For some years, Yavuz Kurtulmus had already organized a series of Porn Nights in Vienna, which were received enthusiastically. First ideas were tossed around to expand that concept and organize a whole festival dedicated to pornography and sexuality. In mid-2017, four wildly enthusiastic people from different cultural fields teamed up to form the core team of this new endeavor.
It was the start of the Porn Film Festival Vienna and led to much uproar, not only in the Viennese art and cultural sphere, but also in Austria's political landscape. The Porn Film Festival Vienna launched its first edition in March 2018 by posing an easy (yet strangely hard to answer) question: "What is porn?" It was an instant success.
The second edition was held April 2019 and presented a new question - “What is shame?” Its prime directive is to present the creativity and political possibilities of a defining (yet always hidden) part of society. The goal is to challenge prejudices and stereotypes. At the moment the core team consists of Yavuz Kurtulmus and Jasmin Hagendorfer and Adrineh Simonian, who are planning and organizing the festival.
2023 sees the festival return april 12-16, still with the challenging objective to showcase and celebrate the colorful diversity of porn, and stimulate an open, societal debate. Its mission is to bring a genre back into the public sphere of the cinema that is usually locked away in private quarters.
The festival offers a film and theory program that breaks the monotony of boring cheesy mainstream porn - to proudly present feminist, queer & LGBTQIA+ positions. The program is carefully curated selection of feature, documentary and short films depicting a wide variety of sexual orientations, identities, and body norms. Expect everything but boring cheesy mainstream porn. Q&As with filmmakers, panel discussions, lectures, and our legendary workshops complement the five days.
The Porn Film Festival Vienna wants to create an open and welcoming space for reception, discussion, and reflection. It aims to challenge and broaden horizons. Our vision is to create a safe space to collectively discuss and reflect on pornography, sexuality and sexual identity. Because porn can be: sensual, honest, friendly and self-determined!
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