9to5 – Days in Porn
Encyclopedia
9to5 – Days in Porn is a 2008 German documentary film
about the United States porn industry written and directed by Jens Hoffmann. It is also known as "The Porn Diaries".
, where 80% of American pornography films are produced. With an emphasis on the actors themselves, the documentary includes individuals involved in production.
The documentary first screened at the Montréal Film Festival in August 2008. It was released to the Europe
an film market in February 2009 with a world premiere in Berlin, Germany. It then screened in March 2009 at the Miami International Film Festival
and the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
in March, and in June at the Bellaria Film Festival, in Bellaria, Italy.
wrote that while the documentary "deserves credit for trying to find as many angles from which to look at an industry as successful as it is loathed", it dealt too much with "vacuous porn star confessionals", its scope was too wide, the film lacked organization, and that "its take on the biz sometimes seems less complex than schizophrenic."
Conversely, Cameron McGaughy of DVD Talk
wrote that whether "you're a porn addict, a lover of revealing documentaries or just a curious voyeur, you certainly won't be bored with these 100 minutes." He felt that director Hoffman kept enough distance from the subject matter to allow viewers to decide for themselves. McGaughy was "surprisingly pleased with Hoffmann's effort", summarising that the film was "amusing, brutal, candid, honest, hysterical and heartbreaking" and that porn aficionados will find themselves "entertained and enlightened".
Daniel Bickermann of Schnitt praised the film, writing "Hoffmanns großes und wichtiges Verdienst ist es dabei, beide Seiten parallel zu zeigen, nie zu urteilen und dabei trotzdem immer echte Sympathie für seine Figuren zu beweisen. So entstehen einige Momente reinster Dokumentarmagie" ("Hoffmann's great and important merit and is to show both sides in parallel, never judging, while still proving genuine sympathy for his characters. This results in some moments of pure documentary magic").
The JoBlo offered that he expected either a "gritty, highly-critical depiction of the porn industry, or a cheap, sexy fluff-piece produced and promoted by the porn industry." In admitting he was wrong in his original expectation, he wrote, "Amazingly, director Jens Hoffman crafts a surprisingly objective film, one that shows both the ups and downs of an industry that contains plenty of them, while avoiding ever preaching to either side."
The Express offered "Hoffmanns Dokumentation wurde auf vielen Filmfestivals gefeiert, erhielt sogar eine Nominierung für den Deutschen Kamerapreis. Und die Kritiker sind sich einig: Der Regisseur porträtiert sensibel und intim, ohne schlüpfrig und voyeuristisch zu werden." ("Hoffmann's documentary was celebrated at many film festivals, even received a nomination for the German Camera. And the critics agree: The director portrayed sensitively and intimately, without having to be slippery and voyeuristic.")
N24
offered "Hoffmann interessiert nicht die milliardenschwere Industrie, die dahinter steckt, ihn interessieren die Leute hinter und vor der Kamera. Er kommt den Akteuren nahe, die Szenen sind intim, aber nie voyeuristisch.". ("Hoffmann isn't interested in the billion-dollar industry that's behind it, he's interested in the people behind and in front of the camera. He gets close to the actors, the scenes are intimate, but never voyeuristic.")
, former porn star and Director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
Dr. Sharon Mitchell
, stripper-turned-porn star/director Belladonna
, as well as Katja Kassin
, Otto Bauer, Sasha Grey
, Nina Hartley
, John Stagliano
, Roxy Deville
, and filmmaker Ed Powers
. Other credited interviewees include American sex therapist Dr. Marty Klein
, American pornographic actors/directors Joanna Angel
, Jonni Darkko
, Kimberly Kane
, Skeeter Kerkove
, Miles Long
, and Pat Myne
, Canadian
pornographic actor and director Erik Everhard
, French
pornographic actor and director Manuel Ferrara
, American porn actresses Monique Alexander
, Ashley Blue
, Cindy Crawford, Jada Fire
, Jesse Jane
, Lexi Love
, Adrianna Nicole
, Gia Paloma
, Chelsie Rae
, Ava Rose
, Sierra Sinn
, Lorelei Lee
, Karen Stagliano, and Bobbi Starr
, Slovak
pornographic actress Claudia Rossi
, British
pornographic actress Sophie Dee
, American porn actors Alex Sanders
, and Johnny Thrust
, adult model
Sandee Westgate
, and American porn producer/director Andrew Blake.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the United States porn industry written and directed by Jens Hoffmann. It is also known as "The Porn Diaries".
