Erika Lust
Her name, much like the lovely photo above, is larger than life. Folks... this is a big birthday gift for me. I turn 42 tomorrow and Erika Lust has been a huge inspiration. Not only is she a brilliant director and hero to so many, but she has a great mind, as well. This is someone you want to chat with about politics, religion and sexuality over a few pints or martini's.
I had the extreme honor of interviewing this amazing filmmaker. Born in Sweden. Now living in Barcelona. She's the creative force behind Lust Films. I first came across her work after having seen the short film, "Handcuffs" - a sensual look at the Dom/sub lifestyle. It's been said that her movies speak to the female perspective, but honestly... I just see art. Erica inhabits the same artistic space as an Andrew Blake or Sofia Coppola. The cinematography, the story... it all comes together to create a masterpiece of erotic expression.
The mainstream adult industry is seemingly mired in a plastic, bleach-blonde cartoon world. It's content with pushing a factory-produced product that focuses more on sales than truly selling fantasy. Granted... it generates an awful lot of money, but at what cost? The women are all tan, tone and tight. The guys are all buff and chiseled. The sets are cold. The dialog is laughable. We need trailblazers in the industry who get it - those who take control of their image and forge new paths. Make room for Erika Lust. She definitely gives good porn.
Q: How does a Swedish poly sci major end up in Barcelona directing erotic films?
It kind of started with disappointment about the vast majority of erotic films. As I saw my first porn film, it wasn't quite love at first sight. Of course there was something I could see in it, but there were a lot of things that I didn't like about it. I started thinking about how to create a female approach to explicit adult cinema, to sex, to gender roles, to certain practices and, especially, the way to tell stories about it - how to depict it. In most of the films, I didn't find anything to identify with. I didn't feel like they related to me in any way, concerning the roles they offer to women or to men, the way they present desire or lust, not to mention how unrealistic they depict sex. And Barcelona because it's a modern city and a fertile ground for new ideas and innovative projects. And, last but not least: in 2000, I've met the man here who is now my partner and father of my daughter.
Q: You once described porn as "a product left wanting on many levels." I read your book and laughed at the section where you talk about the "predictable" slant of male-dominated films. You said that women wanted to call the shots - that some want hardcore just as much as men, but they want to help shape it? Can you elaborate?
The industry used to be, and basically still mostly is, the same bunch of guys making the same kind of films. To change the films and the industry, it needed different people to infiltrate it. Women are still extremely underrepresented on the highest level of the industry. They may be actresses or assistants, but you'll find a lot less female producers and directors than male. That's, by the way, the case in general when it comes to cinema. Take a look at how many female directors won the Oscar. First it seems that it needed women to start this transformation, because all the guys that were in the industry simply didn't do it and, second, there's too less women's voices in the discourse, too less women's projects realized, and that's the same in the world of politics and business.
It's not that it couldn't be a man making different kind of films, making good porn that women could enjoy, but as women have the right to enjoy erotic films, they also have the right to make the films themselves if they want to, in the way they want it to, as screenwriters, directors and producers, as well. They have the right to claim their share of access to create their visions. It's not that I want to take men's right or possibility to present their version. I just don't want it to be the only version out there.
Q: What filmmakers are you inspired by? Is anyone hitting the mark?
Actually, I am quite into movies, but I guess that's not surprising to hear from a filmmaker. I am inspired by a lot of films and have a big collection of movies, and series as well. When it comes to adult entertainment, I really appreciate the works, for example, of Violet Blue, Tristan Taormino, Jennifer Lyon-Bell, Candida Royalle, but of course I am interested in cinema, in general. I like the filmmakers Sofia Coppola and Susan Bier, but lately the person I admire the most is my daughter, Lara; she should have a statue for her lifetime performance when she dances to Abba's "Dancing Queen."
Q: You said you believed women can benefit form seeing sexual imagery/movies. Why?
I think they can benefit the same way as men do, for example to simply have erotic entertainment, to cultivate their fantasies, to masturbate, to have new ideas about sex to think about, to discover new practices that they did not know or were curious about, but didn't dare to ask or to try. Or many more reasons people might have. First, I think that we mostly tend to think that women respond less to visual attractions than men do, but that's a cliche, and there have been recent studies that relativize this, saying that the gender of a person is not correlating to the extent of sensitivity to visual stimuli. Second, I think that it's less the question of quality of those erotic and porn films; in other words: which films they benefit from.
I strongly believe that it's important to make a different kind of porn because a lot of both women and men long for a different kind of porn. And here, again, the gender might be less important than other factors, because both women or men can have a more sophisticated taste or desire than what mainstream porn can serve.
Q: What is the biggest misconception that people have about you?
