In the beginning: a fresh and impertinent composition of twelve licentious short films from early last century. Back then, these oddities in the heritage of cinema were screened in the waiting rooms of brothels. Restored by the French Archives of the National Center of Cinematography, this program, forbidden to under-18s (but not X-rated!) was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 at the Directors’ Fortnight.

In 2009, in response to the 21st century’s industrial compartmentalization and formatting of pornography, we decided to “update” The Good Old Naughty Days and combat prejudices: sex would be fun, free, tender, egalitarian, personal and universal all at once!

And so The Good Old Naughty Days [deconstructed] was born: twelve new films deconstructed by multimedia artist Cécile Babiole, helped by Michel Reilhac, with an original soundtrack composed by the rising duo of Finnish DJs, Renaissance Man! Twelve films that are alternately funny and sensual, with unexpected, catchy tunes, bringing us malicious foreplay, heady caresses, wild fornication and ecstatic hallucinations over a background of operatic choirs on acid, orgasmic hip hop rhythms or mystical electro ambiance!

Playful, hypnotic, ecstatic! Roll out the années folles, 2009-style. To be savored in intimate company or in a crowd, no moderation required!

Don’t miss the famous Antisocial party on December 16 dedicated to The Good Old Naughty Days at Paris Social Club!

Many sexy DJ guests to be expected!

To be continued…

Right from the very first days of silent movies the camera seems to have been the perfect voyeuristic tool to film people making love. An underground production system started taking shape very early on, allowing private collectors to satisfy their own secret passion for transgressive sex footage. These films were fabricated in a haphazard fashion in one afternoon with friends and local prostitutes lending a hand for a few cents. All of them requested to remain anonymous of course which makes it impossible today to identify who really acted or directed them. In their own amusing way these images involve us in a very direct, physical and intimate relationship with the good old days.

“By watching these films, one can easily see that the modern porn industry did not invent anything: everything had already been filmed by our great-grandparents!,” says Michel Reilhac. “There are plenty of close-ups and shots of penetration.”

The films were regularly programmed in the waiting rooms of sophisticated brothels. “Their use was twofold — To serve as visual appetizers while the clients were waiting for the lady of their choice and also to educate the young men who would often visit on Sundays after mass along with their uncles or elder cousins. They would watch these films to learn about a woman’s body and how to perform sexually. They basically received a sexual education from these films and then could go on to practice what they had seen on screen.”

Who produced those films? “Most were shot in hidden locations, in a few hours in the afternoon, between friends. Prostitutes from neighbouring brothels were hired and paid. Often, technicians from a legitimate film production company would “borrow” the camera and some film on weekends and become the directors of their own productions. They would also use the costumes and wigs from the set to save money.” Though printed programmes from some of the screenings have been found in police archives, there’s no record of who the performers were. “All of them requested to remain anonymous, which makes it impossible to identify who really acted in or directed them. For this reason, it is rather delightful to watch these “actors” often having to readjust their wigs and fake moustaches in the middle of their scenes so as not to be recognized unmasked.”