Everything I Thought I Knew About Sex

Deep Throat: When Porn Makes Its Premiere

2022

Deep Throat, a pornographic film directed by Gerard Damiano, a film-loving hairdresser, and starring Linda Lovelace, a shy girl manipulated by a controlling husband, was released in 1972 and divided audiences, who began to talk openly about sex, desire and female pleasure; but also about violence and abuse; and about pornography, until then an almost clandestine industry, as a revolutionary cultural phenomenon.

Madonna: Truth or Dare

1991

From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.

Inside Deep Throat

2005

In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.

Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story

2014

Back Issues is the definitive documentary of porn magazine Hustler, from its nightclub inception as it adapts to pornography in the 21st century. Director Michael Lee Nirenberg's father was was one of the original art directors in the 1970s and 80s. Back Issues is a complete look at the personalities and features that made this the most offensive magazine of all time. The story is told by its publisher as well as the editors, cartoonists, models, attorneys, art directors and cultural figures for the first time ever.

Do I Sound Gay?

2015

What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.

Hold on Tight

2011

A short documentary exploring the ways LGBT couples show affection, and how small interactions like holding hands in public can carry, not only huge personal significance, but also the power to create social change.

Nose and Tina

1980

Nose and Tina are a couple in love. The film captures the domestic details of their life together and documents their hassles with work, money and the law. The unusual bit: He is employed as a brakeman, and she as a sex worker.

Happy Porno? Das Ende der Scham

2015

Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars

2004

A look beyond the shock and inhumanity of prison rape to the intricate social hierarchy that keeps it alive. A filmmaker goes deep inside Alabama's infamous Limestone penitentiary to uncover the long-term causes and consequences of prison rape. With a startling lack of inhibition, five inmates reveal the workings of an elaborate inner society.

James Baldwin Abroad

2023

Showcasing three short films by American writer James Baldwin, wherein he muses about race, sexuality and civil rights, among other topics, in Istanbul, Paris and Great Britain.

Argemira

2019

Heidi im Pornoland

1996

A portrait of porn actress Laetitia Zappa aka. Shalimar, which also explores the porn industry of the 90s.

Somebody's Daughter

2008

Because of the internet's accessibility, anonymity, and affordability, pornography addictions have risen to epidemic levels, destroying intimacy, marriages and families, while distorting our definition of sex and sexuality.

Pandora Peaks

2004

A dialogue-free documentary on former magazine model Pandora Peaks, with narration by Peaks and Meyer.

Playboy: The Story of X

1998

The Story Of X takes you to the earliest days of adult films when men peddled stag reels and projectors out of the trunks of their cars, then through the movie house years to the arrival of the home video business, and now the Internet. Meet the men behind the camera, such as "King of Sexploitation" Dave Friedman and the preeminent breast man Russ Meyer. Considered pariahs at the time, they're now hailed as pioneers in the fight against censorship. The Story of X visits the 60s when women's rights, not nudity, became the issue and recounts porn's arrival in Hollywood, led by director Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango In Paris. In the 70s, several groundbreaking films, including Behind The Green Door featuring Marilyn Chambers and Deep Throat featuring Linda Lovelace, took the genre to a new level.