When I went to the Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto, I had the pleasure of meeting filmmaker Cheyenne Picardo, and Remedy is her first feature film (almost two hours), for her production company The One That Got Away.
Remedy – Exploring a whole other world
Remedy is the nickname of the main character, a young woman who likes to go to kink clubs in New York. One day, she gets a job at a BDSM dungeon where her job is to embody the sexual and psychological fantasies of the clients, who are complete strangers.
She is personally more inclined to a submissive role, but new employees don’t get to be subs, so she learns how to be a dominant. She’s trained by her new colleagues, who share their experiences with her. It’s a pretty fascinating insight into this bizarre world where everything goes. It’s based on Cheyenne’s own personal experience as a pro switch, and we learn about what it’s like to work in commercial BDSM as the main character does, very slowly. It’s funny at times, scary at others, and hot too even.
It’s not a porn film, it’s not even very sexual, it’s more about the power relationships and how to manage working with clients and their fantasies. Some fantasies are pretty crazy, others are just about good old spanking. She gets to form a bond with some of her clients.
One day, a guy asks her to be his slave, outside the dungeon rules. The money is better and she does like to be a sub, so she accepts. However, she is not prepared for the pressure and risks of this side of the sexual service industry. She thinks about leaving, but she’s proud and wants to prove to everybody else that she can do it.
This film doesn’t judge, it offers an insight into this taboo world and makes us think really hard about what we would do in that situation.
Cheyenne sent me the complete film so I was able to watch the whole thing and I really enjoyed it. Being part of the porn community, I often wonder about sex work and this film really helps getting an authentic look into it. The actors are really good, especially Kira Davies who plays Remedy.
The film won awards and was nominated to a bunch of festivals, more info on the official website!
