Werther Germondari (Rimini, Italy, 1963) is a visual artist, independent filmmaker and performer living and working in Rome and Amelia (in the italian region of Umbria). Werther tells funny and surreal stories against a background of testing boundaries. With the help of his*her comedic talent, Werther playfully encourages political reflection.
Werther identifies as a non-binary person. However, he has chosen to use the masculine pronoun for this biography, regarding his work as a filmmaker:
Werther graduated in 1988 with a scholarship to the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. He then he graduated in theater directing institutions at the University of Bologna. During his studies, he was already interested in innovative, experimental, neo-conceptual and situational dynamics, characterised by a very strong ironic and surreal style. For many years, he experimented within these art movements using a wide variety of expressive media (from painting to installation, from photography to film, from video to performance). With his projects, he participated in numerous international group and solo exhibitions. As an independent filmmaker, he has often enjoyed collaborating with Maria Laura Spagnoli, his life partner, using their intense pansexual adventures as inspiration for many short films. The shortfilms have been screened at many festivals (including Cannes in 1994, and Venice in 1996) and distributed in European cinemas and on many international television channels.
At the end of the 90s Werther began to think about a long-term project called “Tractatus logico-phileroticus”, with the desire for stories in which sex can also become an encouragement for political reflection. His short films could therefore be considered “post-porn” films due to the presence of sexually “explicit” scenes. But for Werther they fulfil a consistently narrative function.
Explicit scenes in Werther’s films serve to convey the extent to which a story can be told more (or less) effectively and the differences that arise when some stories are considered with (or without) the presence of explicit scenes. Or trying to create an explicit scene that is an essential part of the story, to the point that its omission does not allow for an accurate expression of the work’s vision. All this is done in an attempt to undermine the public’s superficial view of erotic and pornographic scenes, and to show that what seems scandalous is often trivial compared to the hypocrisy that dominates human social relations.
When did you start to work with explicit / pornographic material?
My first video with an explicit sex scene is from 2016
What was/is you motivation to work with explicit / pornographic material?
In 1998 I started the project called ‘Tractatus logico-phileroticus’ for the making of two feature films composed of episodes, in which there were no explicit sex scenes, inspired by two discs by Duck Ellington, ‘Piano in the foreground’, and ‘Piano in the background’, In the first film, the one inspired by the first record, it is composed of stories in which I wanted to probe, with my usual ironic style, the infinite ways in which the human species relates to sex. Surreal, straight, queer stories, in which I also put all my fantasies and cravings for a ‘alleged’ straight person, who today identifies as ‘non-binary’. In the second film, always composed of episodes and inspired by Ellington’s second album, I wanted instead to tell, always in my own style, Fetish, Kinky and BDSM stories and situations. The relationship with Ellington’s record title comes from the fact that in fetish situations it is ‘in the background’. In 2008 with my wife we started organizing orgies and I had a great experience that went far beyond couple sex, but I kept making videos without explicit sex. But in 2016 I came up with a story for the second film in which an explicit scene was planned, which made sense in the story, and this created a problem of self-censorship, because I was afraid it would compromise the distribution of the second film. After a very long cigar smoked one afternoon in front of the horizon of a landscape of central Italy, I found the solution: to start a third film project, in which to put all the stories that came to my mind in which explicit sex had to be present! At the same time, however, maybe I discovered that in certain stories sex could be seen or not seen, and then I made soft versions for the second film and explicit versions, even turning the scenes differently! Basically… I finally finished in 2011 (together with my wife, co-director and co-producer) the film ‘Sex Equo (sex in the foreground’). In 2021 ‘Sex Novo (sex in the foreground) and in 2022 (S)explicitus, the film that contains all the stories with explicit sex. In theory the project was over, but I then had so much fun writing stories with explicit sex, and I found so much consensus in the PostPorn festivals (which in the meantime was no longer just one, that is, the one in Berlin) that I decided to continue, and at the moment I have plans for the realization of dozens of stories with explicit sex! ;-D
What is the difference between mainstream-pornography and post-porn?
As far as I’m concerned, the most beautiful phrase offered to me by friends with whom we also organized orgies, often. After seeing some of my videos where there was a lot of explicit sex they said: ‘but these are not porn! They’re funny!’). Here, beyond the fact that my videos are also funny, I consider the postporn a wonderful key to be able to open people’s minds, and make them understand that the mere fact that there is sex in the scenes does not mean that it is ‘porn’ (understood in its meaning of a product intended above all to quickly excite fantasies, especially masculine), but that there is nothing wrong with sex, and seeing explicit scenes of sex in an artistic work helps to reflect on our existence, like any other element.
What are the topics or stories you want to tell?
There are no themes I prefer, I love to reflect on everything that involves and modifies the evolution of our crazy species.
What are you ethical standards in your films?
I reflect every time I make a project on the ethical implications highlighted by the stories and act accordingly. These are complicated issues that need to be considered from time to time.
What are you ethical standards in your production / on set?
Obviously I only ride with the consent of people and since they are never paid I try to have very light rhythms and have fun. In the end, despite the work, they thank me for the experience, and for me it’s a great satisfaction
How do you finance / fund your projects?
All works are self-produced, so No and Low Budget
How do you colaborate / network with other filmmakers or performers?
I know people who collaborate with me mainly at postporn festivals, but I also find people on the net, in portals where people are looking for sex. I try to intrigue them and get them to collaborate with me 🙂
Which role play (post)-Pornfilmfestivals for your work?
They are very important, and I hope more and more will be born. I myself would like to organize one.
How does the internet affect your work?
I have been using the internet for exactly 30 years, as an inevitable part of our reality. But in fact, it’s part of it. Very important for relationships, promotion, projects, but then in the end physical reality is always my place of my existential enjoyment.
Do you share your works on plattforms like Onlyfans, Fansly or Pinklabel, Arthouse or even Pornhub?
I tried to have a profile on OnlyFans, but I got out of it. I don’t find it suitable for my job, unless there is too much effort that would take too much time out of my projects. Unfortunately, Arthouse no longer exists. PinkLabelTV is the site where I sell my videos. I find it beautiful, graphically, conceptually, politically. Created and managed by wonderful people. PornHub unfortunately represents the type of pornography that I try to fight with postporn. I’m constantly looking for whether there can be points of contact to carry on the battle to make people think through sex even through PornHub… but for now I’ve never put my jobs, it’s an evolving thought…
How do you work with social media?
I’m not very good, but I still try to advertise my works, hoping that people will pay to see them.
In the time you work in this field: what where the biggest changes?
More and more artists make postporn works and more and more people are taking advantage of them. Of course, we are not talking about the mass, but still slowly something is getting better. Although for now it doesn’t seem ‘old’ to me it seems like a big change
How open do you communicate about your work with your friends and family?
By now all my friends and relatives know what I do, and appreciate it. However, it was something I built over time, it wasn’t easy, a journey that lasted almost thirty years.