MONTREAL—Female-powered adult outfit Bellesa today announced a new initiative aiming to commission content from BIPOC creators for shared ownership and use on the Bellesa Plus streaming platform and any/all personal platforms of the creators themselves.
The "BIPOC Creators Program" will dedicate $20,000 each month to projects from people of color who have experience making, or would like to make adult content, either in front of or behind the camera. "With this budget," the company's announcement explained, "creators can do as they choose: they can hire other performers, bring in camera people, hire lighting, that's entirely up to them. The goal of the BIPOC Creators Program is to empower creators of color to make the content they want to make, by equipping them with the resources needed to make it."
Asked whether the monthly grant would be allocated to one or several applicants, Bellesa CEO Michelle Shnaidman told AVN it would be "divided amongst several projects, but we will also look to fund larger projects as well."
As the company posited in its announcement, it saw a need for this program because "the unfortunate reality is that much of the adult content shot by studios with performers of color, even in 2021, is fetishized and problematic. This is the outdated reality of the adult industry."
It went on to say, "We want to bring more content that is representative of what our Bellesa community looks like into the world. We want to support and highlight the work of the amazing BIPOC creators in this industry and promote real representation on Bellesa, without the fetishization that runs rampant in mainstream porn."
Those interested in applying for the program may send inquiries to [email protected].
