“Emotion is hot… no matter what the emotion is, it’s really hot.”
Screened during San Francisco PornFilmFestival’s Pre-Show program, Kitchen Talk is an essential and beautiful short film, recognizing the emotions, struggles and hopes of the creators that make the porn we love.
During Berlin Porn Film Festival in 2017, twelve BIPOC porn creators came together to film co-created content, capturing a beautiful moment of connection during the shoot. This 5-minute film places the viewer inside a much-needed emotional ritual, as the creators come together and discuss their hopes, disappointments and need for BIPOC connection within the porn industry.
We join the group as they profess, through tears, what’s missing for them in sex work. Priestess and Dominant Caritia explains that for her, it’s the emotion. Beyond glamour, beyond happiness, beyond sexiness, it’s important to document the emotional side of BIPOC in porn, to acknowledge and celebrate the beauty that can be found there. For Performer and Educator Lina Bembe, this kind of space is important for sex workers who may not be entirely happy in their work at that time, to find strength, reassess, and make change for themselves. To heal. For Director Jasco Viefhues, it’s important to understand and reclaim this sacred space between BIPOC people, especially those in porn, a space which has been taken away, stolen, abused.
We’re all aware of the fetishization of BIPOC people in porn. Marginalized creators have always battled against it, while the mainstream porn industry has perpetuated harmful stereotypes and created difficult careers for those who stood up to it. For the Kitchen Talk participants, in 2017, the stereotyping, marginalization and outright racism is all too rife. This year it finally feels like the seeds of change are taking hold, with studios changing labels and creating BIPOC town halls to hear creators’ perspectives. Let’s be honest though, the work is only just starting. There was, and always will be, a need for these safe spaces. A way for creators to connect and find strength to go out and change the narrative – to make what needs to be made and take care of themselves, and each other, along the way.
This film, along with many of the films streamed at San Francisco Porn Film Festival 2020, is available at PinkLabel.TV
R.T. Collins (aka Disco) is a porn reviewer, sex writer and body positivity advocate. See more of their work on Medium and follow them on Twitter @DiscoWrites.