LOS ANGELES—Gone, an erotic film featuring hardcore sex blended with dramatic narrative from Sssh.com, is a semi-finalist at the Swedish International Film Festival.
The honor is the latest for the film which has been well-received at film festivals and with media.
“Gone’s reception among audiences, critics and festivals is among the most rewarding things I’ve experienced as a director,” said Angie Rowntree, writer and director of the movie as well as owner and founder of Sssh.com. “It’s even more gratifying when the acceptance and praise comes from outside the adult industry, because it’s something which is very, very rare to experience as a director of adult films.”
Gone—which has been accepted by the Los Angeles CineFest, Wendy’s Shorts, the iHolly Next Generation Indie Film Festival and others—tells a tale of love and loss between Rebecca and Todd Adams, played by real-life couple Madeline Blue and Gee Richards.
Rowntree gives the film a different feel with characterizations and emotional impact not often found in porn as the erotic sex scenes become a part of the narrative as much as Rebecca’s complex emotions.
The film’s fusion of adult filmmaking with mainstream cinema sensibilities has struck a chord with critics who have lauded the production and its performances. Rich Moreland, author of Pornography Feminism: As Powerful as She Wants to Be, wrote Gone is “perhaps the most significant porn film this reviewer has ever seen.”
“I think it’s important for the future of the adult entertainment industry that we continue to find mainstream acceptance for our work,” Rowntree said. “No matter how popular it becomes, there’s always this stigma attached to pornography, a sense a lot people have that porn can’t also be art, or ‘legitimate’ film.”
