On the 1st of December, Bright Desire, my new smart porn site that features all of my films, turned one year old. Hooray! A birthday!
This post is late. Almost three weeks late, actually. I should have posted about it on the day and also had celebratory press releases sent out. Unfortunately I was just too overwhelmed with running the damn thing to do anything special. I’ve been more than a little harried and scatterbrained these past few months.
I knew starting a paysite and running it by myself would be difficult and my prediction was correct. It’s hard to plan, travel, shoot and edit scenes alone, as well as run the backend, PR and affiliate programs of a site like this. There’s a reason porn paysites are run by large companies with a coterie of staff on hand. I long for a single assistant.
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And yet I wouldn’t have missed this year for the world. I’m so utterly proud of Bright Desire and how well it’s done in 2013. Sure, I can’t match the one-a-day updates you get on major sites but I feel as though the quality of my content makes up for it. I’m offering something different, something feminist.
The films are precisely the kind of porn I myself want to see; I think they’re interesting, first and foremost. After working in this business for 13 years, I am easily bored by porn. But not the movies I’m making. The real-life couples I’ve worked with just light up the screen with their chemistry and connection. The solo performers are all beautiful in their own unique way; the voiceover scenarios are diverse and exciting. And I’ve had the opportunity to really explore unusual scenes as well, especially with my queer performers. I’m really proud of my collaborations with Zahra Stardust, Courtney Trouble and Jiz Lee. When those films have screened at festivals, it has induced strong emotions in the audience. Which is so gratifying to me as a filmmaker.
I want people to feel something when they watch my porn. Not just arousal (though that’s good!) but also joy, or longing, or sadness, or revelation. I want to show something of the performer’s personality and to explore the many facets of sexuality and how it intersects with emotion, with relationships, with everyday life.
So despite the hardship and hard work of this year, I feel like I’m properly articulating the vision I’ve always had for porn. This is MY smut, done MY way. Positive, respectful, artistic (hopefully) and female-focused. I’m keen to build on what I’ve done and make Bright Desire huge in 2014.
In 2013, Bright Desire has been nominated for a Feminist Porn Award and an Australian Shine Award. It has also been mentioned in Cosmopolitan, The Vine and MammaMia (the last because I wrote the piece myself… gotta try and promote myself somehow!)
Here are sample galleries from Bright Desire:
Real life couple Wendy and Dave
Viola Turtle-Dove solo in “The Best Fantasies”
Real life couple Kara and Devon
If you haven’t checked out the sample videos and pics in the tour, please head on over and check it out. And maybe consider joining. It’s not expensive and you’ll be supporting me and my sex positive, feminist work. Thanks in advance!