CHATSWORTH, Calif. – AVN associate editor Peter Warren has learned that his comic documentary, Jews at Sea, will have its world premier at the Backseat Film Festival in Philadelphia, Pa., on March 15.
Speaking of the movie's development, Warren said, "Jews at Sea is something that's now been four years in the making. I literally shot it right before the first issue of AVN I was ever published in came out. I was freelancing for AVN and my whole family was going on this cruise to Alaska for my grandparents' 60th anniversary. I'd been planning since I knew we were going to make a movie about it because I knew putting a camera on my family was going to be some entertaining shit. The fact that I was also writing for AVN added another interesting aspect to it."
According to the director, his work at AVN provided some tension in the movie. "I was sort of working in secret for AVN ... most of my family didn't know I was doing it," he explained. "I had a bunch of reviews that were due the week we were on the cruise and I was trying to write under everybody's noses without them figuring out what I was doing."
So what does an undercover porn reviewer do on a family cruise to Alaska? For Warren, the answer was simple: "There's a pretty funny scene in the movie where I sneak down to a public area on the ship late at night and review some movies."
But Jews at Sea isn't all slipping around to watch porn on Captain Steubing's VCR on the Lido deck. Warren noted that the movie has several compelling subplots.
Warren and his porn collection isn't the only connection Jews at Sea has to the adult industry. The director noted that a well-known performer was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition. "Kimberly Kane is involved in the movie," said Warren. "She's been a good friend of mine practically since I got into the industry. She was one of the first people to have seen the original cut of Jews at Sea three and a half years ago. She loved it and has been a huge fan of it ever since. She would keep asking me, 'So when are you going to do something with Jews at Sea?' I kept telling her I was stuck because I didn't have the money to buy the editing equipment I needed to really finish it. She asked me, 'If I buy it for you, will you finish the movie?' I said, 'Absolutely.' She bought me what I needed – a hard drive – and became the movie's co-producer."
Besides Kane, another adult biz figure instrumental in getting Jews at Sea onto the program was Doug Sakmann, the director of Joanna Angel projects The XXXorcist and Re-Penetrator. Warren noted, "In Vegas at AEE, I was handing out these flyers for Jews at Sea and he [Sakmann] was real interested in it. He actively pursued me to get it in."
For Warren, the date of the premier of Jews at Sea is an auspicious one. "March 15 happens to be the day right before my birthday," said the director, ignoring the date was also known in long-ago times as the Ides of March and that something really bad happened to Julius Caesar on that day.
But almost as important to Warren as the date of the premier is its location. The director said, "The other thing I find highly significant is that it will be premiering to the world in Philadelphia, which is the birthplace of AVN."
When asked if there was anything he'd like to add about Jews at Sea, Warren was quick to offer, "[AVN president] Paul Fishbein himself saw the original cut years ago and he really enjoyed it and thought it was really funny ... because he's a Jew in porn just like myself."
And, really, can you ask for a better recommendation than that?
Be sure to check out the movie trailer at www.jewsatsea.com.
Pictured: Peter Warren in a still from Jews at Sea.