Maybe that they assume that, as a pornographer, I must be a sexual predator with dark fantasies doing extreme sexual practice. You wouldn't believe how often conversations, or even interviews, end up on this topic after awhile, sometimes quite fast and quite directly. Maybe they think a woman making porn films must be completely open for anything, or they can't think beyond the stereotypes of what a porn company may work like because they've heard a few stories about the guys in the mainstream porn industry. Porn, or erotic films, are films, and I am a professional filmmaker. This is not my hobby. This is my work as an artist - my career. It's a lot of my ideas in there, a lot of work, a lot of effort, time and money spent to realize a project. But still it happens that I am asked if I would get aroused on the set. Of course I don't.
Filming on a professional level is a lot of work. It's stressful. I am an artist realizing my own ideas in the way I planned them, and I am an entrepreneur. I founded a company to earn my living and raise money for my upcoming projects. That's it. I always wonder when people ask me questions like I was one of those guys with a camcorder in their hands on YouPorn, who earn a few bucks for a cheap, low-quality clip that is far from being considered a film. I would say that's, by far, the biggest misconception about me and my work that I am regularly confronted with.
Q: What channels do you use to help market your films? Is social media (Facebook, Twitter) an effective tool?
Social media probably is the best opportunity to get in contact with people that share my vision of adult entertainment. It's quite good to present my work, but as well to share ideas, get feedback, discuss or simply chat a little. I have a Facebook and Twitter account that I use regularly, and more or less active Flickr or YouTube accounts. I'd like to be as active as possible, especially at those channels where you really can get in touch with people, but recently, as you can imagine, it became that much that I can't handle it alone anymore. But I really appreciate it. It helps to keep the discussion on a different kind of porn going, which is so necessary and important.
Q: My girlfriend has a thing for Paco Roca. "Handcuffs" is her favorite erotic short (mine, too). Everything anyone could want is in that piece. Dominance/submission. Gorgeous cinematography. A powerful story told without dialog. Amazing music. First... can you ship Paco to her for Christmas? Second... what is your favorite Erika Lust scene?
Unfortunate for your idea of Paco as a Christmas present for your girlfriend, but fortunate for Paco's friends and family, we can only ship or stream digital Paco's. But see it this way: this leaves more Paco for everybody. I can't really say what my favorite scene from my own films was, maybe because they're all my projects and I've gone through a long working process with a lot of different people, that I can't look just at the films in an unbiased way. Somehow I would have to say that I like my first short film, "The Good Girl", the most (it was part of the film Five Hot Stories for Her). The atmosphere was so relaxed, the chemistry between the actors that good, and I think you can even see that when watching the film.
Q: What music have you been obsessing over recently? What songs should I download immediately?
I am always doing a lot of research carefully selecting the songs for my films. The soundtrack of my latest film, Life Love Lust, contains more Spanish artists, but not only. It has been Christina Rosenvinge, Tulsa, Havalina, Mujeres, Le Pianc and First Aid Kit. Maybe you'll like one or the other.
Q: What's on your bucket list?
I feel quite satisfied at the moment. I already have achieved what I want. I'm a happy woman, mother of a lovely girl and about to give birth to my second daughter. I have a great man by my side, who's a loving father and a great lover. I'm also a successful entrepreneur, and managed to realize my own projects the way I want them, and not earn a fortune with it, but enough to earn my living and to realize further projects... what else could I want?
Q: Finally... what's next for Lust Films?
At the moment, I am finishing two publications. It's two books, Love Me Like You Hate Me (that came with the short film "Love Me Like You Hate Me"), an introduction to fetish and BDSM, written together with Venus O'Hara, and the Erotic Bible to Europe, a guide through the old continent to show the most exciting, sexy places in Europe, from kinky to chic, which has its own interactive web page, so people can submit their favorite places, comment on it, rate it. It's growing and I'm curious where this is going. Concerning new films: this year there will be the release of the short film "Love Hotel", which is the sequel to "Handcuffs." In 2011, there will be another upcoming film, but I still don't want to reveal too much about it.
Erika Lust on the Web
Buddha
Reader Comments (3)
Oh the joy! Love the positivity and creativity! Happy Birthday, Buddha, and soon-to-be Happy Birthday to Baby Lust!
Nice picture. This reminds me, I have to get to the gym and stop overindulging in fine food and drink. I have to say, when I read your blog I feel idiotic and unsophisticated I am. I'm overworked, overweight and pretty dumb - just your average American woman. This chick is pretty good. I should stop writing. I should just rely on my good looks - oh wait, I have none. Gotta go!
Hello Buddha,
Thank you for leaving your kind words on my site. I am glad that you are enjoying the ArtCoition experience. You did a lovely job interviewing Erika for this piece. Nice work and much success, :)
Sincerely,
Palesa