In homage to filmmaker Howard Ziehm, the 58th Hof International Film Festival will present four films as well as a documentary by Christian Genzel about one of the most colorful pioneer figures of the sexual revolution. Howard Ziehm was an American director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter known for his work in pornographic and erotic films. He is regarded as a key figure in the porn chic movement of the 1970s and was instrumental in the wave of pornographic films in American cinema at a time when pornography was still illegal. His film MONA: THE VIRGIN NYMPH was the first porn film to receive a regular theatrical release, two years before Damiano's infamous DEEP THROAT.
In 1969, he co-founded the production company Graffiti Productions with Bill Osco and went on to produce numerous pornographic films. Later, he directed the cult science fiction sex parody FLESH GORDON, which led to a long battle against the law, acute financial difficulties, and other challenges. His wife, Judy Ziehm, worked alongside him for nearly 54 years, appearing in several of his films. Ziehm passed away in August 2024 in California.
Rebel, outlaw, porn pioneer: the documentary FINDING PLANET PORNO paints a character portrait of an unusual, astute cinematic outsider - and tells of an era of great social upheaval. The film approaches Howard's story on a personal level, and through his eyes and those of his companions, it paints an exciting portrait of an unusual person - and of a time that brought about great social change.
Ray and Alex actually just wanted to pick up a bag of drugs, smuggle them across the border and then make a nice life for themselves with the money they earned. But everything goes wrong during the handover: the police want to pick up the two crooks, panic leads to a shootout and the two have several policemen on their conscience. On the chase through the country, their situation quickly gets worse - especially because Ray turns out to be an increasingly ruthless perpetrator of violence.
Humanity is in a state of extreme agitation: sex rays from outer space are plunging the entire planet into chaos. Only the potent hero Flesh Gordon can help, who, together with his girlfriend Dale Ardor and the scientist Dr. Flexi Jerkoff, is heading for the source of this threat. On the distant planet Porno, the mad Emperor Wang has made it his mission to delight the universe with his perversions - and so Flesh Gordon joins forces with the inhabitants of Porno to put a stop to Wang's nefarious goings-on. If the story sounds vaguely familiar: that's right, it's a parody of the classic Flash Gordon series from the 1930s!
In the not-too-distant future, the war-loving human race has been wiped out - all that remains is an innocent young woman who lives alone with her robot companion on a spaceship. When mysterious feelings begin to make themselves known to her, she asks her companion to teach her about human sexuality. But are the four stories stored by the tin mentor really entirely reliable? After all, it starts with Adam and Eve - only they are teenagers in the 1950s and give the paradisiacal forbidden fruit a whole new meaning ... The movie was the penultimate porno in Ziehm's career.
Once again, good old Earth comes under attack from the mad Emperor Wang, and once again the virile warrior Flesh Gordon has to come to the rescue. As the universe is bombarded with Wang's impotence rays, three cheerleaders from outer space kidnap our hero, as he is the only one who can resist this treacherous male weakness. Flesh's girlfriend Dale Ardor and the scientist Flexi Jerkoff, who has become even quirkier over the years, chase after him - but before they can get to Wang, the trio has to make their way through some areas of the universe that have something strikingly anatomical about them...
Yours Hof Film Festival Team
Follow us on Instagram