PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Angie Rowntree returned to Brown University last week to present a talk on ethics, filmmaking and the power of narrative storytelling in adult content to students taking a course on pornography.
The accomplished adult and indie director has visited the Ivy League school on previous occasions, to discuss her work and speak on related topics.
Prior to Rowntree’s May 4 appearance, the students prepared by watching two Sssh films, “Alla Prima” and “Mirror Game.”
Rowntree described “Alla Prima” as “a literal and simmering combination of art and sexual fantasy told through touch and color,” and “Mirror Game” as a supernatural thriller. "Mirror Game" won the XBIZ Award for “Erotic-Themed Movie of the Year” in 2021.
“Obviously these are two very different films in terms of their subject matter, so it was perfect for a comparative take,” she added. “In the case of 'Mirror Game,' for instance, it’s easy to see how the sex is about the characters, not the actors, and also how the sex is really 'in character' and used to move the story forward.”
“We also discussed how, in both films, the music becomes another character in as far as how it impacts the tone and the storytelling,” Rowntree said.
The filmmaker and studio head also demonstrated the studio's video-viewing platform, Soiree, for the class.
“I created Soiree not only to help people struggling with loneliness during the pandemic, but also to provide a way to combine porn and intimacy, as your time spent in Soiree is always a shared experience,” Rowntree explained.
The students then watched Rowntree’s 2015 film “Gone,” a drama about passion and bereavement. “I was truly flattered by what people said about 'Gone,' particularly that it was the only adult movie they had seen with that amount of depth and that tackled such a difficult topic,” she noted.
Although originally slated for a 90-minute lecture, Rowntree spoke for almost three hours because, she said, the students "asked so many compelling and nuanced questions."
"It was truly inspiring to encounter this group of students who not only care about their porn being made ethically, but they were also engaged with the storytelling elements, and are truly open to seeing how porn can be as artistic and impactful as it is explicit," she said.
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