Angie Rowntree's ‘Alla Prima’ Making Waves in Festival Circuit

CYBERSPACE—Alla Prima—the newest short film from director and Sssh.com founder Angie Rowntree—is getting attention in the festival circuit, most recently being named a finalist in the Shorts Category at the 2019 Next Level International Film Festival. Alla Prima also is an Official Selection at both the Seattle Erotic Cinema Society (“SECS”) Fest film festival and International Shorts Film Festival, taking place Dec. 2. “I’m deeply honored that Alla Prima was recognized by these film festivals. We’ve had such a positive reaction to the film,” Rowntree said. Rowntree gave high praise to the art film’s two stars. “Ava Mir-Ausziehen and Malcolm Lovejoy are both brilliant artists. Their performances perfectly capture the connection, trust and mutual fervor I strive to communicate in an erotic scene,” the director said. In the film, Mir-Ausziehen and Lovejoy’s combined bodies create a live painting that changes in form and color with each touch, kiss and caress. “One of the things that makes Alla Prima unique is that the color depicts desire. The more passion the performers felt, the more color came into frame,” Rowntree explained. The concept for Alla Prima, as with all of Sssh.com’s films, was suggested by a member of the site. “When [a member] suggested creating a painting using the human body as a paintbrush, I loved the idea,” Rowntree said.    “I hesitate to describe the film too much, because the story is meant to be told through the visuals, and the story it tells each viewer is a little different,” the director said. Alla Prima is Rowntree’s latest attempt to break free of pornographic norms. In recent years the director has earned accolades for Sssh.com’s groundbreaking adult films, including the 2017 sci-fi feature Invictus (Delirious Hunter and JoeyDotRawr) and 2015 drama Gone (Madeline Blue and Gee Richards), both mainstream film festival favorites. Alla Prima screened earlier this year at Brown University, followed by an in-depth discussion with the filmmaker. The painting created in Alla Prima will be donated to SWOPNH’s (Sex Workers Outreach Project New Hampshire) upcoming fundraiser. The Alla Prima trailer is available at Sssh.com/allaprima_trailer/. For more information about Rowntree, Sssh.com or Rowntree’s other films, contact [email protected]. Send business inquires to [email protected]