Ovidie
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Ovidie is a French director, actress, producer, journalist, ex porn actress and a writer. First known as a porn actress from 1999 to 2003, she has since directed
pornographic films Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotica ...
as well as
documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
and has written several books.


Overview

Ovidie refused to give her real name to the press. Her parents are liberals from "a good family background" who were teachers in 2003. She was married; her husband left a teaching position at the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
to edit a pornographic magazine. They later divorced, but her job was not a factor in the divorce. Ovidie has denied entering the
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
industry for either sex or money, describing herself as middle class. Her involvement in
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
and
choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
, and her interest in expression of the human body, played a part in attracting her to the industry. At the time she became a pornographic actress, she described herself as a " very active militant feminist". She first viewed pornography to get a sense of the injustice that was being perpetrated on female industry workers. She found herself surprised when female porn stars, who she once felt sorry for, impressed her with their powerful sexual images. Wanting to attain this same kind of sexual strength, which seemed compatible with feminist ideals, she began acting in pornographic films. She told ''The Times Magazine'' "I am interested in these sort of experiences not just because I am perverse, which as you have seen I can be when I want to be. No, it's because not everyone can achieve them." During her active career as pornographic performer, she rarely did
anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. ...
scenes, and she required her partners to use a
condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female con ...
in every role except her first. Ovidie was an active porn performer until 2003, when she was featured in the porn/mainstream crossover film ''
All About Anna ''All About Anna'' is a 2005 Danish erotic film directed by Jessica Nilsson and starring Gry Bay and Mark Stevens. The film is explicit in its exploration of sexual relationships. It is a co-production between Innocent Pictures and Lars von ...
''. She has also been active as a porn director, both during her years as a performer and afterward. After only one year of performing, her first film as a director, ''Orgie en Noir'' (2000), was produced by Marc Dorcel. Since then, she has directed a number of women-friendly videos for Marc Dorcel, Blue One, VCommunications, and Canal +. She is considered as a specialist of porn made by women, for women. Until 2005, she owned a
sex shop A sex shop is a retailer that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, pornography, and other related products. An early precursor of the modern sex shop was a chain of stores set up in t ...
that catered to women only. In May 2008, she started directing videos for the sex education channel FrenchLover TV. , she was FrenchLover TV's Program Director. She also used to host a weekly talk show on the channel. She left the company FrechLover TV in October 2015 to focus on her career as a journalist. She has worked for
Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety o ...
,
Council of The European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
,
France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...
, and
Canal + Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
. She has also been a columnist for French newspaper
Metronews Metro International is a Swedish global media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the ''Metro'' newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41 percent since launch of the first news ...
since December 2012. In 2002, she published her first book, ''Porno Manifesto'', which she said she wrote because she was angry about the ignorance about pornography. She wrote 11 books, most of them about female sexuality (''Osez découvrir le point G'', ''La sexualité féminine de A à Z''...), but also about pregnancy (''Osez l'amour durant la grossesse''), philosophy (''Sexe Philo''), and Punk Rock (''Metal Urbain : a good hippie is a dead one''). She said that she only studied philosophy so that she could understand porn; her 2012 book ''Sexe Philo'' was written in collaboration with philosophy Ph.D. Francis Métivier (fr). In 2006, she started writing and directing political documentaries. In November 2011, her movie ''Rhabillage'', produced by French director
Jean-Jacques Beineix Jean-Jacques Beineix (; 8 October 1946 – 13 January 2022) was a French film director best known for the films ''Diva'' and '' Betty Blue''. His work is regarded as a prime example of the '' cinéma du look'' film movement in France. Early lif ...
, was aired on French national television
France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...
with 6 million viewers. In 2015 she directed ''À quoi rêvent les jeunes filles ?'', a documentary about the sexuality of millennials aired on France 2. Her 2018 documentary ''Là où les putains n'existent pas'' deals with the case of the murdered Swedish prostitute and activist
Eva Marree Kullander Smith Eva Marree Kullander Smith (17 April 1986 – 11 July 2013), also known as Petite Jasmine, was a Swedish woman who lost custody of her two children to her abusive ex-boyfriend when authorities learned about her job as an escort girl which she onl ...
. Ovidie is a devout
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
and a campaigner for
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
.


