Morgana Muses Documentary Gets Worldwide Distribution Deal

LOS ANGELES—Earlier this month, AVN reported that a new documentary on the life of Australian erotic performer Morgana Muses was set for its North American premiere. That premiere took place at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal (which took place only online this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic).  The film, titled simply Morgana, was also slated to play at festival in Mexico. But in the United States, fans of the 55-year-old adult star, who has what is certainly one of the more unusual backstories in the porn industry, were shut out.  But that now appears likely to change. On Thursday, the “boutique” film distributor Juno Films announced that it has acquired rights to distribute the film worldwide, except for the Australia and New Zealand markets, according to a report by Screen Daily.  “Morgana is the rare portrait of a middle-aged woman confronting and rejecting expectations (of heteronormativity) through sex and art,” said Juno founder Elizabeth Sheldon. “Filmmakers Isabel Peppard and Josie Hess capture Morgana’s metamorphosis from middle-class suburban housewife, to star of her own erotic films and it is a wild ride.” Eight years ago, Muses was a divorced, sexually repressed former housewife suffering from serious depression that led her to the decision to take her own life. But that all changed in one night when, as a final fling, she hired an escort for a night in a hotel room. The experience not only awakened her to the possibilities of sexual exploration, giving her a new reason to live, it sent her on a new career path into the world of erotic performance and filmmaking. Those events are chronicled in the 71-minute documentary, which incorprates stop-motion animation as well as live footage, and which Muses calls a three-way collaboration between herself, and co-directors Josie Hess and Isabel Peppard.  Producer Karina Astrup cut the deal with Sheldon, on the three filmmakers’ behalf. Juno “specializes in the development and execution of bespoke finance and distribution strategies on behalf of producers and filmmakers,” according to the company’s site.   The company’s recent releases include the based-on-a-true-story drama Radium Girls; a documentary about the groundbreaking, gender-bending musician Herbert Khary (better known as Tiny Tim); and Meet The Syrians, a “cinema vérité style documentary” that follows one Syrian refugee family as they attempt to emigrate to the United States. Photo By Morgana Muses Instagram