In April 2004, a male porn star in L.A. tested positive for HIV, which lead to positive testing of three women who had performed unprotected scenes with him. Lara Roxx, a young, naïve Montreal girl, had only worked in the industry for two months but was the first woman diagnosed. The press followed her story initially—she was even interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Primetime Live —but soon forgot her.
Director Mia Donovan has followed Lara Roxx since 2004 and her self-reflexive approach and handheld camera reveal the relationship between filmmaker and subject with all its complications of trust and narrative control. The resulting documentary, Inside Lara Roxx, premieres May 5.
The raw, gritty and delicate story begins in a psychiatric ward in Montreal and follows five years of Lara’s ups and downs as she tries to reinvent her life. Roxx returns to L.A. and Vegas to reconnect with the industry, attempts to establish a foundation for the protection of sex workers, and falls into crack addiction followed by rehab. I caught a screening during Toronto’s Hot Docs Film Festival last week and chatted with Donovan about the dangers of porn, shooting the doc with Lara, and the friendship that developed between the two of them. More »