Filmography

Ovidie has appeared in mainstream movies, such as ''
Mortel Transfert ''Mortel Transfert'' is a Franco-German thriller, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jean-Pierre Gattégno. The music was provided by the composer of '' Roselyne et les lions'', Reinhardt Wagner.Phil Powr ...
'' (2001) by Jean-Jacques Beineix and ''
Le Pornographe ''The Pornographer'' (french: Le Pornographe) is a 2001 erotic drama film written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, who co-wrote the music score with Laurie Markovitch. The film features an explicit sex scene with two pornographic actors, Ovidie ...
'' (''The Pornographer,'' 2001) by
Bertrand Bonello Bertrand Bonello (; born 11 September 1968) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer and composer. His background is in classical music, and he lives between Paris and Montreal. His work has also been associated with the New French Extre ...
. In the latter film, she performs an unsimulated sex scene. She also appears in the 2005 Danish film ''
All About Anna ''All About Anna'' is a 2005 Danish erotic film directed by Jessica Nilsson and starring Gry Bay and Mark Stevens. The film is explicit in its exploration of sexual relationships. It is a co-production between Innocent Pictures and Lars von ...
'', produced by
Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...
's
Zentropa Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Zentropa is named after the train company Zentropa in the film '' Europa'' (1991), which started the col ...
, where she performed explicit and unsimulated
oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex p ...
on mainstream actress/singer Gry Bay; in a twist typical of Zentropa films, she is the only porn star in the film's cast, yet stands out as she does not appear nude in the film (only Gry Bay is undressed during their
sex scene Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of human sexuality, sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religi ...
). She also starred in the 2007
Jean Rollin Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil (3 November 193815 December 2010) was a French film director, actor, and novelist best known for his work in the fantastique genre. Overview Rollins' career, spanning over fifty years, featured early short film ...
film '' La nuit des horloges'', and in 2016 she appeared in '' Saint-Amour'', directed by
Benoît Delépine Benoît Delépine (born 30 August 1958) is a French comedian and film director. He is known for his satirical activities on TV channel Canal+. Director of the TV program '' Guignols de l'info'' for many years, he currently writes TV programs abo ...
and
Gustave Kervern Gustave Kervern (born 27 August 1962), also known as Gustave de Kervern and Gustave K/Vern, is a French actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaboration with Benoît Delépine. Life and career In 2004 he wrote, directed, ...
, with
Benoît Poelvoorde Benoît Poelvoorde (, ; born 22 September 1964) is a Belgian actor and comedian. Early life His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still a minor. He attended the Jesuit Boarding School of Godinne before ...
and
Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...
. Ovidie directed the 2017 documentar
"Pornocracy: The New Sex Multinationals"
about the transformation of the adult film industry into an oligopoly.


Music

Ovidie has also been active in musical circles, organizing underground concerts within
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
for
martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
musicians such as Dernière Volonté, Position Parallèle, and others. In 2006, she directed 8 music videos for French electro punk band Metal Urbain. In 2009, Ovidie directed and performed in a
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
by the German
electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...
/
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
band The World Domination. In 2012, she wrote, with French punk rocker Eric Debris, ''Metal Urbain: a good hippie is a dead one'' which has a preface by American punk rocker
Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...
.


Titles and awards

During five years in the porn business, Ovidie appeared in more than 60 movies and received seven awards: * Bruxelles 2001 * 2001
Hot d'Or Hot d'Or ( en, Golden Hot) was an adult film industry pornographic award, awarded annually from 1992 to 2001 in Cannes, France * Bruxelles 2002 * 2002
Ninfa Award Ninfa may refer to: * Garden of Ninfa, a landscape garden in central Italy * Santa Ninfa, a town and comune in Sicily, southern Italy * Punta Ninfas in Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina * Ninfa, a 12th-13th centuries town in Italy, near Norba ...
- Best Actress (Public) * Bruxelles 2003 * 2004
European X Award The Brussels International Festival of Eroticism (Dutch: ''Internationaal Erotica Festival van Brussel'', French: ''Festival International de l'Érotisme de Bruxelles'') is a trade show for the European adult entertainment industry held each Feb ...
nominee - Best Actress (France) * 2009 Hot d'Or Honorary Award * 2013
Feminist Porn Award The Feminist Porn Awards (FPAs) is an annual adult film awards ceremony that began in 2006, and was initially organized by the Good for Her adult store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Until 2014, the ceremony was officially known as the Good for ...
- Movie of the Year * 2014
Feminist Porn Award The Feminist Porn Awards (FPAs) is an annual adult film awards ceremony that began in 2006, and was initially organized by the Good for Her adult store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Until 2014, the ceremony was officially known as the Good for ...
- Best Director


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1980 births Living people French pornographic film actresses French pornographic film directors French pornographic film producers French feminists French journalists Sex educators Sex-positive feminists Women pornographic film directors