San Clemente, Calif., Aug. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magic Lantern Pictures and Exodus Cry, a leading global anti-trafficking nonprofit organization and award-winning film production company, tonight will release “Barely Legal,” the first of three episodes in its new, highly provocative investigative documentary miniseries exposing the horrific injustices, tragedies, and players of the porn industry. Beyond Fantasy, produced and directed by Benjamin Nolot, founder and CEO of Exodus Cry, will premiere on YouTube at 6 p.m. PDT tonight at beyondfantasy.com/watch. The trailer for Barely Legal can be viewed at Barely Legal Trailer
The other two Beyond Fantasy episodes, “Hardcore” and “Unsafe Sex,” will be released in September. The press kit and photos can be found at: Beyond Fantasy Press Kit & Photos.
Beyond Fantasy Summary
Beyond Fantasy is a three-part documentary miniseries exposing the porn industry, taking viewers into the belly of the beast, and bringing them face-to-face with some of the biggest porn producers and performers. In the films, they describe an industry that profits from ethics violations, coercion, and abuse.
Beyond Fantasy spotlights prominent porn veterans, including producer Max Hardcore, a porn hall of famer and pioneer of hardcore pornography, and Nina Hartley, a highly awarded performer and industry spokesperson, as they make alarming confessions about the content they’ve created for millions of viewers. The Beyond Fantasy series enables the industry to speak for itself and unveils a disturbing side of mainstream porn that has long been concealed from the public.
“Beyond Fantasy is a hard-hitting exposé that sheds light on the most crucial issues facing the porn industry and our world,” said Benjamin Nolot, who spent eight years researching and investigating the porn industry to produce the series. “While it is difficult content to watch, it’s something that can’t be ignored. I believe it will catalyze critical awareness and change.”
Summary of Episode 1: “Barely Legal”
“Barely Legal,” the first of the three episodes, to be released tonight, highlights the teen genre, porn’s most popular category. Porn industry insiders reveal how producers cast aside ethical boundaries to create content which promotes the fantasy of sex with children. Amid pigtails, playgrounds, and teddy bears, grown men act out sexual fantasies with performers who are at least 18 in real life, but are made to look and act like children.
Teens are recruited into porn because of their youthful appearance. As one porn producer put it, “We want fresh meat.” Another producer said, “She looked like she was about 14 years old, so I knew we were gonna be able to make a lot of money from this girl.”
Summary of Episode 2: “Hardcore”
“Hardcore,” will be released Thursday, Sept. 8. Through a bold examination of a porn genre rife with choking, slapping, degradation, and sexual assault fantasies, “Hardcore” spotlights porn producers and performers as they speak with jaw-dropping honesty about the cost of creating rape scenes, packaged for the pleasure of the masses. The trailer will be released on Sept. 1.
This episode examines how producers have taken drastic measures to keep profits flowing, embracing the creation of unapologetically violent content. But behind the veil of consent, the women and girls performing these sex acts are often inflicted with grave physical and psychological trauma.
“I did a scene where I was put with male talent that was on my ‘no list.’ I wanted to please them, so I did it. He stepped on my head… I freaked out and started bawling; they stopped filming and sent me home with reduced pay since they got some shots but not the whole scene.” - Jessi, ex-porn performer.
Summary of Episode 3: “Unsafe Sex”
“Unsafe Sex” will be released Wednesday, Sept. 28. In this documentary, porn performers blow the whistle on the appalling lack of workplace safety measures, which puts them at risk for incurable infections like HIV, exposing a failed system that treats them like expendable commodities. Weeks after porn performer Cameron Bay took part in a public humiliation sex scene produced by a major porn company, she tearfully announced that she had contracted HIV. The film investigates the porn industry’s rug-sweeping complicity in endangering lives of performers who are, by design, kept in the dark until it's too late. The trailer will be released Sept. 22.
“Beyond Fantasy is a powerful series that uncovers the horrors girls and women face in the sex industry,” said Dr. Caroline Heldman, professor of Critical Theory and Social Justice at Occidental College in Los Angeles. “This documentary leaves no doubt that women in the sex industry face uniquely degrading and violent experiences, and we do a disservice to all women when we ignore whistleblowers in the porn industry.”
Max Hardcore
"On the [porn] set, she's shivering and completely dominated... we just lay it on harder... until they snap. Until we find the end. So, I am guilty of that." Max Hardcore, porn producer and performer.
Paul F. Little is an American pornographic actor, producer, and director better known by his stage name Max Hardcore. His work has been described as "testing the limits of acceptability.” Max is prominently featured in Exodus Cry’s Beyond Fantasy three-part documentary series. His interviews are brutally honest as he describes his part in an industry that profits from ethical violation, coercion, and abuse.
In the “Hardcore” episode, Max shares his philosophy of how he treats young female performers. “They’re young and healthy, but I’m more powerful and I completely dominate them, and push them down, and hold them, and put their arms behind their back, and pull the hair, and spank ‘em, and slap ‘em until you finally break ‘em down and leave them on a heap on the floor. And sometimes they break completely and start crying… all this has been in my videos.”
“It’s time to expose people like Max Hardcore and the violent and abusive ways he treats girls when shooting porn sex scenes. He and others who have followed in his footsteps must be stopped,” Nolot emphasized. “Max uses violentand sadistic methods when shooting his films, often leaving the female performers physically injured and emotionally traumatized.”
About Magic Lantern Pictures
Magic Lantern Pictures is a film production studio creating unflinching documentary films which bring viewers to the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. Its feature films include Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution (2017), which was acquired by Netflix, Raised on Porn (2021), which was screened at a national symposium for Members of Congress and congressional staff in Washington, D.C., and the Beyond Fantasy (2022) miniseries. Its films, which feature foremost experts and survivors of sexual exploitation, have amassed millions of views from audiences around the world, and supported critical social activism campaigns.
About Exodus Cry
Exodus Cry (EC), is a leading global anti-trafficking nonprofit organization focused on ending widespread sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, assisting, and empowering its victims, and educating the public about these horrific crimes. EC is focused on spotlighting the root causes of sexual exploitation and activating people to join the global movement against this injustice. Its award-winning films and social content have received tens of millions of views worldwide, been promoted by celebrities, and helped shape global legislation after being seen by audiences at the United Nations, U.S. Congress, and both the Canadian and United Kingdom Parliaments. Driven by the belief that every person should be free of exploitation, EC’s outreach teams have reached over 5,000 exploited women and children in 12 countries and trained more than 3,000 individuals in outreach and intervention in 28 countries. EC is based in Southern California (USA) and was founded in 2008. Learn more at exoduscry.com, and follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @exoduscry.
Exodus Cry is available for live or taped media interviews, in-person/studio, ZOOM, SKYPE, or phone.
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