Women Porn Directors

Sisters Doin’ It for Themselves

By Alicia Guinn, Babeland Sex Educator

In the past five years, women porn directors have come into their own. Women directors are at the forefront of sexy, award-winning, innovative adult productions.  From traditional couple’s fare to hardcore mainstream girl-on-girl to hot dyke porn, women directors are questioning assumptions about what women’s porn “should be” and are catering to a diversity of tastes.

Tristan Taormino

Better known as a sex educator, advice columnist, and the author of The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women, Tristan Taormino has started directing some of the most creative mainstream porn movies on the market.

Her latest movie, Chemistry, won an AVN Award for the Best Gonzo Release of 2007.   Her directorial debut, House of Ass, won at the Feminist Porn Awards for the Hottest Anal Adventure in 2006.

Taormino’s secret to success isn’t better film quality or a better soundtrack.  Her skill lies in eliciting hot, enthusiastic performances from well-known stars like Mr. Marcus and Joanna Angel.  In her reality TV-style movies, porn stars decide the who, where, what, and when of their scenes.  They even film each other.  The performers’ control over their performance translates into fun, authentic scenes that titillate viewers who are tired of half-hearted, plug-in-socket porn.

Babeland Favorite: Chemistry

Anna Span

The first female porn director from the U.K., Anna Span specializes in glossy, independent productions with amateur actors.  A member of Feminists Against Censorship, Span earned an arts degree in film and video, and her dissertation was a manifesto on women-centered porn.  Her movies are distributed through her own distribution company, Easy on the Eye Productions.

Anna Span’s movies highlight amateurs with beautiful, natural bodies who interact in casual, authentic scenes.  Span places utmost importance on the comfort of her sets, even hiring all-female film crews to make her female performers feel more comfortable.  The result is that the performances come across as genuine and relaxed.  

Her movies include a hint of a plot, more dialogue than mainstream films, and sex toys.  Span is known for hiring, unknown good-looking male performers.  Her movies a good bet for folks who like high-quality, independent porn and love British accents.

Babeland Favorites: Hoxton Honey, Uniform Behaviour

Belladonna

Since 2002, Belladonna has won numerous AVN awards for her scorching hot performances.  She’s known for her nasty hot talk, accomplished anal abilities, and her gorgeous, natural tattooed body. But what makes her performances so memorable is her overwhelming enthusiasm for sex.  

Belladonna made her directorial debut in 2003 with the scorching hot Evil Pink and has gone on to direct more than twenty movies for Evil Angel Video.  Her movie Belladonna’s Fucking Girls won an AVN Award in 2006 for Best All-Girl Feature.  

Belladonna’s specialty is hardcore girl-on-girl movies that usually feature herself along with other porn stars.  Her movies are full to the brim with dirty talking, contortionist antics, and her giddy performances.  They aren’t for the faint of heart.

Babeland Favorite: Belladonna’s Fucking Girls

Candida Royalle

Candida Royalle pioneered the genre of couple’s porn in the mid-80’s.  She started her career as an successful porn star during the 70s but founded Femme Productions in 1984 to cater to couples, a niche market she saw neglected by the mainstream porn industry.

Candida Royalle’s movies are the epitome of the couple’s genre—lots of foreplay, dialogue, and a particular focus on women’s orgasms.  Her movies feature mainstream porn stars and well-developed plots.  They are a hit with folks who like context with their sex and are a safe first bet for couples venturing into the world of porn for the first time.

Royalle is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame, and she won an award for Lifetime Achievement in Women's Erotica at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2006.

Babeland Favorites: My Surrender, Eyes of Desire 2

Veronica Hart

Another former porn star from the Golden Age of Porn, Veronica Hart started directing and producing films in the mid-90s.  She also works within the mainstream porn industry with well-known stars like Chloe and Nina Hartley.  She has directed the “comeback” films of porn stars Marilyn Chambers and Ginger Lynn.

Hart earned a B.A. in theater, and her background in acting is evident in her productions.  Her movies combine the best of the mainstream porn industry with more intriguing plots and surprising, creative scenes.  Edge Play remains a favorite for the quality of acting, innovative plot, and sexual tension between characters.

Hart has directed more than 20 movies and is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame.

Babeland Favorites: Edge Play

Shine Louise Houston

In the past year The Crash Pad has been a phenomenon among folks hungry for hot, slick-looking dyke porn.  The director, Shine Louise Houston, has a B.F.A. in film from the San Francisco Art Institute and a background in sex education.

As a sex educator for Good Vibrations, the woman-run sex shop in San Francisco, Shine Louise Houston was frustrated by the lack of authentic, sexy dyke porn films to recommend to customers,.  Houston decided to put her degree to work by founding Pink and White Productions with the goal of making “high quality, sensual, queer, adult videos.”

Houston’s independent movies feature queer performers in hot situations.  Butches and strap-ons abound.  As an added bonus, the movies look good.  The production quality is consistently high. 

 The Crash Pad won an award for the Hottest Dyke Sex Scene at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2006.

Babeland Favorites: The Crash Pad, Superfreak

Also Recommended:

• All women-directed adult DVDs
  

• Oscars of Porn (Award-winning adult films)
• How to Choose an Adult Film