After the second screening, imbd's Arno Kazarian stayed and chatted for a little bit.
He said that when covering Sundance, they pick one Slamdance film each year to review. This year it was Graphic Sexual Horror.
Thanks a lot!
http://www.imdb.com/features/sundance/2009/blog
"I walked up the long, sloping hill of Park City's Main Street to Slamdance's HQ, where the limits-pushing documentary Graphic Sexual Horror screened.
GSH offers more than a glimpse into Insex.com, the now-defunct "violent porn" website created of a man who only goes by Brent or his screename pd. Original footage and interviews with Brent/pd, former Insex employees (including models and production staff), as well as a metal worker known as KGB result in much more than a BDSM primer, for GSH delves into the individual personalities, how they relate to what I would call the Insex groupthink, and how sexual desires entwined with the ability to make thousands of dollars from either a photo shot or a live feed, the former being an endurance test (for models and audiences alike) in which a woman such as Lorelei Lee (who was in attendance and was also one of the subjects of an excellent recent short, Tale of Two Bondage Models, with former Insex model Princess Donna) could make $1,000 per hour -- with bonuses -- provided Insex members were blown away by her myriad abilities to receive pain.
Directed by former Insex producer Anna Lorentzon and writer Barbara Bell, their respect for Brent/pd and the Insex models is obvious, though they refuse to tell their audiences what to think (a rule every good documentary follows, right?). I think GSH could be tightened up toward its conclusion, because the fact that Insex was forced to cease operation through use of the Patriot Act gets a bit muddled. But their grandest achievement is the creation of a work that is impossible to dismiss or forget. GSH exists to rattle the repressed thoughts that rest deep within most of us.
The impression I was left with (thus far): Among other things, Brent is a short filmmaker and performance artist who is as relevant as someone such as Ron Athey at his most notorious. He's also an Internet maverick, since Insex began in 1997 as essentially one of the first online fourms for BDSM enthusiasts. Does it bother me when he refers to his former models as "girls"? Did I want to close by eyes during both the water immersion scene? The answer to both is yes, but that is my limitation, and it needs to be reconciled with the fact that Insex was always a safe, sane, and consensual enterprise between willing adults.
Yes, this is a tough work to watch, but it is more compelling and rewarding than any other documentary I have seen in years. I stand by the notion that film festivals -- especially Slamdance and Sundance -- should constantly challenge their own programming ideas, as well as the boundaries of their audiences. Graphic Sexual Horror is hard to top in this respect.
by Arno Kazarian"
The screening sold out, and even had people sitting in the aisle, up front, and standing in the back.
The audience was wonderful, only three walkouts, and they laughed in all the right places, something I haven't seen before when showing to non-BDSM friends. Ok, there are a couple of additional places where Barb and I always laugh hysterically, but those are probably only funny if you know the people or have worked at Insex, more tragic comedy.
At the Q&A we got further proof of just how good the audience was. Their questions showed perception and intelligence.
One thing some people had problems with before was that they didn't think that things were spelled out enough, but if anybody thought so last night, they were quiet about it, and their questions showed that they did pick up on pretty much everything. it was such a great experience premiering GSH here at Slamdance.
Thank you so much everybody!
opening credits
Q&A
opening credits
People at the screening said that they've seen our t-shirts "everywhere". Considering that we're only three people wearing them (and as of yesterday, the bartender), we must have done a good job of running around. Haven't seen the punk kids wearing them, and
Slamdance bartender our posters never lasted more than 10 minute, it became the hot thing for the local teenagers.
Anna, Princess Donna, Barb, poster before the screening
"rape" t-shirts?
"rape" t-shirts?: After taking the first picture of our GRAPHIC SEXUAL HORROR t-shirts, we realized it looked like they said "rape".
We just posted interviews with Princess Donna and Lorelei here
http://graphicsexualhorror.com/content/interviews-other-video
Slamdance Film Festival Lineup
Just posting a short lineup of films at Slamdance 2009 that we want to check out.
This will be updated, and check the festival page for more info.
We will be attending both Screenings of Graphic Sexual Horror at Slamdance, so it's up here too.
Graphic Sexual Horror
Anna Lorentzon & Barbara Bell
http://graphicsexualhorror.com/
Graphic Sexual Horror peeks into the terrifying world of Insex.com, the most notorious of “violent porn” websites, and explores the dark mind of its artistic creator,
I Sell the Dead
Glenn McQuaid 2008
http://www.isellthedead.com/
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead
Jordan Galland 2008
http://undeadflick.com/
City Rats
Steve M. Kelly 2008
http://www.cityratsthemovie.com/
Beneath the gritty London skyline, eight haunted people meet and fall apart while trying to find redemption in one another.
