LOS ANGELES—Annie Sprinkle, the AVN Hall of Famer who began her career making adult films from 1973-95, is at it again with her longtime partner, Beth Stephens, with the release of their third ecosexual documentary, Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency. The trilogy of these documentaries began with their first queer environmental feature, Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story, released in 2014, followed by 2019’s Water Makes Us Wet: An Ecosexual Adventure. With the climate crisis worsening with each passing season, the artist/activist duo are sounding the alarm with the third chapter of the series.
The film will kick off its five-city US national tour on Saturday, Sept. 26 at REDCAT in Los Angeles, and many of the venues include special performances and presentations. For more information and the schedule, visit sprinklestephens.org
Playing With Fire begins with a love letter to their home in Boulder Creek, California, and when an evacuation in the town sounds the alarm during the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires in the area, Sprinkle and Stephens begin their cinematic reckoning with the power of fire and the environmental crises that fire creates. With its capacity to heal and its potential to destroy the environment, these ecosexual documentarians interview a collective of artists, Indigenous elders, witches, educators, formerly incarcerated firefighters, and others, as the film examines the ways in which people can support the health of the Earth. Partially narrated by Boulder Creek’s mythical white peacock, Albert, and culminating in a ceremonial Wedding to Fire in the Redwoods, Playing With Fire is a ‘powerful portrait of queer resilience in the face of a world in flames,’ stated independent film distributor, Frameline, in 2025.
Annie Sprinkle is an ecosexual multimedia artist who began her fascination with sex and the environment decades ago. In her porn heyday in the late 70s and early 80s, she even did a photoshoot titled “How to Talk Dirty to Your Plants.” “I experienced my first ecosexual bi experience when I was 24 and on the beach in Panama, where I lived. As I laid back and he did oral sex on me, I realized I was in love with the Earth, too. The ocean filled with plankton, the sky, the waves. It was so profound and spiritual and cosmic – that was the moment I became ecosexual!,” Annie squealed. “It made me eroticize everything! It’s everywhere in nature and all sex is ecosex!”
Along the way in her sexual journeys, she met artists, activists and scholars which shaped her involvement in social justice, human rights, and freedom of expression, and remains avidly committed to these ideals today. For over twenty three years, Annie has collaborated with her beloved partner, Beth Stephens, a tenured professor since 1994, of Performance Art at the University of California Santa Cruz.
In 2008, they launched the Ecosex Movement and their book, Assuming the Ecosexual Position—Earth as Lover (University of Minnesota Press), chronicles their life and art as it explores the practice of what it means to reorient our relationships with the planet. As a pleasure activist, Beth, like Annie, is committed to achieving social and environmental justice. Notably she was awarded a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship in film and has presented her work at documenta 14, the 53rd Venice Biennale, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.Together they founded the Earth Lab, which chronicles their activism for the environment and other social causes and is posted on their website earthlabsf.org. They will also be receiving a lifetime achievement award for the ecosexual activism in an upcoming screening in Berlin.
Playing With Fire completes the trilogy of the ecosexual environment: Earth, Water, and Fire. “We didn’t make the word up,” Annie admitted. “But we decided to write a Manifesto in 2008 to combine the “post-porn” movement and environmental activism. “I’ve always been the bridge to turn art into porn and porn into art. That's what we really are doing here. The ‘Goodbye Gauley Mountain’ film is the first queer feature length eco doc that everyone ever made.” She laughed, “Like the many films in the Star Wars series – it’s eco porn Star Wars!”
In keeping with her roots in the adult industry, Annie and Beth collaborated with several porn stars for their latest film, including Madison Young, Barbara Carellas, from Annie’s 1992’s groundbreaking film, Sluts and Goddesses, and AVN Hall of Famer Veronica Hart (Jane Hamilton), who was the film’s production manager. “Veronica, did all the covid testing during filming, took care of hospitality, performer releases, and basically was herding the cats!” Annie shared. “She’s the best production manager besides being a great actor and porn star!” The film also includes many daring performance artists, making it not only a statement about the power of fire but how embracing various forms of respect can help heal and regrow our relationship with it.
Referencing a generational shift and the appeal of the ecosexual movement, Annie noted how this category is extremely popular on OnlyFans and Pornhub. “It’s a huge movement!,” Annie exclaimed. “I attribute that to nature, which is full of sensual erotic delights. Penises look like mushrooms, vaginas look like holes in trees, papayas, all of them are hot hot hot!” She continued, ”Sex happens in nature and lots of people start their sexual lives outdoors. Bigger than that, ecosex is a mindfulness practice. It’s very tantric – the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. You can find a sunset erotic, something simple outdoors, or go deep into it.”
Fuente: avn.com
