“Nothing Human is alien to me”, Tennessee Williams once said. His words corresponded to my own conclusion when I decided after several weeks of deliberation to move into a new genre and launch my own version of a porno film.

In the spring of 1999, Puzzy Power, Zentropa’s little sister, had been looking for female directors to advance and develop sensual porno films primarily targeted at women audiences.

I met the producer, Lene Børglum, and we got on well; a few weeks later I received a phone call. “We’ve got a prison set—the title will be Pink Prison—we want you to write the story”.

I hastily summoned all my friends—men and women—served beer and wine in the courtyard, and asked what they would like to see. It was an interesting experience, but a confusing one, too, which I may summarise by saying that everyone has his or her own favourite plot, his or her own personal desires, and more than anything else, his or her own ultimate fantasy.

I listened to my friends, sought out suitable, phosphorescent cellar passages, and wrote the screenplay for Pink Prison.

In my film I very much wanted:

- To create a powerful female character who is determined and who goes with her desires.
- To write a plot that links the sex scenes and sparks off the action.
- To work on building up sensual tension between the sexes—before they have sex.
- To make the leading character into a credible figure with a life of her own and many facets to her personality.

Pink Prison was a fascinating, challenging film to make, and I enjoyed the process hugely. My work with the porn models and actors was rewarding. The film has one dominant lead, MILA, who appears throughout the film, played by Katja Kean. With her exquisite professionalism and pleasant nature Katja made work a pleasure.

The minefield has been walked upon and to me the genre is now less covert and overdramatised than it was. Like any industry, the porn industry makes good things and bad things, and things for any taste, desire, and aesthetic.

I have no illusions that my film will revolutionise the porn industry. But I do regard it as an admirable challenge to provide my own version of what a porno film can also be, and to take part in the crossover wave—building bridges between fiction and porn.

Enjoy the show!

- Lisbeth Lynghøft