batts
An artist, photographer and filmmaker, Carlos Batts made several adult films independently including Dangerous Curves, which won a Feminist Porn Award in 2010. Unfortunately he passed away in 2014. He made many flms with his wife, adult star April Flores
Maria Beatty
Maria is a New-York based filmmaker who produces, directs and occasionally acts in her own lesbian/fetish/BDSM-themed adult films. Inspired by expressionist German cinema, she has been making erotic films since 1995. She also runs her own membership website which features scenes from her many movies.
Jennifer Lyon Bell
Born in the US but based in the Netherlands, Jennifer Lyon Bell runs Blue Artichoke Films, a company that makes "erotic films for people who like film." Her productions could be described as mainly heterosexual in nature, with a focus on story, believeable scenarios and high quality cinemetography. She and co-director Murielle Scherre won Best Direction award at the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards and Silver Shoes won Movie of the Year at the 2014 awards.
Anna Brownfield
Australian director Anna Brownfield's first feature The Money Shot dealt with the subject of porn. Her second, The Band, stepped over the line and featured explicit sex scenes. Her story of sex, love and rock and roll won her Hottest Feature Film at the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards. She has since made a documentary about craft and is working on a new erotic feature.
Lily Cade
Known as "Porn Valley’s Gold Star Lesbian", Lily directed Art School Dykes which was nominated for a Feminist Porn Award and her website was honoured at the 2012 awards.
Tony Comstock
Originally a documentary maker and photographer, Tony Comstock set out to document real sex within the confines of a relationship. His subsequent seven films combine interviews with explicit footage of couples having sex. The films seek to place sex within the context of a loving, meaningful relationship. His work has earned him two Feminist Porn Awards.
Camille Crimson
In 2005 model and webmistress Camille Crimson teamed up with her husband to create Dolorem, an artistic porn photo site. In 2007 they started The Art Of Blowjob, focusing on sensual oral sex. Camille has since expanded her online business to include Pornographic Love and a number of other sites. She has won a Feminist Porn Award for her work and been named Fleshbot's Crush Object Of The Year.
Cheryl Dunye
Writer and director Cheryl Dunye has spent many years exploring issues of race, class, gender and sexual orientation. Her films have focused on the experiences of black lesbian women. In 2012 her film Mommy is Coming won Most Orgasmic Original Concept at the Feminist Porn Awards.
Gala Vanting
Australian director and performer Gala Vanting runs Sensate Films with her collaborator Aven Frey. They advocate "slow porn" and their films explore BDSM, intimacy and the subtleties of boundary-breaking relationships. Several of their short films have been nominated for Feminist Porn Awards including their documentary Love Hard.
Tobi Hill-Meyer
Genderqueer activist and filmmaker Tobi won Emerging Filmmaker of the Year at the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards. Hir films deal with trans identities and sexuality - Genderfellator and Doing It Ourselves: The Trans Women Porn Project.
Tina Horn
Exhibitionist, sex worker, porn performer and general all-round queer kinkster Tina Horn also directs porn. Her work mainly appears on QueerPornTV which is a collaboration with Courtney Trouble.
Shine Louise Houston
A film school graduate, Shine Louise Houston first got the idea to make queer porn while working at an adult store. Aware that there were very few authentic lesbian erotic films, she set out to make her own in 2004. 10 DVDs and two websites later, she is acknowledged as a pioneer of indie queer porn and has won numerous awards for her work. She runs Crash Pad Series and Pink Label TV - a streaming platform featuring the work of indie and queer porn directors.
Emilie Jouvet
France's first queer porn film One Night Stand was made by filmmaker, photographer and queer artist Emilie Jouvet. It won numerous gongs including Sexiest Dyke Movie at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2009. She has since been on a road trip of Europe with fellow queer porn stars, the result being Too Much Pussy.
N. Maxwell Lander
Primarily a photographer, Canadian artist N. Maxwell Lander has branched into porn. His short film Emile won Best Short at the 2012 Feminist Porn Awards.
Petra Joy
German-born Petra originally worked in TV before branching into photography and filmmaking. She made her first erotic film for women, Sexual Sushi, in 2005 and has followed it up with three other features including The Female Voyeur which won Sexiest Straight Film at the 2012 Feminist Porn Awards. She also curates the Her Porn DVD series and has written several books. Check out her site Cinema Joy.
Jincey Lumpkin
Previously a lawyer, Jincey Lumpkin creates "luxury lesbian pornography", primarily for her adult site Juicy Pink Box. Her vignettes have won her two consecutive Feminist Porn Awards. She also regularly writes for the Huffington Post about queer issues.
Erika Lust
Swedish-born but based in Barcelona, Erika Lust has become one of the best known feminist porn directors. Her first short film, The Good Girl, was released in 2004 on a Creative Commons license. She has since created four features and several other short films. She has won back-to-back Film of the Year awards at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2011 and 2012. She has also written several books. She runs Lust Cinema which features a large variety of feminist porn films by numerous directors. Her site XConfessions has over 100,000 members.
Morgana Muses
Australian director Morgana Muses came to porn late. After leaving a loveless, sexless marriage, she decided in her late 40s that porn would be her liberation. She has since made several films starring herself and others, with a focus on the sexuality of older women.
