State of the Art

Sex/Crime

by Nicholas Patterson

It's a week of women, sex, and Homicide at the Coolidge Corner Theatre this week; but of course we'll start with the sex.

"Above all, I want to give a voice to women's sexuality," explains former porn star and pioneer feminist-porn director/producer Candida Royalle -- who comes to the Coolidge on May 4 for a screening of clips from her films -- during a recent phone conversation from her production offices in New York. And how. Along with Annie Sprinkle and Susie Bright, Royalle has been one of the leaders of a movement to create pornography in which women's sexual needs are addressed and afforded a measure of respect. In the process she's joined a very elite club: the respectable pornographer.

At the Coolidge, she says, "I'll start the show with clips from some of the films I starred in, segments of ones I directed, and parts of TV interviews I've done. Then I'll talk about the concept behind my work and how people can use my movies to improve their relationships. Finally, there will be a Q&A session where people talk about things they usually don't get to discuss. I like the challenge of seeing what people will ask me."

Royalle has plenty of experience to draw on. She got involved with pornography in the late 1970s. Over the next five years, she made some 25 films before getting out of the business in the early 1980s. "I put myself into therapy to understand why I had made the choices I had. Ironically, my attempt to put closure on this period of my life led me to want to create erotica from a woman's point of view. I came to the conclusion that most of the [pornographic] material was sex-negative, because we live in a culture where a lot of shame and hypocrisy is tied to sex. I decided to present sex as a natural, beautiful gift."

In 1984, Royalle started Femme Productions (www.royalle.com), through which she has directed 10 films and produced 14; her films stood out by putting relationships and romance above explicit sex. "My movies have foreplay and after-play. There are almost never `money shots' in my movies because I think they're degrading. Instead, many of my actors wear condoms. I like to use real-life couples because it's easier to get genuine heat and feeling between them."

On to crime. The Studio, a Brookline clothing store, hosts an evening with the women of the NBC drama series Homicide: Life on the Street on May 7, in honor of the shop's 20th anniversary. A screening of the episode "The Why Chromosome" will be followed by a panel discussion featuring members of Homicide's cast and crew. All proceeds for this event will benefit the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation and the Home for Little Wanderers. The evening is made possible by Anya Epstein, who wrote and co-produced the episode -- and is a daughter of one of the Studio's owners. "I've been seeing movies at the Coolidge since I was a kid," says Epstein. "It's great to be able to draw attention to women in entertainment and at the same time raise money for the theater."

Candida Royalle comes to the Coolidge Corner Theatre this Tuesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. She'll also present a class on vibrators at Grand Opening! in Brookline on May 5 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Call 731-2626. The Studio brings the women of Homicide to the Coolidge on May 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7. Call 734-2501.