Ali Kurr on making her first porn film and how to get your ideas made

Ali Kurr has just started making porn. That’s right, porn. But not your usual misogynistic, degrading porn. Ali’s version highlights a highly painful condition that many women (including herself) suffer from, Vulvodynia. It’s a condition where an unexpected pain affects the vulva, and Ali wanted to write a film about it. On further research, she also found out that many porn stars also suffer from the unexplained condition. And after years of developing the film and tireless attempts to secure funding, it just so happened that the only funding body willing to make the film – about a porn star that couldn’t have sex – was a feminist porn company in Barcelona. So, just like that, Ali made a porn film; an alternative, feminist, poignant one albeit.

But that’s just one of many, many projects that Ali’s made in her career. Best known for her music videos and commercials – which we were lucky enough to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into during her Nicer Tuesdays talk – Ali dazzled us with her cinematic ventures. Cramming a whole lot of content into a talk just under 12 minutes, she took us through her most recent video for Rina Sawayama STFU, also co-directed by the artist in question, as well as the acclaimed short film for long-running campaign This Girl Can. Importantly, she highlighted, the work is all about women overcoming barriers. Whether it’s Rina enduring ignorant dates and their assumptions about her race, or the busy new mums finding time to do some exercise for themselves, Ali’s work is inspiring and empowering to anyone who’s in need of a little lift today.