12 Hours On Set With The Internet's Favorite Feminist Porn Director

Imagine being on a porn set. Are you envisioning nonstop nudity, unrealistic moans, and a flurry of cameras? In Barcelona, the feminist porn director Erika Lust’s work is the exact antithesis of the stereotype. I saw it firsthand.

Lust, known for her work in ethical porn, has been making erotic films since 2004, with her debut film The Good Girl receiving millions of downloads in the first few days of its release. Since then, she has gone on to make hundreds of films and win several awards for her work. Most recently, she took home Feature Movie of The Year, Best Screenplay, All-Girl Movie of The Year, and Erotic Site of The Year at the XBIZ 2023 Awards show — one of the mainstream industry's largest award shows.

If a woman porn director wasn’t unusual enough for the adult entertainment world (though that’s steadily changing), she also leads the concept and direction of three adult sites: Lust Cinema and Else Cinema — known for longer-from, slow-burning erotic films that have a narrative arc — and XConfessions, which are shorter concept films based around true, anonymous confessions the audience sends in about their deepest fantasies, desires, or real-life experiences.

It’s proven that women directors of erotic film tend to approach it differently than their male counterparts and Lust is no exception to that. Her work is inclusive of different cultures and groups, too, as she prioritizes showcasing BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minorities within, and if there is any dialogue, it’s available in multiple languages.

One sunny day in March, I watched Lust and her team bring two women’s confessions to life for two XConfessions films. I saw Lust’s true passion come to life, as well: bringing ethical, safe, and realistic porn to the world. In Lust’s own words, it unfolded like this.

8 a.m.: On days when I’m not in the office and working on projects, there are usually really early call times, so I don’t have much me time. But even on days like today, I like to keep my body healthy and live an active lifestyle, so I have my green juice and a ginger shot before heading to set. I sleep in for as long as possible and then have a cold shower, which makes me feel powerful and ready for my day.

9:20 a.m.: Today, we’re working on an XConfessions film based on a woman talking about her lovers of the past as well as future lovers. Rather than a larger narrative form, we’re going to show shots of men's bodies with a voiceover of a poem sent to us by a viewer about her sexual desires. I’m trying to portray masculinity in different forms. We have three male models participating. It might seem a bit boring, but we have to start by doing some technical shots, working with each male actor to get the perfect shot to clip together in a compilation for the film.

9:30 a.m.: Here, I start directing the three men. Each is doing different things like laying on the concrete floor naked, sitting on stools naked, taking off their clothing slowly for the camera, and other angles that might be interesting. As we start filming, I let the first model know what I like and what I don’t by saying, “I like it better there,” or, “This is really nice, I’m very happy.” I ask him to take off his shirt: “Let’s get more of your armpit in the shot, I like it very much. Hold the pose.” All the while, my team works seamlessly alongside me. A production assistant uses a small vacuum to clean dust off the floor, the makeup artist does touch-ups on the models, and the lighting crew finds the perfect angle.

10 a.m.: Now, the second model comes in. We’re on a strict schedule and ideally have about 20 minutes for each one. I ask him to remove his denim jacket, but it was way too slow for me, so I ask him to do it faster. Then, I wanted a shot of him removing his pants, which was very sexy until his pants got stuck on his ankles. As a director, I find it so important to encourage each performer and be lighthearted, too. I try to make him laugh, I want to see his expressions and highlight his features, including his big dimples. Later on, an older gentleman comes in. He is the third model of the day and he is also a performer for the second film of the day that we’ll shoot later on. We want to highlight his long, curly gray hair and his smile.

10:30 a.m.: Now comes what I call the “pleasure face.” It’s sex, after all. Whether they’re actually having sex or not, each model should truly look like he is having pleasure, and we want to capture it, so that it fits in with the confession we’re working with. The men aren’t actually receiving pleasure, so they have to try their hardest to show what pleasure might look like on them. It’s so common for me to say, “Give us the pleasure face!” It’s harder than you might think to capture a good one.

12 p.m.: It’s time to get ready for the actual sex scene. Today, we have another two stunning performers who I’ve worked with before on other projects. When it comes to sex scenes, we try to use real couples when we can, but we usually let our performers also choose someone they’d like to work with if we have the option. Right now, the team is completing the backdrop by cleaning and moving set props around.

