SAN FRANCISCO—Vanniall, an NYC-based Black trans sex worker who recently came out as HIV+ in a widely shared Huffington Post article, announced that her work has been selected for the 2022 San Francisco PornFilmFestival.
Vanniall says that after revealing her diagnosis, many in the industry were unexpectedly very supportive—with adult industry testing organization PASS reaching out to her and then signing a pledge against HIV+ discrimination. Since then, Vanniall was nominated for the Transgender Erotica Award for Best Self Producer and was invited on stage to present categories at the event. She is also a part of the cast in the upcoming mainstream reality TV show Hot Haus Season 2, hosted by Tiffany "New York" Pollard, currently shooting in Las Vegas. And now she has two projects set to screen at the upcoming San Francisco PornFilmFestival, which will be broadcast live from San Francisco, California to an international audience, powered by PinkLabel.TV, Aug. 24–27.
This will be Vanniall's first-ever screening and her two selections, which she both directed and stars in, are an episode from her reality TV parody The MostlyPics House featuring Smash Thompson, and a compilation created from over 100 of her solo cam performances called WOW That's What I Call Cumshow!. Both will be streaming for the online festival on Aug. 24, and there will be a theatre screening of The MostlyPics House on Aug. 26 at 4:30 p.m followed by a panel with the creators.
Said Vanniall, "It was very exciting to get picked for this film festival—you never know if what you create is connecting with people and it means a lot to be included in such an amazing event. There are not many venues that celebrate erotic content directed by Black trans women, with Black co-stars, and created to be enjoyed by our own community. The jurors picked two works: a comedic scene and a giant compilation that's just pure focus on relentless pleasure. With both selections, I love to be representing a sense of joy in being queer, not just the serious side of things. I get giddy a little imagining people watching 90 whole minutes of me, self-shot with my webcam or tripod, just orgasming and usually coming on my face. It's a little silly but I also imagine unlike anything that has ever screened in a festival before.
"Usually, festivals that screen porn are known for abstracting sexuality a bit or sandwiching it between plot, making things more 'erotica.' And the audience is there for porn made arty, and not celebrating porn as it usually is already," she continued. "By submitting a compilation that is purely just 100 laughing outrageous orgasms in a row, I wanted to say that simply celebrating joyful sex—and Black trans sexual joy—could be enough, that we don't need to repackage ourselves to have joy in it. It's so exciting the judges agreed enough to select it for the festival!"
