Puzzy Power

Puzzy Power (aka HotMale) is a Danish film company started in 1997 as a subsidiary to Lars von Trier's company Zentropa, with the goal of producing hardcore pornographic films for women. It is the first and only time ever a mainstream film company has openly produced hardcore porno films [AVN Europe, November 2007, page 13] . .

The initiative was taken by producer Lene Børglum, who as leader of Puzzy Power gathered a group of women (sexologist Gerd Winther, editor Lili Henriksen, porn model and journalist Christina Lohse, line-producer Vibeke Windeløv and production assistant Mette Nelund) and developed a so-called "Statement on women and sensuality", later called The Puzzy Power Manifesto. The manifesto was shaped as a guide for the production of erotic films for women.

Filmography

= "Constance" =

The first film produced by Puzzy Power was "Constance" (1998), directed by Knud Vesterskov with Katja Kean, Anaïs and Mark Duran in the leading roles. It tells the story of a young woman, Constance, who arrives at the experienced Lola's house, where she is initiated into the mysteries of sexuality. The story is told in flashback via a framing devise with lyrical diary excerpts and naration read by mainstream actresses Christiane Bjørg Nielsen and Hella Joof.

"Pink Prison"

The second film was "Pink Prison" (1999), directed by Lisbeth Lynghøft with Katja Kean and Mr. Marcus in the leads. It's about the photo journalist Mila, who infiltrates a men's penitentiary in hope of obtaining an exclusive interview with the prison warden. The film, which culminates in a lesbian scene with religious subtext, was filmed in the prison set from Lars von Triers film "Dancer in the Dark" (2000).

Both "Constance" and "Pink Prison" received international attention and became the best selling sex videos in Scandinavia. In 2001, "Constance" was nominated for three AVN Awards for Best Art Direction, Best Music and Best Videography. In 2003, "Pink Prison" won a Venus Award as Best Scandinavian Film. On March 12 2006 pornography was legalized in Norway, following a case which involved a positive qualitative appraisal of "Constance" and "Pink Prison". [http://medietilsynet.no/om/nyhetsarkiv/filmklagenemnda0906]

"HotMen CoolBoyz"

The third film was the gay feature "HotMen CoolBoyz" (2000), directed by Knud Vesterskov and starring Ron Athey and Billy Herrington. In this connection, the Puzzy Power company called itself HotMale. The film was no financial success, but was nominated for five GayVN Awards, including Best Foreign Film.

Restructuring

At the start of 2001, Zentropa's CEO Peter Aalbæk Jensen announced his intention to close Puzzy Power, which he claimed had been a financial disappointment. Both "Constance" and "Pink Prison" were however still ranking high on international sales lists, and soon after "HotMen CoolBoyz" was released as an international deluxe DVD-edition. Puzzy Power was not closed, but continued administrating the distribution and income of its three feature productions.

The task of producing new sex films for Zentropa went to a new subsidiary (later independent) company, Innocent Pictures. The two first productions from Innocent Pictures were the educational DVD "Femi-X and Beyond" (2004), directed by Nicolas Barbano with Joan Ørting as host, and the feature film "All About Anna" (2005), directed by Jessica Nilsson and starring Gry Bay and Mark Stevens. In spite of a difficult production, "All About Anna" became an even bigger success than both "Constance" and "Pink Prison".

The full story of Puzzy Power and Innocent Pictures is told in Thomas Vilhelm's book "Filmbyen" (Ekstra Bladets Forlag, 2007).

Sources

* [http://imdb.com/company/co0078722/ Puzzy Power] at IMDb
* [http://imdb.com/company/co0075537/ HotMale] at IMDb
* [http://www.innocentpictures.com Innocent Pictures official site]
* [http://www.constance.dk "Constance" official site]
* [http://www.pinkprison.dk "Pink Prison" official site]
* [http://www.hotmencoolboyz.dk "HotMen CoolBoyz" official site]
* [http://www.innocentpictures.com/constance_en_manifest.htm The Puzzy Power Manifesto]
* [http://medietilsynet.no/om/nyhetsarkiv/filmklagenemnda0906 Norwegian Media Authority none-censorship decision]

References