Anyone in the mood for a good documentary? No? Well, you might change your mind when "Sex: The Annabel Chong Story" is released sometime this year. This film, by documentary filmmaker Gough Lewis, is about a woman who began starring in hard-core adult videos while she was finishing her undergraduate work in gender studies at the University of Southern California.
Petite, soft-spoken and self-confident, Grace Quek isn't immediately recognizable as Annabel Chong, star of 1995's notorious video, "The World's Biggest Gang Bang." But when she appeared on the Jerry Springer Show, Quek caught filmmaker Lewis' attention. Intrigued by the questions Quek's lifestyle raised for him, Lewis talked with her about making a documentary of her life.
As Quek remembers it, "When Gough Lewis initially approached me, I was really touchy. There are all these pseudo-documentaries being made about the adult industry that are stupid, sexploitive and only there to raise ratings during sweeps week. It took about 3 1/2 months talking to (him) to trust his motivations. I think its very important to get behind the stereotype and the stigma of the porno bimbo."
On January 22, about three years after Lewis first approached Quek about doing a documentary about her, Quek's story, "Sex: The Annabel Chong Story" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film opened to sold-out viewings and created quite a stir.
"The biggest misconception about me before people see the movie is that this is a film about a porno chick who is supposed to be this out-of-control hyena. I hope that the film would complicate people's basic assumptions about women in pornography, the representation of women in pornography as well as the nature of female sexuality," Quek said.
