The newest director in the Mile High family, Ricky Greenwood, got off to an ambitious start with his first movie for Sweetheart Video. His efforts paid off, with Confessions of a Sinful Nun nominated for seven AVN Awards, including Best Drama.

At the center of Confessions is Charlotte Stokely, a young nun who is fighting her sexual desire for women—a battle made tougher when she runs across Penny Pax and Darcie Dolce enjoying carnal pleasures in the verdant countryside surrounding the nunnery. As the two nuns lift up their habits to reveal lush, busty figures, Charlotte watches, transfixed, until she hears someone approaching and calls out to warn them.

And it doesn’t help her struggle that the nunnery is awash with lesbian-leaning sisters—straight up to the top, as evidenced in a tryst between the Mother Superior (veteran star Nina Hartley) and her right-hand nun (a stern Mona Wales).

The girl/girl sex scenes all benefit from Greenwood’s “nunsploitation” vibe, and the dramatic lighting, visually interesting religious trappings and moody emotional tone earned the movie award nominations for cinematography and art direction.

It’s a promising start for a director new to adult, made stronger with help from his fellow Mile High directors. In addition to handling the cinematography, James Avalon plays a priest; Dana Vespoli co-directs the sex scenes and also plays a nun (both non-sex roles). And the good news is that Greenwood is just getting started: he began shooting his second movie last month, to be released later this year.