XConfessions

After criticism of the working conditions on Erika Lust’s set became public, she responded by publishing a contract for producers and performers which was inspired by the one elaborated by the fetish site kink.com. Its key priority is consensus. The performers are allowed several breaks, food is provided and a relaxed atmosphere is promised. In addition, all shooting scenes are discussed beforehand. Performers have criticized the set for not being inclusive.

The site states that everyone, from interns to performers, is paid fairly. The amount of the payment is not specified. Performers rate the pay between “okay” and “low”.

(STI prevention / testing; access to safer sex supplies)

There are contractually agreed safer sex standards and it is mandatory to show up on set with a current STI test.

… regarding practices, upload, shooting partners:

After an accusation by a performer that there was an abusive situation, Erika Lust revised the standards on set. There shouldn’t be any surprises on set, the producers go through the scenes with the performers again before the shooting begins. Performers have told us that their boundaries were not sufficiently respected on set.

Erika Lust’s films are aesthetic and of high quality, with female lust often in the center of attention. Many films, however, reproduce rather normative beauty standards. But there are also films with diverse performers. Queer and trans people, black people, and POC are portrayed respectfully and without using problematic categories. A few older and non-standard bodies are also featured. However, POC and trans performers have criticized cultural appropriation and discrimination on set.

On XConfessions there are no categories that we consider to be particularly problematic. There are separate categories for certain countries, e.g. “Very American”, “Very French” or “Very Nordic”. You can also find some unusual categories like “Music” or “Documentary”.

All performers are briefly introduced in a text or an interview and can link their social media channels. All co-productions are also listed here.

One can see that on Lust’s pages there is a lot of skill and expertise behind the website. This is also reflected in the texts. They are creative, appreciative of the performers and make you want to watch the films.

XConfessions is ad-free.

Languages: German, English, Spanish, French

The site is easy to navigate and well designed. You can filter by categories and performers, and there is also a keyword search with filter options. Each genre and film has a description and trailer. However, the trailer is only accessible if you have an account.

Both the directors and the performers have their own space on the site, where they are briefly introduced and an overview of their productions can be found.