NakedSword Adds Italian Short “Twice” to Its Indie Film Line

From "Stilettos for Shanghai" courtesy of NakedSword.

It's about indie film, not porn.

NakedSword has indie films scattered in amongst its repertoire of over 40,000 adult scenes and movies. Did you know that? This is new to yer boy Hank here, and I'm absolutely delighted. While some of them do contain explicit scenes of male sexuality, others like their recent addition "Twice" are sex-free, sensitive, or comedic small slices of queer life.

Started in 2016, the NakedSword Film Works line (NSFW for short...get it?) started off with the 2012 short film "I Want Your Love" directed by Travis Matthews. This short was expanded to a full-length version of the same name, moving from a simple story of two BF's negotiating sex for the first time, to a long tale of a goodbye party that gets rather raucous before the main character moves from San Francisco back to the Midwest.

Other notable titles include the autobiographical explicit and experimental "100 Boyfriends Mixtape" by SF-based artist Brontez Purnell, and the documentary "Stilettos for Shanghai" from 2014 wherein Monet Allard-Wilcox followed The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in the only continuing gay pride parade of mainland China, examining both the work of the Sisters and the challenges faced by the people there.

From "Stilletos for Shanghai" courtesy of NakedSword.

So are indie films a way to go for some studios and sites known mostly for "just porn?" Well, I suppose it depends on your definition of "porn." While there is certainly graphic content in several of the NSFW titles, one could argue that what's depicted is simply honest and forthright sexuality which doesn't deserve to be hidden away. In addition, adult films are a way that some filmmakers have either gotten their start in film as a way to learn the technicals and the trade, or are simply a means to bring creative and technical expertise to a format they enjoy. Just look at commercial filmmaker Ricky Greenwood's move from advertising and commercials to becoming a multi-award-winning adult filmmaker working across the spectrum of sexual expression:straight, gay and trans, he'll direct them all. You can read my 2021 interview with Greenwood here.

Or as NakedSword founder and producer Tim Valenti said in an interview with Bebe Sweetbriar for Gloss Magazine in 2016, "The one consistent thread that ties together both the curated films and NSFW original productions are (they) all are about challenging people’s expectations around what an 'LGBT film' is."

If some of this looks familiar, you might have visited Pinklabel.tv, a woman-fronted site that curates everything from feminist porn to documentaries to cutting-edge and vintage gay male porn. We;ll see if NakedSword's line works its way up to their level of cultural and diverse programming, and we hope they do!

From "Twice" courtesy of NakedSword.

But back to "Twice," I watched it today and found it a well-filmed piece of emotional sensitivity. Francesco Arico and Salvatore Alfano star as Diego and Antonio, two friends in Italy who find their friendship tested one night when they meet the captivating Cristina Cappelli. Diego has a secret, and Anontio wants to coerce him to be "more of a man." A drastic encounter with Cappelli's Maria leaves them shattered. I found the cinematography beautiful, and the filmmakers' ability to capture a wellspring of emotions in small moments and gestures quite powerful.

You can watch "Twice" and other indeo queer films at NakedSword by hitting that banner below.

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