Michelle Flynn’s Lightsouthern Studios Gathers ‘Momentum’

This article originally ran in the September 2015 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to see the online edition. Lightsouthern Studios, founded by Australian director Michelle Flynn in 2011, offers this description of its visually stunning erotica on the company website: “sun-kissed Australiana meets adult entertainment.” It’s an apt phrase, particularly for Flynn’s magnum opus, the four-part Momentum series. Even the stills from Flynn’s movie differ dramatically from most adult movies. Shot outside on the beautiful Australian coast, the movie looks like an indie project that would be at home in a mainstream film festival. And the sex scenes deliver on Lightsouthern’s promise to offer “content free of bias and comfortable in its own skin.” If it sounds like Flynn produces erotica that deserves a spot at the feminist porn table, that’s certainly true. But she’s first and foremost a visually driven storyteller, and she gives viewers a nostalgic and dreamy reverie starring four girls and one guy who embark on sexual explorations during the 1970s in an Aussie beach town. The first volume itself is short, but there’s much more to come—and Flynn opened up to reveal how she was inspired to make the series, and what lies ahead in the next installments. The second volume comes out this week, distributed in the United States by Pure Play Media. What led you to adult filmmaking? I started out in the industry as a performer, which was great because I got to experience first hand what it is like to work as a model, but after a while I couldn’t deny my curiosity to understand the magic behind the camera so I begged, borrowed and stole for a job with Abby Winters. Unfortunately without any experience handling cameras they had to throw me on reception, so on weekends I would go into the office and learn how to use the cameras and help the production team. When a job came up to shoot I had worked hard to prove I was the natural choice.What was the first adult company you shot for? I worked as a senior videographer and project manager at Abby Winters for six years and then decided to strike out on my own.  I did some shoots for WeAreHairy.com and ATK.com but I realized that after years of working in the industry I wanted to create a studio with a different ethos and set of business practices so I approached companies that had vision more like my own. Momentum has a wonderful indie film quality. Did you set out to shoot independent films? I think like a lot of great ideas it all started with a desire to do something different. Most of the “bread and butter” work we do is short-form content for third-party websites, but I really wanted push the boundaries and create a sexy movie that could be shown on the adult film festival circuit. Hence the Momentum series was born. I knew it had to be fun, light-hearted and bursting with nostalgia as well as showing what Lightsouthern is all about, which is what we did—then it just kind of took off.You raised more than $6,000 on Indiegogo to fund Momentum. When you thank the donors in Momentum 1, you mention Garion—is that Garion Hall of abbywinters.com? Yes, Garion of Abbywinters did (along with about 40 other legends) generously donate to the film. He has been very supportive of my ventures, I still often ask him for advice.Momentum is set in the 1970s and its characters live in an Aus tra ian beach town. What drew you to that time period? I grew up in a small town by the beach, so for me this film is a direct link to my own sexual adventures. Also I love the aesthetic of that time period in Australia. When I think of the  1970s I think of youth culture, surfing, string bikinis and classic cars, all things that are characteristically Aussie—I also thought providing a certain amount of nostalgia was a good third element for the films.What reaction have you received from consumers or retailers in the United States? We had really good sales, which was pretty exciting. I didn’t know how people would react to the content with all of the Aussie-centric references, but it seems the sales speak for themselves. Is Chloe B. the only performer from Momentum 1 who appears in the second movie? Chloe B. is in all four films—she’s the porno glue. She’s awesome!Momentum 1 features a scene performed by a real-life couple. Have you cast other couples in the sequels? No, Kara and Devon are the only couple in the series and of course they are amazing together, but in general it’s important to me that the people doing the sex scenes do have chemistry and have at least met or hung out before. There is nothing worse than watching two people who are clearly not into each other have sex. Would you describe your characters as fluid in their sexual orientation? Is that true of most of your work? Yes, definitely. Not all, but most of the people I work with are very open and fluid on the sexual spectrum—that is not to say it’s a free for all. Boundaries, safety and comfort are paramount, so we exercise a great deal of communication to make sure everyone is completely okay before, during and after shoots. Lightsouthern’s blog sports an entry about a girl/girl/girl scene that you say resulted in some of your best footage. What makes it stand out in your decade-long career? I’ve said before how important chemistry is between performers. Really good chemistry is a unicorn, illusive and absolutely amazing when you have the opportunity to capture it. There is a particular scene in Momentum Volume 3, which without giving too much away has the most amazing chemistry between the three girls. One of the girls could not touch the other two (I won’t tell you why) so the tension was high and constantly building. It’s awesome when you can create sexiness without explicitly showing it—it brings it home. I’m super proud of the scene. Also on the blog, there’s mention of a scene for Momentum 4 featuring two men. Will the cast still be a mix of men and women? Volume 4 is still in pre-production but they story arc will follow both a male and female lead. There will still be a good healthy mix of boy/boy and girl/girl and maybe even big mix-up of everyone at the end—you’ll just have to wait and see. I can tell you that it will be set in the Aussie desert … so lots of hot sweaty bodies. Your website says you want models to feel “safe, creative, valued, happy, comfortable and exhilarated.” Do you ever turn down performers who you think would not fare well in the adult industry? Conversely, are there particular Lightsouthern performers who have gone on to thrive and develop a following? I never try and dictate to a performer whether I think they will “survive” the industry or not. Our aim is to make sure they have enough information to make an informed decision for themselves; that said, I am always very honest about the downside to this work so I know that only the committed ones will stick around. Kim Cumms is probably one of our more regular performers (also stars in volume 3) who has a huge online following, but we can’t take credit for it; she does her own media and marketing, and she’s damn good at it. Also, Madison Missina is one of Australia’s most well known performers, but again she was building a fan base long before we started working with her (Madison stars in volume 2). On your site there’s a passage that says, “We offer a range of content services from pre-packaged videos and stills to customized media for all your content needs.” What type of custom content do you create? For whom? We sell a range of short scenes on a few VOD sites, Gamelink, DuskTV and PinkLabelTV. We also provide exclusive content to spec for Yanks.com, DuskTV, Ersties.com and DandyDicks.com, plus a few others studios. You’re relaunching Lightsouthern.com in October—what changes lie ahead? So many cool things! We will finally have an online platform, our ‘Cinema’, so punters can view all the Momentum films (plus many more awesome film projects) on Lightsouthern.com. We will also be venturing deep into virtual reality; we are going to shoot Momentum 4 with virtual reality components, which is super exciting as we will be the first Aussie porno studio to do it. And we are also setting up a new branch of the business and expanding into sex toys. The complete Momentum series will be available on DVD exclusively from Pure Play Media. Momentum 2 streets September 10. Go to Lightsouthern.com for more about Flynn and her studio. Retailers can go to PurePlayMedia.com to find out more about DVD sales.