There's an open casting call for an erotic film based on true experiences. 100 curious women respond to the casting ad, and their frank disclosures about their own sex lives and their fantasies, change the fate of the project entirely. It doesn't take long for the two directors, both female, to realise that the audition is the film they ought to be making, and the honesty of their subjects might help create a dialogue about female desire.
You can see the fruits of their collective labours in VENUS: Let's Talk About Sex.
Danish directors Mette Carla Albrechtsen and Lea Glob have spoken of their wish to "", and provide a counterpoint to conventional sex education, which for women, still tends to focus on pregnancy and disease prevention, and has little time for talk of desire, much less orgasm.
The two directors grew up in the '90s in the supposedly liberated Scandinavia, but have been frustrated by the limited language around sexuality, which continues to be filtered almost exclusively through the male gaze. VENUS: Let's Talk About Sex then, is an authentic attempt to show young women striving to relate to themselves as sexual beings.
The interviews took place in Albrechtsen's apartment in Copenhagen, and the 100 interviewees shared their personal anecdotes about their first sexual experiences, and how many partners they've had. The final film features 25 women sharing, laughing, blushing, crying, and -- in some cases -- disrobing, for the camera.
VENUS: Let's Talk About Sex airs on SBS VICELAND Tuesday 29 September at 9:20PM. Available to watch at SBS On Demand after broadcast.
