Experiencing Interruptions?

Morgana

'Morgana' is an artistic character portrait of a 50-year-old housewife, who re-invents herself as a sex-positive feminist porn star.
Filmed over five years, this documentary chronicles Morgana’s journey from repressed housewife to international “sex-positive at any age” icon, and her struggles with self-acceptance and mental health. An inspiring and uplifting film, taking you on a wild ride that is both intimate and universal.

  • Isabel Peppard
    Director
    Butterflies - 2012, Gloomy Valentine 2006
  • Josie Hess
    Director
    All of Me - 2020
  • Isabel Peppard
    Writer
    Butterflies - 2012, Gloomy Valentine 2006
  • Josie Hess
    Writer
    Sunroom - 2014
  • Karina Astrup
    Producer
    In Love with Craziness - 2020, Despite the Gods - 2012, 6ft Hick: notes from the underground - 2010
  • Morgana Muses
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Biography, Human Interest, Sexuality, Ageism, Feminist Porn, The Arts, Queer, Mental Health
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 11 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 15, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia, France, Germany, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Melbourne International Film Festival - MIFF
    Melbourne
    Australia
    August 16, 2019
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Gold Coast Film Festival
    Gold Coast
    Australia
    April 24, 2020
    The Festival was cancelled due to Covid 19, but the Awards event went ahead online.
    WINNER - Best Australian Independent Film Award
  • Sydney Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    June 10, 2020
    NSW
    FINALIST - Best Australian Documentary
  • Revelation Perth International Film Festival
    Perth
    Australia
    July 9, 2020
    WA
    Official Selection
  • FIC Monterrey International Film Festival
    Monterrey
    Mexico
    August 13, 2020
    Latin American
    FINALIST - Best International Documentary Award
  • Fantasia
    Montreal
    Canada
    August 20, 2020
    North American
    Official Selection
  • FIDBA - Festival International Documentary Buenos Aires
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    August 31, 2020
    South American
    NOMINATED: Gender and Generations Award
  • Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival
    Oslo
    Norway
    September 26, 2020
    Nordic Premiere
    WINNER - Audience Award "Best Documentary"
  • Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 13, 2020
    UK Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Pink Screens / Genres d'à Côté
    Brussels
    Belgium
    November 20, 2021
    Belgian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive Australia - Documentary of the Month
    Canberra
    Australia
    November 5, 2020
    ACT Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Calgary Underground Film Festival DOCS
    Calgary
    Canada
    November 25, 2020
    Calgary
    Official Selection
  • Merlinka Film Festival
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    December 6, 2020
    Serbian
    Official Selection
  • Omovies International LGBTQ Film Festival
    Naples
    Italy
    December 21, 2020
    Italian
    FINALIST “Best Feature Documentary”
  • San Francisco Independent Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    February 4, 2021
    USA
    WINNER - Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature
  • Festival Filministes
    Montreal
    Canada
    March 4, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Flesh After Fifty Exhibition
    Melbourne
    Australia
    March 28, 2021
    Official Selection
  • FEMCINE
    Santiago
    Chile
    March 23, 2021
    Chilean
    Amanda Labarca Cinema Forum
  • ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    April 9, 2021
    French
    Official Selection
  • Cinefantasy International Fantasy Film Festival
    Sao Paulo
    Brazil
    April 16, 2021
    Brazilian
    Official Selection
  • Vox Feminae Festival
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    May 20, 2021
    Croatian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival
    Kyiv
    Ukraine
    May 29, 2021
    Ukranian
  • Kurja Polt Festival
    Ljubljana
    Slovenia
    June 8, 2021
    Slovenian
  • Korean Queer Film Festival
    Seoul
    Korea, Republic of
    June 17, 2021
    Asian
  • LGBT Film Festival
    Multi City Festival
    Poland
    September 17, 2021
    Polish
    Official Selection
  • Fifigrot - Festival Groland à Toulouse
    Toulouse
    France
    September 20, 2021
    Toulouse
    Official Selection
  • Her Docs
    Warsaw
    Poland
    October 22, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Porn Film Festival Berlin
    Berlin
    Germany
    October 31, 2021
    Berlin
    WINNER - Sex & Age Film Award
  • CineFem
    Punta del Este
    Uruguay
    October 29, 2021
    Uruguayan
    Official Selection
  • Porn Film Festival Vienna
    Vienna
    Austria
    October 6, 2021
    Austrian
    Official Selection
  • Porto Femme Int Film Festival
    Porto
    Portugal
    October 2, 2021
    Portuguese
    Official Selection
  • QUEER-Streifen Regensburg
    Regensburg
    Germany
    October 26, 2021
    German
    Official Selection
  • International Queer Film Festival Playa Del Carmen
    Playa Del Carmen
    Mexico
    November 11, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Queersicht
    Bern
    Switzerland
    November 5, 2021
    Swiss
    Official Selection
  • Hacker Porn Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    December 3, 2021
    Rome
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Juno Films
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
  • Label Distribution
    Sales Agent
    Country: Australia
    Rights: All Rights
  • Label Distribution
    Sales Agent
    Country: New Zealand
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Isabel Peppard, Josie Hess

ISABEL PEPPARD is a highly skilled multi-disciplinary artist who works across the mediums of film, sculpture and stop-motion animation.
Her multi-award winning work has screened at top-tier festivals, including Melbourne International Film Festival, Sitges and Annecy, as well as at art institutions such as GOMA (QLD), MOMA (Rio De Janeiro) and ACMI (Melbourne). Her short film ‘Butterflies’ (starring Rachel Griffiths) won the Dendy Award at the Sydney Film Festival and was broadcast nationally on SBS Television.
Isabel regularly exhibits at the Beinart Gallery, an international surrealist art collective, is currently writing a live action/animation hybrid horror feature and is developing a short stop motion animated Virtual Reality project. Isabel’s work uses gothic fairytale and handmade symbolic elements to tell humane stories of existential horror and personal transformation.

JOSIE HESS (they/them) is an award-winning filmmaker working across horror, comedy, documentary and porn.
Josie’s work has included extensive collaborations with Permission4Pleasure producer Morgana Muses and co-directing their first feature documentary ‘Morgana’, which premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival. Josie produced ‘The Grave of Saint Oran’, a short stop motion film based on a poem by Neil Gaiman with Director Jim Batt, premiering at Sydney International Film Festival.
Josie’s film work has also made waves in the porn world, with ‘Labia of Love’ winning ‘Hottest Artful Porn Award’ at the Toronto International Porn Awards and also picking up ‘Best Fetish Film’ for ‘Having my Cake’.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As female and queer directors we were attracted to Morgana because she is a fascinating, complex protagonist who naturally challenges expectations of a middle-aged woman’s character, sexuality and place in the world.
Originally what drew us to this story were the themes that were on the surface, the taboo of female aging and visible sexuality, the human need for intimacy and touch, the search for community and belonging and the redemptive power of art. As our journey with the character continued, other layers of meaning rose to the forefront; the construction of identity and self, how we play into social and personal narratives and where the line between the ‘authentic self’ and the ‘performance of self’ is drawn.
Stylistically we are drawing on our diverse creative backgrounds in animation horror and erotica to poetically illustrate and heighten our characters psychological journey. The use of handmade
miniature sets, installation art and Morgana’s own films compliment the dark, sexual nature of the material and adds beauty and weight to the telling of her story, while also allowing us to explore the line between art and artifice.
- Isabel Peppard and Josie Hess