Background
The documentary took five years to produce, with over three years filming. Through interviews with 77 persons, the film profiles 10 different members of the U.S.'s porn industry of the San Fernando ValleySan Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, where 80% of American pornography films are produced. With an emphasis on the actors themselves, the documentary includes individuals involved in production.
The documentary first screened at the Montréal Film Festival in August 2008. It was released to the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an film market in February 2009 with a world premiere in Berlin, Germany. It then screened in March 2009 at the Miami International Film Festival
Miami International Film Festival
The Miami International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida in the late winter. The film festival is sponsored by the Miami Film Society, which has been around since 1983....
and the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
The Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...
in March, and in June at the Bellaria Film Festival, in Bellaria, Italy.
Reception
Matt Prigge of Philadelphia WeeklyPhiladelphia Weekly
Philadelphia Weekly , is an award-winning alternative newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published every Wednesday.The paper was founded in 1971 as a sister publication to the South Philadelphia Press. In 1995, the paper became Philadelphia Weekly...
wrote that while the documentary "deserves credit for trying to find as many angles from which to look at an industry as successful as it is loathed", it dealt too much with "vacuous porn star confessionals", its scope was too wide, the film lacked organization, and that "its take on the biz sometimes seems less complex than schizophrenic."
Conversely, Cameron McGaughy of DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
wrote that whether "you're a porn addict, a lover of revealing documentaries or just a curious voyeur, you certainly won't be bored with these 100 minutes." He felt that director Hoffman kept enough distance from the subject matter to allow viewers to decide for themselves. McGaughy was "surprisingly pleased with Hoffmann's effort", summarising that the film was "amusing, brutal, candid, honest, hysterical and heartbreaking" and that porn aficionados will find themselves "entertained and enlightened".
Daniel Bickermann of Schnitt praised the film, writing "Hoffmanns großes und wichtiges Verdienst ist es dabei, beide Seiten parallel zu zeigen, nie zu urteilen und dabei trotzdem immer echte Sympathie für seine Figuren zu beweisen. So entstehen einige Momente reinster Dokumentarmagie" ("Hoffmann's great and important merit and is to show both sides in parallel, never judging, while still proving genuine sympathy for his characters. This results in some moments of pure documentary magic").
The JoBlo offered that he expected either a "gritty, highly-critical depiction of the porn industry, or a cheap, sexy fluff-piece produced and promoted by the porn industry." In admitting he was wrong in his original expectation, he wrote, "Amazingly, director Jens Hoffman crafts a surprisingly objective film, one that shows both the ups and downs of an industry that contains plenty of them, while avoiding ever preaching to either side."
The Express offered "Hoffmanns Dokumentation wurde auf vielen Filmfestivals gefeiert, erhielt sogar eine Nominierung für den Deutschen Kamerapreis. Und die Kritiker sind sich einig: Der Regisseur porträtiert sensibel und intim, ohne schlüpfrig und voyeuristisch zu werden." ("Hoffmann's documentary was celebrated at many film festivals, even received a nomination for the German Camera. And the critics agree: The director portrayed sensitively and intimately, without having to be slippery and voyeuristic.")
N24
N24
N24, N-24 or N.24, may refer to:* N24 , a television channel* N24 , a television channel* N24 Nomad, a twin engine aeroplane built in Australia* the former name of E24 Näringsliv, a Swedish online business newspaper...
offered "Hoffmann interessiert nicht die milliardenschwere Industrie, die dahinter steckt, ihn interessieren die Leute hinter und vor der Kamera. Er kommt den Akteuren nahe, die Szenen sind intim, aber nie voyeuristisch.". ("Hoffmann isn't interested in the billion-dollar industry that's behind it, he's interested in the people behind and in front of the camera. He gets close to the actors, the scenes are intimate, but never voyeuristic.")
Interviews
Among the film's many interviewees are 2006 AVN Award winner Audrey HollanderAudrey Hollander
Audrey Hollander is an American pornographic actress.Her first scene was in the film More Dirty Debutantes 268 with Ed Powers. As of December 2009, she has appeared in over 294 productions and is credited as co-director for the "Otto and Audrey Destroy the World" series of films...
