BERLIN—The first Petra Joy Awards, sponsored by pjur, were a huge success. A huge variety of films were entered from all over the world, and all winning filmmakers traveled to Berlin to see their films on the big screen and receive their trophy and prize money.
The winning films were produced in Australia, Spain, England and Holland.
Petra said: “I and the jury were overwhelmed by the high quality of submissions. All films were completely unique and very creative in the way they depicted female sexuality. We had the difficult choice to select the winners from the very strong finalists.”
Winners of the inaugural awards are:
First Prize: Louise Lush, That’s What I Like
Second Prize: Lola Clavo, La Lucha
Third Prize: Linsey Satterthwaite, I Like It When
Special Jury Award: Cora Emens, Cora’s Memoirs—The Rose
Even though the creative styles varied, there were some similarities in the films: A prevailing element of many was the expression of what women want in bed. The first and third prize both expressed visually and verbally what turns some women on. The first prize winner, That’s What I Like, used an interview with the main female protagonist and explicit but sensual images to express the woman’s desire, whereas the third prize winner, I Like It When, expressed in subtly erotic images and words the erotic pleasures of the female director. However, the common message is: the shame is over, and women can now talk freely in public about what they desire sexually by making a film about female sexual pleasure.
Some of the filmmakers, such as Linsey Satterthwaite and Cora Emens, decided not just to direct but also star in their films—an experience that both women perceived as extremely empowering.
The winner of the second prize, Lola Clavo, portrayed sex and love as a power struggle in her experimental film La Lucha with subtly blurred images and an impressive soundscape.
The special jury award went to Cora’s Memoirs—The Rose for its fearless and fun depiction of a very personal erotic memory of the film’s director, who also starred. In an ageist society the film shows that a pleasurable and joyful sex life does exist for women who are aged 50-plus.
All the winning films were shown to a sold-out Movimento cinema in Berlin, in the presence of countless TV crews and photographers. The event was part of the pornfilmfest Berlin—an alternative erotic art event in its fourth year.
The filmmakers were not just awarded a trophy but also received substantial prize money in form of an over-sized check sponsored by pjur.
“We are pleased to be sponsors of this project. Petra Joy and the ambitious female directors are focused on female desires and fantasies and are expressing them in a sensual way. For us it's also important to deal with the sex and pleasure in confident yet charming way. The sensual seduction of women and men of all ages and preferences that’s what pjur stands for,” said Andrea Giebel, responsible for marketing at pjur Group.
All winning filmmakers shared the feeling of empowerment and have pledged to shoot more erotic films.
“Winning this award encouraged me to shoot more erotic films and tell more stories from a female perspective," Louise Lush, the winner of the first prize, said. "Porn for women is about expressing female fantasies and validating female sexual experiences. And this is what I would like to do.”
Petra Joy hopes the competition is a stepping stone for a successful filmmaking career for the winners. This is the reason why she decided to publish the winning films in her new compilation Her Porn, Vol.2 to be released in spring 2010.
For Petra Joy the competition and awards ceremony have a special relevance: “This evening was so far the highlight of my work in creating erotica for women. I am so proud that I was able to be a catalyst for the filmmakers to make their fantastic films and hope to inspire more women to shoot erotica from a female perspective. I am confident that the genre ‘porn for women’ will continue to exist as a new generation of female filmmakers step into my footsteps and show us what they find erotic.”
For more information, visit JoyAwards.com.