Ms Naughty aka Louise Lush
Ms Naughty (formerly Louise Lush) is a filmmaker, author, editor, webmistress and curator of feminist porn. She has been making porn sites for women since 2000 and runs Bright Desire which features all of her films. In 2015 it was an Honored Website at the Feminist Porn Awards. She also co-runs ForTheGirls.com, a large adult website for straight women. She blogs at MsNaughty.com. In 2009 she won the Joy Award for New Female Filmmakers. Several of her films have been nominated for Feminist Porn Awards including her feature The Fantasy Project. She runs this site and writes in the third person where necessary.
Nenna
US director Nenna has directed numerous videos about people of colour and sexuality. She has won two Feminist Porn Awards, one for each of her queer porn films. Nenna also writes, produces erotic-themed events and runs the gallery and adult store Feelmore in Oakland, California.
Nica Noelle
Before taking up directing, Nica was a writer for Hustler and starred in numerous girl-girl adult films. Since 2009 she has directed numerous girl-girl and couples-friendly titles as part of the Sweetheart Video and Sweet Sinner lines. She has since created a new studio, Hard Candy films. Several of her films have won Feminist Porn Awards though in 2013 she said she doesn't consider herself a feminist.
Ovidie
French director and feminist Ovidie started out as an adult film star before moving behind the camera in 2000, working with numerous producers and companies. She has made 11 erotic films as well as a number of documentaries and she has regularly appeared in the French media discussing porn and sexuality. She has won several awards for her work acting and directing. Ovidie as also written 8 books about female sexuality.
Shar Rednour and Jackie Strano
This queer couple made waves in 1998 with their first film Bend Over Boyfriend, a guide to "pegging" (strap-on sex for men). They created S.I.R. Productions and released numerous queer and lesbian-themed films including Hard Love and How To Fuck In High Heels. Shar is an author and filmmaker and Jackie is Chief Operating Officer of adult store Good Vibrations.
Candida Royalle
The original pioneer of feminist porn, Candida Royalle moved from acting in adult films to making them in 1984. She is credited with being the first person to make porn movies for straight women. Her Femme line of erotic movies still sell well years after their release. She received numerous awards for her work including the Lifetime Achievement in Women's Erotica award in 2006. Sadly, Candida passed away in September 2015.
Bren Ryder
Vancouver-based filmmaker and webmistress Bren Ryder runs GoodDykePorn.com, a queer site that embraces all sexualities, genders and races. Bren does everything herself and occasionally appears in her own movies. She won the Golden Beaver award for Canadian content in 2008
Julie Simone
Glamour fetish model Julie Simone has been a feature of the BDSM scene since the late 90s. Exploring roles as both bottom and top, she's also branched into filmmaking, creating psychological and dark explorations of the lifestyle. Her films have won numerous awards in the US and Europe. She runs her own site JulieSimone.com
Anna Span
In 1997 Anna wrote her college dissertation entitled "Towards A New Pornography". Determined to create porn that she herself would enjoy, she began Easy on the Eye films. Since 1999 she has created over 160 adult scenes and won numerous awards in the UK and Europe for her films, In 2007 she was named Indie Porn Pioneer at the Feminist Porn Awards. She has written several books, spoken publically about porn in debates and lectures and also run for a seat in the English parliament.
Zahra Stardust
Stripper, politician, academic and porn star, Australian Zahra Stardust was the 2014 Heartthrob of the Year due to her advocacy for
feminist porn and her intense sexual performances. She runs her own site - The Explicit Diary of Zahra Stardust - and is currently researching the effect on censorship on queer and alternative sexuality.
Tristan Taormino
Originally known as one of the first anal sex experts, Tristan Taormino has become one of the best-known feminist porn directors. Her first porn film in 1999, The Ultimate Guide To Anal Sex For Women, featured an all-star anal gangbang with herself at the centre. She has since created the Chemistry gonzo "reality" series and the Expert Guides instructional series for major company Vivid. She is the author and editor of numerous books and she also works as a sex educator and speaker.
Courtney Trouble
Courtney's adult site NoFauxxx, launched in 2002, is considered to be the first queer web site. It features people of all races, sexualities and genders and does not maintain rigid "genres". Courtney has also directed 12 feature films and won four Feminist Porn Awards. In 2010 she launched Queer Porn TV with performer Tina Horn. Courtney also is a photographer and performer.
Jamye Waxman
Originally a columnist with Playgirl, Jamye Waxman has also directed the Personal Touch series of adult films and collaborated with erotica legend Candida Royalle. Jamye is also the author of numerous sex-related books and is well known as a sex educator.
Madison Young
Madison is an artist, author, queer activist and porn star who also directs her own films. She is best known for her BDSM and fetish work which reflects her personal tastes and sexuality. She has won four Feminist Porn Awards including Indie Porn Pioneer. Madison jointly runs the Femina Potens gallery in San Francisco.
More directors:
Vex
Angela White
Angie Rowntree
Dana Dane
Goodyn Green
Jessica Drake
Kayden Kross
Stoya
Kate Sinclaire
Paulita Pappel
Urvashi
The Lust Garden
Check out the Female Porn Directors Site for a comprehensive list!
Or visit Feminist Porn Org for more info on directors and performers.