, former porn star and Director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
The Adult Industry Medical Associates P.C. , also known simply as AIM or AIM Medical, was an organization that tested erotic actors for HIV and other STDs on a scheduled basis....
Dr. Sharon Mitchell
Sharon Mitchell
Sharon Mitchell is a former erotic actress, with a pornography career spanning over two decades.- Adult film career :...
, stripper-turned-porn star/director Belladonna
Belladonna (person)
Belladonna is an American pornographic actress and producer.-Early life:Michelle Anne Sinclair was born in Biloxi, Mississippi as the second of seven children. The family had German, Scottish, and Cherokee roots. She experienced her first kiss at age twelve, got her first tattoo at thirteen, and...
, as well as Katja Kassin
Katja Kassin
Katja Kassin is the stage name of former German hardcore pornographic actress.-Biography:...
, Otto Bauer, Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey is an American former pornographic actress, who has since turned to mainstream acting, modeling and music....
, Nina Hartley
Nina Hartley
Nina Hartley is an American pornographic actress, pornographic film director, sex educator, feminist, and author.-Early life:...
, John Stagliano
John Stagliano
John Allen Stagliano , also known as Buttman, is an American entrepreneur, pornographic actor, producer and director, who founded and owns the Evil Angel pornographic film studio.-Early life and career:...
, Roxy Deville
Roxy DeVille
Roxy DeVille is a former pornographic actress. She entered the adult film industry in 2005 at the age of around 23, and appeared in over 220 movies. She pledged never to perform anal sex on camera...
, and filmmaker Ed Powers
Ed Powers
Ed Powers is an American director, producer and actor of hardcore pornographic films. He owns his own production company, Ed Powers Productions.Powers was born in Brooklyn, New York...
. Other credited interviewees include American sex therapist Dr. Marty Klein
Marty Klein
Marty Ralph Klein is an American sex therapist, author, educator and public policy analyst. Klein is critical of censorship, the concepts of "sex addiction" and "porn addiction," and the anti-pornography movement.-Life and career:...
, American pornographic actors/directors Joanna Angel
Joanna Angel
Joanna Angel is an American alternative pornographic actress, director and writer of adult films. She used her real first name of Joanna for her stage name.-Early life:...
, Jonni Darkko
Jonni Darkko
-Biography:Jonni Darkkos career originated in Chicago, Illinois where he trained and worked as a professional photographer focusing on fashion...
, Kimberly Kane
Kimberly Kane
Kimberly Kane is an American pornographic actress and director.She was engaged to the porn director Jack the Zipper for over two years, but they separated in 2006...
, Skeeter Kerkove
Skeeter Kerkove
Skeeter Kerkove is an American pornographic actor and director.He is divorced from porn actress Bridgette Kerkove.-Awards:...
, Miles Long
Miles Long
Miles Long® is an American pornographic movie director, actor, cinematographer, photographer and producer. He entered the adult film industry in 1999. Between 1999 and 2005, he worked primarily as an actor...
, and Pat Myne
Pat Myne
Pat Myne is an American pornographic actor and director.He was previously married to Shelbee Myne, Stormy Daniels and Alektra Blue.-Awards:...
, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
pornographic actor and director Erik Everhard
Erik Everhard
Erik Everhard is a Canadian pornographic actor and director, known for gonzo pornography films.-Biography:...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pornographic actor and director Manuel Ferrara
Manuel Ferrara
Manuel Ferrara is a prolific French pornographic actor and adult film director.Ferrara was originally a protégé of Rocco Siffredi, and had an award winning acting career, making his American acting debut in John Stagliano’s Fashionistas. In 2002 he appeared in Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp...
, American porn actresses Monique Alexander
Monique Alexander
Monique Alexander is an American pornographic actress and nude model.-Career:Alexander began working in the adult industry as a stripper in Sacramento when she was 18, to supplement her daytime earnings as a receptionist. She appeared in several adult magazines with her first photo shoot being...
