All About Anna

Infobox_Film
name = All About Anna


director = Jessica Nilsson
producer = Marcella Lindstad
Claus Sørensen (executive)
Peter Aalbæk Jensen (executive)
Nicolas Barbano (executive)
writer = Anya Aims
Loretta Fabiana
starring = Gry Bay
Mark Stevens
Eileen Daly
Ovidie
music = M. Maurice Hawkesworth
cinematography = Claus Lykke
editing = Martin Bernfeld
distributor= Team Video Plus (Denmark)
Wicked Pictures (U.S.)
released= November 24, 2005 (Denmark)
January 18, 2007 (U.S.)
country = Denmark
runtime = 91 mins
language = English
website = http://www.allaboutanna.com
imdb_id = 0349080|

"All About Anna" is a Danish film released in 2005, directed by Jessica Nilsson and starring Gry Bay and Mark Stevens. The film is explicit in its exploration of sexual relationships. It avoidsFact|date=July 2008 being classified as pornography, however, through focus on character development and avoidance of closeup views of genital/genital contact.

It is a co-production between Innocent Pictures and Lars von Trier's Zentropa Productions, and is the third of Zentropa's sex films for women, following "Constance" (1998) and "Pink Prison" (1999). All three films were based on the [http://www.innocentpictures.com/aaa_manifest.php?la=en/ Puzzy Power Manifesto] developed by Zentropa in 1997.

Plot

"All About Anna" tells the story of Anna (Gry Bay), a single woman who seeks to maintain an active sex life while staying clear of romantic relationships. When a former boyfriend (Mark Stevens) shows up, she starts wondering how much longer she can maintain her emotional independence, and if that's even what she wants. At the same time, she is offered a job as costume designer on a French theatre, where the local stage actors Pierre (Morten Schelbech) and Sophie (Ovidie) offer new amorous temptations.

Critical reception

"All About Anna" was officially selected for Zürich Film Festival and Io Isabella International Film Week.

It was included in the series "Cinematic Sexualities in the 21st Century", arranged by Doc Films in collaboration with The University of Chicago Film Studies Center.

In 2006 it was nominated for two EroticLine Awards in the categories Best International Newcomer (Gry Bay) and Best International Actor (Mark Stevens).

In 2007 it won three Scandinavian Adult Awards, including Best Scandinavian Couples Film, Best Scandinavian Actor (Thomas Raft) and Best Selling Scandinavian Star of 2006 (Gry Bay).

In September 2007, Germany's biggest weekly magazine "Stern" identified women's pornography as one of 50 trends, placed an image from "All About Anna" on the cover of its cultural supplement "Stern Journal", and commented: "Women too like to see other people having sex. What they don’t like is the endless close-ups of hammering bodyparts without a story. Lars von Trier is the first to have realised this and produced valuable quality porn films for women." [Stern #40, 27.9.2007]

In her book "Secrets of porn star sex" (Infinite Ideas, 2007), British author Marcelle Perks includes a chapter on female-friendly porn, in which she concludes: "Rather than being intimidated by porn, do a bit of research and find something that you can have fun with. An ideal introduction movie is the hit film "All About Anna", a mainstream film that features real sex".

In April 2008, U.S. trade journal "AVN" gave the film an AAAAA Editor's Choice Review. It was one of only four films to receive the journal’s highest rating that month. Critic Jared Rutter wrote: "It is beautifully crafted and constantly entertaining. [...] The question is, why can’t mainstream American films move on up to this grown-up degree of sexual explicitness? Retailing: This title can be sold as either mainstream or adult — the best of both worlds." [AVN Magazine, April 2008, page 154: "Editor's Choice - All About Anna"]

In May 2008, French trade journal "Hot Video" #208 placed "All About Anna" highest in the category “la crème du porno feminine” [Hot Video, nr. 208 (May 2008), page 110-119: "Réalisatrices la nouvelle vague"] .

In May 2008, Danish lifestyle magazine "Woman" #112 had asked a group of female readers to rate a selection of erotic product, including books, websites, CDs etc. The highest score went to "All About Anna" [Woman, nr. 112 (May 2008), page 66-68: "Porno for pæne piger"] .

Release versions

The film exists in at least three versions. The original Scandinavian DVD release contains both the Producer's Cut and the Director's Cut. A Softcore Version with no explicit sexual footage has also been released (in Germany).

The successful US theatrical premiere was held on January 18, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois.

The two-disc US DVD was released on January 29 2008.

ee also

*List of mainstream films with unsimulated sex

References

External links

* [http://www.allaboutanna.com Official "All About Anna" site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/allaboutannathemovie Official North American "All About Anna" page]
*
* [http://www.fleshbot.com/sex/movies/all-about-all-about-anna-203804.php "All About Anna" review] at Fleshbot
* [http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Reviews&Secondary_Navigation=Title_Review&Action=Show_Review&Content_ID=276034 "All About Anna" review] at Adult Video News