ASB Magazine

Alfonso Moreno is a lucky guy. Moreno, who has worked for ASB and our related publications TEEZE and EXOTIC DANCER, recently left to open his own full-production photography studio...

Alfonso Moreno is a lucky guy. Moreno, who has worked for ASB and our related publications TEEZE and EXOTIC DANCER, recently left to open his own full-production photography studio (www.madcreativity.com) and since then has quickly been landing some choice assignments with the adult industry’s top production companies. For example, he just returned from the 13th International Erotic Film Festival of Barcelona, which took place Oct. 5-9, 2005 in Barcelona, Spain. Moreno accompanied Wicked Pictures’ star contract girl, Stormy Daniels to the show as a photographer and friend. Plus he speaks Spanish.

 So when ASB caught wind of Moreno’s voyages, we jumped on the opportunity to get some extra mileage out of him while he still feels somewhat obligated. We grilled him on all of the questions we Americans wonder about the way the same industry we’re involved with functions, only thousands of miles away.

 Are Americans really that much more puritanical than Euros when it comes to the adult industry? Are Europeans manufacturers ahead of North American companies when it comes to erotic films and products?

 Moreno reports that as he walked onto the convention floor at the Erotic Film Festival, the products being offered struck him as similar to those he’s seen at any U.S. industry show. “The booths were pretty much like the ones you would see at AVN in the U.S. There was the same range you should see at an American show: some displays were elaborate, some were just your basic rack of clothes and toys in a booth.” Moreno notes that the novelties and apparel styles seemed to mirror those in the U.S., adding, however, that he wasn’t really paying too much attention to the fashions. “Stormy liked them, though. She did some shopping for herself out there.”

 As Moreno continued walking the aisles, he noted exhibitors offering accessories, novelties, DVDs... wait a second... is that lady spewing ping-pong balls out of her crotch? Live on stage?

 Yes, indeed, the show featured ten stages on which there were hourly presentations of people doing all kinds of erotic deeds. Live. There were solo acts, couples, girl-on-girl performances, and miscellaneous fetish performances. There were rumored guy-on-guy acts in the show’s “Gay Zone,” but Moreno never managed to find time to make it over there.

 Watching two women bobbing on a double-ender — just feet away from his camera lens — Moreno knew he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Or any U.S. state, for that matter. Even the AVN shows don’t permit such explicit, uh, demonstrations.

 There are similarities, though. Like the AVN shows, the Barcelona show is open to the public, and like AVN, the majority of exhibitors are film companies promoting newly released films and DVDs, although at the Barcelona show, bestiality and hard-core gonzo films are openly displayed and sold. And like AVN, the real draw at the Barcelona show are the porn stars.

 Moreno learned that first-hand while being mauled over by the crowds that gathered around Stormy. “She drew a huge crowd everywhere she went,” he says.

 Part of Stormy’s draw (besides the obvious) was the novelty of her being a real U.S. star; probably the biggest U.S. name at the show. Still, Moreno says fans would have pushed Stormy aside for a chance to see Europe’s greatest adult film star: Rocco Sifreddi.

 That’s right: Rocco. As in male. That was perhaps the most striking difference Moreno noted between the U.S. and European adult film markets: the real “stars” in European adult films are the guys, and their talent isn’t taken lightly. As the show website proclaims, “The world’s best actor will visit us at the Erotic Film Festival to present his new film!” Move over Anthony Hopkins!

 Other than one or two female stars (Moreno names Silvia Saint as “the Jenna Jameson of Europe”), Moreno was surprised to find that film companies don’t “brand” their female stars’ names like they do here.

 “They don’t ‘blow up’ girls (or use the girls’ names to sell product) like they do over here,” he says. “The European adult films seem to include far more talent, quantity-wise, but the women are far less recognizable. The men, on the other hand, are treated like royalty. I saw companies selling ‘Rocco dildos,’ but nobody was selling the girls’ body castings, like you see here.”

 The presence of U.S.-based companies at the show was minimal, Moreno reports. “Hustler and Red Light District (a film production company) were the only U.S. companies I saw there,” he notes, adding that U.S. companies with less recognizable brand names may have been there.

 “But there seems to be a demand for more U.S. product,” he continues. “Stormy was an absolute rock star out there. She was being interviewed by every media outlet, both mainstream and adult, including GQ Spain, Playboy Spain... even the local nightly news station interviewed her and asked her to flash the camera.”

 Porn star interviews on the nightly news and live sex shows are just a couple of examples from the show that seem to indicate that, though we’re catching up, Americans may still be a few decades behind our European counterparts when it comes to our perception of sex and the adult film industry.

 Which may not be a bad thing, if you’re a manufacturer thinking of entering this relatively untapped market. The “exotic wholesome” appeal of U.S. filmstars and labels appears to have great sales potential in Europe. There is little competition from other U.S. companies, and the buying public is apparently hungry for U.S. brands and stars. They certainly garner their fair share of media exposure, if Stormy’s endless demand for interviews at the show is any indication. Then again, we are talking about Stormy Daniels here.

 “Overall, it was a good show,” Moreno sums. “It’s a good experience to see how companies are marketing abroad; how different cultures approach the same industry.” For more information, visit: www.ficeb.com.

The Show At A Glance:

 Show Objectives: It’s a small world after all! The Show’s promoters list the following as their objectives (many parallel the goals of U.S. industry members):

• To speed up and normalize the sex industry.
• To be a meeting point for the professionals of the sector.
• To promote adult films.
• To normalize the consumption of sex products.
• To be a launching platform for actresses, actors, and directors.
• To be a media window for the sex industry.
• To be forum to think about the current situation.
• To stimulate erotic art.
• To be a showcase for novelties of the sex industry.
• To publish books that open this sector to the society!

 Show Highlights (as noted by the show promoters):

• “Clau de dona”: A space for women’s use and enjoyment.
• Congress by and for Adult Webmasters.
• Club Bizarre: “The place where the fetishism and the pleasure get dressed in leather.”
• Fashion shows, clothing and lingerie.
• The latest novelties of erotic articles, toys for adults, films, art, crafts, etc.
• Gay Zone: “Atmosphere bar and Gay shows live.”