, Ashley Blue
Ashley Blue
Ashley Blue is an American pornographic actress.-Biography:Ashley Blue has won multiple Adult Video News awards, including 2004 Female Performer of the Year and 2005 Best Supporting Actress. In March, 2004, she signed a three year contract with JM Productions, appearing in the Girlvert series...
, Cindy Crawford, Jada Fire
Jada Fire
Jada Fire is an American pornographic actress.In 2008, she played the role of Condi in the Hustler production Who's Nailin' Paylin?. On January 11, 2011, Fire made a brief cameo in episode "Punching Water" of TNT police drama Southland, as an L.A...
, Jesse Jane
Jesse Jane
Jesse Jane is an American pornographic actress and model.-Early life:Jane was a military brat who grew up on various military bases in the Midwestern United States. She did extensive dance training and was a varsity cheerleader at her high school in Rose Hill, Kansas...
, Lexi Love
Lexi Love
Lexi Love is an American pornographic actress of Sicilian and German descent.Love owns and operates pornographic entertainment company Lexi Love Entertainment.Love has acted in over 350 adult titles and on numerous websites....
, Adrianna Nicole
Adrianna Nicole
Adrianna Nicole is a pornographic actress.She started in the adult film industry in 2000 doing bondage and BDSM work under the name of "Seven". She later changed her stage name to "Petal Benson" in 2002, when she was with noted BDSM artisan Simon Benson, as noted when she began working with...
, Gia Paloma
Gia Paloma
Gia Paloma is a former American pornographic actress and director.-Biography:Paloma grew up in Walnut, California and is of Italian ancestry. Her stage name comes from Gia, a 1998 movie in which Angelina Jolie played model Gia Carangi, and Paloma, the Spanish word for dove and the name of Pablo...
, Chelsie Rae
Chelsie Rae
Chelsie Rae is a pornographic actress.According to the Internet Adult Film Database, Rae's first movie came out in 2005 and she has been in over 170 movies since then...
, Ava Rose
Ava Rose
Ava Rose is an American pornographic actress who entered the industry in 2006 at the age of 20. She is the older sister of Mia Rose.-Biography:...
, Sierra Sinn
Sierra Sinn
Sierra Sinn is a former pornographic actress. She quit the adult business in June 2007 because she regarded the production of sexually explicit films as injurious to her physical and mental health.-Awards:...
, Lorelei Lee
Lorelei Lee (pornographic actress)
Lorelei Lee is the stage name of an American pornographic actress and writer.-Biography:Lorelei Lee debuted in sex industry at the age of 19. She derived her stage name from the Marilyn Monroe's character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes...
, Karen Stagliano, and Bobbi Starr
Bobbi Starr
-Life and career:Bobbi Starr was born in Santa Clara, California, United States. She comes from an Italian/Hungarian family. She graduated from San Jose State University with a music degree and plays the piano and oboe....
, Slovak
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
pornographic actress Claudia Rossi
Claudia Rossi
Claudia Rossi is a Slovak pornographic actress.Rossi began appearing in adult movies in 2003, aged 20, going on to appear in over 200 films in her career...
, British
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
pornographic actress Sophie Dee
Sophie Dee
Sophie Dee is a Welsh hardcore pornographic actress. She entered the adult film industry in 2005, and has since appeared in over 300 movies.-Biography:...
, American porn actors Alex Sanders
Alex Sanders (actor)
Alex Sanders is a veteran pornographic actor who has performed in over 1,500 sex scenes. Sanders, who is still active, began his career as performer in 1993 at the age of 27. He has also directed over 100 adult films...
, and Johnny Thrust
Johnny Thrust
-Awards:*2003 AVN Award nominee – Best Oral Sex Scene in a Video*2004 AVN Award nominee – Best Supporting Actor in a Video*2004 AVN Award nominee – Best Non-Sex Performance in a Film or Video*2004 AVN Award nominee – Most Outrageous Sex Scene...
, adult model
Fetish model
A fetish model is a model who models fetish clothing or devices that augment his or her body in a fetish manner or in fetishistic situations, though he or she may not work exclusively in that form of modeling....
Sandee Westgate
Sandee Westgate
Sandee Westgate is an adult model & adult film star. Westgate was selected Playboy's Cyber Girl of the Week in 2001 and has appeared in over a dozen Playboy Special Editions....
, and American porn producer/director Andrew Blake.