A Brief History
Toronto sexuality shop Good For Her established The Feminist Porn Awards in 2006. It began as a one-time celebration of new alternatives to porn that emerged in the early 2000s. Due to its success and demand, it became a yearly event. After ten solid years of growth and change, it was time to take a break and re-evaluate our goals in order to create an even better event. We decided to broaden the conversation about porn and bring in people who felt that the previous name and contexts were not inclusive of them as attendees, directors and/or performers. In 2016 Good For Her rebranded the events as the “Toronto International Porn Festival”, recognizing Toronto as a hub of international film festivals and sex positivity.
How do you know that the submitted films are ethically filmed?
While we hope that all performers, crew and anyone else on set are treated with respect and paid fairly for their work, we know that this is not always the case in any industry. We cannot be present at film sets in order to witness ethical and fair treatment of performers and crew. We welcome any feedback anonymously or privately from anyone who feels that their experience working on set for a film or website being considered for screening or an award was less than respectful.
What process do you go through in deciding awards winners?
We gather a LOT of porn. We distribute it among members of the jury who watch a LOT of porn. We meet with jury members to discuss the films. We debate which films have the most merit in terms of the judging criterion. We choose which films to screen that will best provide an interesting, exciting and diverse experience for festival attendees. We also deliberate, debate and decide who is to win a coveted “Emma Award” at the awards gala (which may include some of the same titles presented at screenings but not always).
What awards categories are there?
The categories for awards are somewhat fluid. The core awards categories include the following:
- Sexiest Short
- Most Tantalizing Trans Film
- Hottest Kink Film
- Movie of the Year (longer film that combines many elements of excellent diverse filmmaking)
- Steamiest Straight Movie
- Smutty School Teacher Award for Sex Education
- Hottest Lesbian Vignette (generally shorter than a film)
- Heart-Throb of the Year (has to have appeared in at least 3 submitted films)
And sometimes there are movies submitted that are award-worthy but do not fit into any particular category. We reserve the creative right to award films that stand out in interesting ways with a title that recognizes its unique contribution to fabulous film-making. Previous winners have included:
- Orgasmic Original Concept
- Golden Beaver Award for Canadian Content
- Fiercest Female Orgasm
- Boundary-Breaker of the Year
What do I do if I have a comment about my experience on set of one of the nominated films?
Send us an email outlining your experience. We will treat all correspondence anonymously, if desired.
Want to submit?
If you have a previous account from last year, click here
If this is your first time submitting, please send us an email and we will reply with your new login information.