12:30 p.m.: One of the most important parts of working in the porn industry happens now: the sex talk. Before we work with anyone, our intimacy coordinator and I ask a lot of questions about consent, boundaries, and hard stops. Each performer fills forms out with these, and also an STI testing form, beforehand. But on the day of filming, we also have another talk with them to make sure they are fully prepared, comfortable, and consenting. We also make sure we know if there is any aftercare needed by the performers that we can help with, like watching a movie or having downtime to themselves. Unlike people might expect, it’s not like we’re having sex all day long on a porn set, but we do prepare for it in everything we do.

12:30 p.m.: It’s time for the actual sex scene. So that the performers feel respected and cared for, we usually don’t have anyone in the room for filming besides me, the camera and lighting crew, our intimacy coordinator, and our head of production. I try not to give too much direction and let the performers take the lead, but I do interject if we need to fix the lighting or I like a specific angle. Before a shoot, every detail of a shoot is planned out — from angle ideas, concept, script to performers — and I generally have an exact idea of what should happen during the shoot before I even get there because we’ve so thoroughly planned it out. We know months in advance what we’re looking for and we just try to make it as close to that vision as possible.

2:15 p.m.: Now it’s time for lunch. I’m vegan — and I believe that animals have the right to live just like us — so I only provide vegan catering to my team. I’ve never gotten complaints and we always have a variety of things. As I eat, I also reflect on the work done. The sex scene was just so beautiful and touching today. The performers were talking to each other, and that doesn’t always happen. I find that people don’t know how to talk during sex. It’s why I always hope that my films open that door up for curiosity and conversation.

3:15 p.m.: After lunch, I take a small break and then prepare for the next film of the day. When we do these shorter films, we try to do two or three in a day. Today, we’re doing two. The second is an entirely Christmas-focused film. We film way in advance for the holidays.

4 p.m.: Now, we’re moving to the second set next door. Our set designer is great, she put together an entire Christmas set for us. We’re starting to film a scene about a woman who sent in a confession about the holiday season: She always does everything for everyone else and wants to be taken care of. But she wants her own pleasure. So we’re going to show that happen. But first, my production assistant passes around ginger shots for everyone to have.

5 p.m.: Next, we start filming the opening scenes. This is quite a fun film to work on. As with everything, there are always technical shots to be done. But unlike this morning, there is a bit more of a story arc for the Christmas XConfessions film. So we’re using this hour to set the story up with the performers. This time, we’re using a real-life couple that we’ve worked together with before, which is always great for chemistry and having fun. I direct the couple to sit down, and we film the woman opening her Christmas presents, which are all boxes filled with, you guessed it: pleasure. We film her opening each box, filled with sex toys, paddles, vibrators, and even handcuffs, for at least five takes until we get the perfect shot to lead into the sex scene. I direct them to have a more surprised face, look excited, and eventually, end up dancing around the set to Christmas music.

6 p.m.: At this point, I am yawning and need a pick-me-up. I go for an oat milk latte. Then, for the second time today, the intimacy coordinator and I have the sex talk with the performers. This time, it’s a bit more straightforward, as they’re a real-life couple and are much more comfortable with each other.

6:30 p.m.: Finally, we have the last sex scene of the day. During the scene, because of the comfortability of the couple with each other and us, we’ve let more people stay in the room to watch it unfold. Toward the end of the scene though, I realized I wanted more shots of a certain position they did before, so I ask the performers to re-create the movement they were doing and try a few different takes. Eventually, we got it to be as perfect as can be and I was happy with it all.

8 p.m.: And that’s a wrap for the day! When I was younger, I could do four or five films in one day, but these days I only do two or three at most. By this point, I am usually so tired that I just grab a banana from catering and head to my hotel room for a cold shower and sleep. But tonight, my husband is joining me for dinner. This was definitely a typical day on set.

Unlike one might expect, filming porn is about so much more than nudity and acts: it’s also a preparation for artistry through consent, communication, and lots of work in between. But yes, it’s still about sex.