Road to Fallujah
Mark Manning 2008
http://www.theroadtofallujah.com/
An honest and emotional journey with filmmaker Mark Manning who, along with Iraqi journalist Rana Al-Aiouby, became the only un-embedded westerner to gain access and live with the people of Fallujah, Iraq immediately following the largest battle of the Iraq War.
Shorts:
Alice's Attick
Robyn Yannoukos 2008
Barb and I started contacting people that worked at Insex. It wasn't as easy as we thought it would be. Most staff were very accomodating (but some wouldn't return calls and emails), but the models were even harder. We had wonderful experiences with the ones that liked working for Insex, and had built a career in the industry, but the ones with less positive experiences, the ones that had moved on to more "ordinary" jobs, or all the college students that just came to a shoot or two were harder to get.
And no members wanted to show their face on camera.
(Zeta was my name at Insex, we all had "Insex names")
i Zeta!!
Wow, how awesome to hear from you! i was just thinking of you this week, and of the old farmhouse in XXXX...
i'd LOVE to be involved in any way that i can.
Also, my cell phone # is:
*~The One and Only, XXXXX!~* :-)
Zeta,
Hadn't thought about doing the interview for the insex documentary enough, I'm sorry but I can't be in it for a few too many reasons. I regret telling you this on such short notice. Good luck with everything.
-XXXX
Zeta!!!
So good to hear from you. It's funny, I was just in DUMBO last week
for a statistics test so of course it brought up a lot of memories.
Nothing to report on the children's book. It's on hold now while I
focus on getting into nursing school so I can become a midwife in a
couple years. I am hoping to start in June.
My son, XXXX, is 1 and a half and so cute when he's not being a
little brat. I can't believe XXXX is 5 already! That's great that you
aren't working now, you worked so hard! And it must be nice to really
spend time with your family.
I'll gladly do an interview for your documentary, although I don't
think I'll be out to California again till March. If you guys are back
in New York, I am pretty flexible for the next few months.
I hope you and your family are happy and healthy!
XXXXX
Hi Zeta,
Sure I'd be willing to do an interview . . .
Of course you could come up to the farm, depending on your intended
audience I might not want you to film certain things, such as
penetration/vibrator use, we can talk about that more on tuesday.
Zeta,
I might be reconsidering the interview. I had a rough time and was a wee bit damaged from my experience at insex. I am trying to evaluate if it would be healthy for me to dig it up and talk about it. So, let me get back to you. It might help if I had a list of questions that you were going to to ask so that I can be as articulate as possible.
Thanks,
XXXX
hey, yeah....if you want to interview me thats cool. just tell me when.
sorry for the psychodrama about the porn (hehehe, doesn't everyone think at
some point: wow i have great sex! i can make lots of money!!! come
on....please..)
anyway,
have fun,
bye,
XXXX
Of course you can interview me.
I think you are right that I don't want my name associated... I am
becoming a school teacher and have often thought about how my past
could bite me in the ass.
Esp. when I was a dom and we got raided by the police... I think there
is a bogus prostitution charge out there somewhere with my name on it.
I should find out.
XXXX
Our first interview was with 101. We had email and phone contact, and set up a date for Barb and I to drive to her town. We got there, and were pleasantly surprised by the high-end doorman building she lived in. But the doorman wouldn't let us in, as she wasn't answering his calls. We called her cell several times, but no answer.
We sat down to wait with a view of the front door, calling regularly, and after 3 hours she did pick up her phone and let us in. The studio apartment was small and wrecked, furniture scuffed and broken, the young man just waking up next to her gorgeous. 101 herself seemed to be in a good mood, but covering the top of her foot was what looked like a big, dark scar. She dismissed it as "random blood", and before I could ask what that meant her mother came and gave her a fistful of prescription psychoactives, and gone was the coherent 101.
On our way home, 5 hours on the highway in hail storm, we thought the interview would be unuseable, but it turned out perfect.
And the random blood? I asked again after the interview, and it turned out that she had her period last week, didn't feel like using a pad, and it dripped and coagulated on her foot. 101 did agree when Violet, another Insex model, called her "hygienically challenged".
In the end we were lucky and got may good interviews. One model that had a bad experience was friends with Princess Donna, who encouraged her to do the interview, as a way of processing her experience. It was one of the strongest, most honest ones, and raised the quality of the film immensely.
Anna
Here's your chance to support us at Slamdance online!
go here and add us to your calendar.
The most scheduled film will show up on the first film page, also on top of the "buzz" list.
http://slamdance.bside.com/2009/films/graphicsexualhorror_slamdance2009
Thank you!
