''La Petite Morte'' is a 2003 Canadian documentary directed by

Emmanuelle Schick Garcia Emmanuelle Schick Garcia was born in the south of France to a Spanish mother and a Canadian father. At the age of three her family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where she grew up. Her father, Doug Schick, was a professional r ...

about the pornography business in France, centering on the interviews of Raffaela Anderson,

John B. Root Jean Guilloré, known professionally as John B. Root, is a French director and producer of pornographic films, born on November 28, 1958. Education and early career Jean Guilloré was born in Chambéry. Both his parents were teachers. He spent pa ...

and others. It won three film festival awards for Best Documentary and one nomination for Best Documentary. The title is a reference to " la petite mort", Gallic slang for "the little death", an idiom and euphemism for

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...

Background

Shick Garcia stated the purpose of this documentary was to portray a humane look at people involved with the porn industry. She spent seven months researching for the film, including performing interviews, watching films, and reading about the pornography industry.

Interviewees

Interviewees include

Raffaëla Anderson Raffaëla Anderson (born Malika Amrane on 8 January 1976) is a French former adult film performer. During her porn career, she was often credited as Raphaëlla (also spelled Raphaëla). Career Anderson studied to be a secretary. She entered ...

, Fred Coppula,

Brigitte Lahaie Brigitte Lahaie (born Brigitte Lucie Jeanine Van Meerhaeghe; 12 October 1955) is a French radio talk show host, mainstream film actress and former pornographic actress. She performed in erotic films from 1976 through 1980 and is a member of the ...

Clara Morgane Clara Morgane (; born Emmanuelle Munos, 25 January 1981) is a French singer, media personality, television host and former pornographic actress. Biography Clara Morgane first became notable as a porn star : she started making movies with her b ...

, Francis Mischkind, Oceane, and

. During the interview Anderson talks with Shick Garcia about many subjects revolving around pornography like rape, incest and suicide.

Reception

Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote, "Both Schick and Anderson have too much contempt for porn, its makers and its audience for their tedious film to have much significance."

References

External links

* * (archived March 15, 2008)
''MIT Press''

2003 films 2003 short documentary films Canadian short documentary films Documentary films about pornography French-language Canadian films 2000s Canadian films {{arts-documentary-film-stub