Adult Doc 'Staying Power' Begins Fundraising

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—The fund raising campaign for in-production documentary Staying Power: The Business and Value of the Adult Entertainment Industry is offering a variety adult entertainment prizes. The campaign, hosted by IndieGoGo.com, gives everyday people the opportunity to support the documentary, which promotes healthy sexual expression. In exchange for donors’ generosity, contribution perks include phone calls from the director and select adult stars, signed swag, private screening admission, video messages from adult stars, or even a set visit to a major adult studio production.To help fund Staying Power: The Business and Value of the Adult Entertainment Industry, click here.“We are truly grateful for any and all donations towards finishing our movie with an important message," director Brandon Longwood said. "To show our appreciation, we’ve structured some great levels of prizes to reward everything from a $5 contribution to donations exceeding $1,000. For anyone who believes society needs to reevaluate the way sex is viewed and discussed, helping to fund our movie, Staying Power will go a long way towards achieving this.”Last week, eyebrows around the indie and adult film industries were raised when it was revealed popular funding platform KickStarter.com refused to host the Staying Power campaign. Media vehicles from LA Weekly, to ZDNet.com and World News reported on the slight.In response to the rejection from KickStarter.com, Longwood said, “The KickStarter decision appears to be made more on the basis of the film's topic than its actual intellectual and journalistic merit, since neither the film, its marketing materials, or contribution rewards are pornographic.  There are R-rated movies and prime time TV shows with more explicit content than what we submitted. Their response represents the type of attitude towards sex and porn that the documentary is looking to address.” The filmmakers describe their movie as revealing "the reality and humanity of those involved in the adult industry, while also demonstrating how society’s ideologies are reflected in porn, as it weaves itself into the fabric of modern culture. This is accomplished through candid and detailed interviews with numerous adult industry professionals, scholars, educators and average Americans from major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles to small towns like Hillsborough, N.C."Interviews already conducted by Longwood and his crew include Joanna Angel, Penthouse’s Kelly Holland, Evil Angel’s John Stagliano, Sara Jay, LFP’s Michael Klein, Jules Jordan, Amber Chase, Takedown Piracy’s Nate Glass, Adam & Eve’s Phil Harvey, Pink Visual’s Allison Vivas, Nina Hartley, and many more.Porn does not exist in a vacuum.  It reflects and critiques society by showing things people think but are afraid to say and desires felt but are afraid to be acted upon.  Porn shakes up one’s quaint daily existence, throwing it back in a way many find irresistible.  In itself, porn is neither evil nor harmful; but how people choose to deal with it can be. It is a mirror of society’s sexuality and includes aspects many have been reluctant to address or discuss outside of porn.  From the men and women who put in countless hours to produce and distributeporn, to the ordinary people who put in countless hours enjoying it, porn, sex, and society are inextricably linked. For information about the Staying Power funding campaign, interested donors may follow the documentary’s progression through social media at Twitter.com/StayingPowerDoc and Facebook.com/StayingPower.