Product Review
The story: Stage actors Mariah and Daniel play lovers every night, but their onstage romance lacks spark. One slow afternoon, they discover that today's matinee performance will make or break both their careers. Â Daniel wants to make big changes, and Mariah starts to wonder: are Daniel's suggestions reasonable? Or has he lost track of the boundary between actor and character? Rushed to the stage, in front of a live audience, they must figure it out together.
Matinee is a sexually explicit drama intended to bridge the gap between art film and sex film. The film, shot on location in Amsterdam, showcases Steven McAlistair (Scotland) and Alicia Whitsover (England) in their first explicit sex roles ever. Matinee takes a fresh look at what erotic film can be. It features an original musical score and careful attention to capturing the real-life sounds of sex. Real, intense and emotional, Matinee is truly erotic film for people who like film.
Matinee has screened all over the world and won the Best Film prize at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival as well as at the CineKink/NYC film festival. The film also won Honorable Mention at Toronto's annual Feminist Porn Awards.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Fifty extra minutes of unique DVD extras, including:
-- A 25-minute making-of documentary, originally aired on Dutch television, covering the auditioning/filming process and including interviews with cast and crew
-- Audience question-and-answer session at Matinee Amsterdam world premiere, with star Alicia Whitsover and director Jennifer Lyon Bell
-- Behind-the-scenes photo gallery
Note: Though it was shot in Holland, this film is English-spoken and is Region 0, meaning it is region-free and will thus play in every country. All DVD extras are either in English, or are subtitled in English.
- ABOUT THE DIRECTOR Jennifer Lyon Bell is the creative force behind Blue Artichoke Films. She’s a cinema lover dedicated to making “erotic film for people who like film”: Artistic, unusual erotic films that portray sexuality in an emotionally realistic way. Whether documentary, fiction, or experimental, Blue Artichoke films borrow from traditional film languages and styles to represent sexuality in a new light. As an American living in Amsterdam for many years, Jennifer’s films capture a European sensibility. Her films have screened all over the world and won “Best Film” and “Best Director” accolades in the USA, Europe, and Australia.
- SPECIAL FEATURES Fifty extra minutes of unique DVD extras, including: – A 25-minute “making-of” documentary, originally aired on Dutch television, covering the auditioning/filming process and including interviews with cast and crew – Audience question-and-answer session at Matinée’s Amsterdam world premiere, with star Alicia Whitsover and director Jennifer Lyon Bell – Behind-the-scenes photo gallery All DVD extras are either in English, or are subtitled in English. (Note: the film Matinée is in English. Dutch subtitles can be turned on if desired.)
- REVIEWS “Rides the line between erotica and old fashioned entertainment. …I thoroughly enjoyed Matinée…The bees knees when it comes to quality erotica. It spans the line between porn and erotica with grace and dignity.” – Jamye Waxman, sex educator
- REVIEWS “Bell, an American expat living in Amsterdam, would have been right at home with the ancient (1970s) pornographers like Gerard Damiano and Jackie Treehorn. Her ‘Matinée’ is a high-concept and beautifully shot interlude about feelings and the artist’s process…Yes, the two of them fuck onstage, but it is the leadup and execution that make ‘Matinée’ more than a porn scene.” – Fleshbot
