LOS ANGELES—Fans and aficionados of adult movies are familiar with custom videos—a scene or clip created to-order that is specifically produced for the customer and is often personalized. Content can range from something as simple as a few minutes of a cellphone-shot solo POV from a favorite model to a more elaborate, scripted scene where the client has specified a simple storyline, wardrobe or other intimate details.
But what if your fantasy was bigger than that and you had the means to produce it? Like, a major feature title with an all-star cast, luxury locations, professional original soundtrack and top-tier production staffed by an awarded and Hall of Fame crew—would you make your idea into reality?
That’s how Reina Reborn was conceived, when would-be producer-director Karim Z. initially approached veteran adult producers Michael Vegas and Siouxsie Q, and their Pig Machine Productions, with his concept.
“Okay, Reina Reborn is probably the coolest thing I've ever made, right?” Vegas told AVN. “This fan hit me up with a dream and he's like, ‘Hey man, did you work with this person?’ And I was like, ‘No, I didn't work with them, but if you want me to make you a movie, I'll make you a movie.’ So, [Karim] just sort of ignored that for a while. Then he came back multiple months later. He's like, ‘Are you still interested in making this movie?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, I'll make a custom movie, of course.’
“So, he sent me this idea of a fever dream that he's been working on, right? And I was like, ‘What is this?’ He's like, ‘I want to make a music video movie—I want scenes to happen at the pace of the songs the entire way through.’ It's all of these characters that he's been dreaming up this whole time. He just sits there and dreams and imagines this movie…
“He gets me the script and I’m like, ‘Okay, Karim, I want to make this movie for you. We're going to do it. Here's how we're going to do it. Here's how much it's going to cost. We're going to make your dream come true,’” Vegas described.
The resulting full-length feature, Reina Reborn, is a vision of epic proportions.
“Yes, this is the most ambitious project and the largest budget our team has had the opportunity to work with thus far. Karim had a vision that was huge and included beach scenes, firearms, rain, a live band, a tremendous amount of group and double penetration scenes culminating in an outdoor orgy with nearly a dozen of the industry's top performers. It is truly a legendary feat of production,” Siouxsie Q told AVN.
The female-forward ensemble stars Valentina Nappi (in the lead role of Reina), Nicole Kitt, Charlotte Cross, Ana Foxx, Scarlett Alexis and Vanessa Vega, with male performers Romeo, Mickey Mod, Christian Wilde, Isiah Maxwell, Dante Colle and Dillon Diaz.
The movie’s narrative weaves together a polyamorous plot with its fully fleshed-out cast of characters, set in luxe mansion interiors, darkened nightclubs and sunny beachside locations—a visually rich playground where the action takes place. There’s lots of personal intrigue, drama and group sex, including the climactic orgy on the beach Siouxsie Q had described; also, a steamy onstage sex performance in a strip club featuring Nicole Kitt and Romeo; a romantic rain-drenched evening with Charlotte Cross and Micky Mod; and a spicy fetish sequence featuring Ana Foxx, Vanessa Vega and Christian Wilde—and those are just four of 11 scenes total.
A 16-song original soundtrack by Lucas Hickory is coordinated into every sex scene and throughout the rest of the movie (with playlist available on Spotify and YouTube Music).
“He's a world-class, top professional session musician, as are all the musicians that helped create our original music. So many things came together in unexpected ways to make this film happen,” Karim Z. explained to AVN. “[Hickory] has incredible knowledge and connections in the music industry and he just fell on my lap like so many other magical things that just came together to make this film happen.”
The six-figure budget, substantial for an adult film, shows through in every shot and edit. The Reborn Cinema website’s smooth, streamlined design allows a glimpse into Karim’s Dream.
“[It’s] my first adult movie, my first movie of any kind. I never even did a scene before this in any genre of film except maybe a high school project,” the newly-minted producer-director confessed. “I love sex, I love sex as a performance art, I'm a fan of porn and I think adult content can make our real sex lives better and it definitely has for me. There was always a part of me that wanted to be in the business of sex.”
If going big is what’s required to bring a dream to life, then obviously Karim Z. is all-in for Reina Reborn. He funded the movie, wrote the screenplay and co-directed with Pig Machine, taking on an active role behind the camera with a distinguished cast and crew.
“I can tell you they were an incredibly awesome crew and exactly the type of professionals I needed to guide me and realize my vision,” he said. “Karl Marxxx was my editor and I know he has worked on horror films and other mainstream things. He was perfect for the type of editing to music that I needed. Shout out to Joel Sinclair for lighting, Sal Genoa and Steve Matts on cameras, Pup for managing production, James Avalon as a photographer for ‘Que Mala Juliana’ (my favorite photo shoot of the film), Nicky Zeal who also played our Uber Driver in ‘One Last Time’—and so many others that made this film happen.”
Ultimately, Karim Z. has made the movie to share his fantasy with other adult fans. “It's hard to say what motivated the female-dominated story,” he mused. “Most people would laugh if you tried to call Reina Reborn ‘feminist porn,’ but the women lead every scene, they have almost all the dialog and each scene is about them going after and getting what they want. I just wanted to make a film about badass women who confidently wanted to fuck, and fuck in the way they wanted.”
“The film's best quality is its over-the-top audacity combined with its deeply earnest ambition,” Siouxsie Q commented. “Karim set out to make something hugely nontraditional that also harkens back to a Golden Age of adult cinema when there was more space for creators to take chances and create truly unique content that propels the genre forward.
“Who wakes up one day and decides to hire award winning directors to create a ninety-minute feature film with explicit sex throughout, an epic multi-genre original score and an all-star cast? Karim did, and we're so proud to have been the team that helped him bring his vision to life,” she added.
“I wanted people to come to see one of the greatest adult films of all time and then maybe dig deeper to find out why someone would make such a film,” Karim confessed, alluding to his other passionate vision. As part of his commitment to support climate change activism, proceeds from the movie’s sales go to fund environmental charities. So far, more than $10,000 has been donated to three charities, including the Giving Green Fund, Clean Air Task Force and Good Food Institute.
A well-known industry activist in her own right, Siouxsie Q pointed out that informed fans of adult entertainment can understand what’s at stake. “I hate to be a Siouxsie Q about it, but I have to say that unless people who care about any kind of adult content at all continuing to exist get active about changing the trajectory of our society, there won't be any possibility of more projects like Reina in the future,” she said. “Reina Reborn is more than the most ambitious adult film in a generation, it's a battle cry for people to give a fuck about the planet. If we can't get people's attention about climate change with something like Reina Reborn, then I fear we are doomed for sure.”
So, what’s next, after your dream comes true and promises to exist forever in the annals of adult cinema? Karim Z. says he’d like to produce more content, though Reina Reborn may be his magnum opus. Like similar high budget, stand-alone adult features, once it’s born, it has a life of its own.
“We have lots of BTS content that I wanted to release, including giving the viewers a glimpse into the consent videos that we do before we shoot,” he remarked, “but I haven't been able to get those yet.
“I wanted to license some existing content, as well as create more original content—although not another feature length film, just scenes. I have a few sequel scenes in mind that are absolutely awesome and that I would love to make, but first Reina Reborn and Reborn Cinema have to get some traction to justify it. It's part of why we don't have subscriptions with recurring payments: I'm not totally sure if we'll be having lots of new content. I would love to…”
To watch trailers and scenes from Reina Reborn or the full movie, visit RebornCinema.com.
Find the Reina Reborn original soundtrack on Spotify and YouTube Music.
Follow Reborn Cinema on X @RebornCinemax.
