LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Iconic alt-performer Michelle Masque will premiere her directorial debut, the XXX short film “Michalien,” at the 21st Porn Film Festival Berlin, taking place October 20-25.
The film — written, directed and produced by Masque, who also stars — presents an erotic take on the famous 1979 Ridley Scott-directed “Alien.” Masque co-stars with a specially created practical-effects creature, crafted from Hankey’s Toys’ realistic Alien Breeder Dildo.
Masque performed the live action sequences against greenscreen, then used Unreal Engine virtual environments to transform that footage into the interior of an alien overrun spacecraft, teaching herself virtual production techniques as the project evolved, finally editing it all through DaVinci Resolve.
“I had wanted to create a virtual set that felt like it actually existed in deep space, and I knew I needed to use greenscreen in some way,” she explains. “I was convinced by a production associate that we could make these virtual environments through Unreal Engine. I became fascinated — took courses, learned DaVinci Resolve and was able to direct the creation of the perfect environment for ‘Michalien.’ Fans and sci-fi heads will be blown away.”
Sound design and a haunting original score were produced by Travis Sedg Bacon.
“In space, no one can hear you cum,” the poster declares. “The year is 2137. A lone woman awakens from cryosleep to find herself trapped on an uncharted vessel drifting through deep space. But she is not alone…”
“I was in Vegas for the AltStar/AltPorn Awards and I saw a flyer for Hankey’s Toys advertising the chestburster-replica dildo,” says Masque, a long-time admirer of genre-busting studios like Hentaied. “The whole ‘Michalien’ film sprung into my head right then like a sci-fi vision, fully formed! I’m a cinematic fanatic and I wanted to create something for my people — my fellow horror movie freaks who are interested in watching things that aren’t your normal B/G or toy play, or even your cutesy cosplay. I built ‘Michalien’ as a DIY project for people who love video games, sci-fi and horror as much as I do.”
Raised in South Texas, Masque grew up watching horror movies and action flicks. “I love things that spoke about rebellion and post-apocalyptic vibes,” she adds. “That greed is evil. That imperialism is evil. And I grew up with a love for film and music and art, Frank Frazetta, H.R. Giger. I have film and horror-inspired tattoos: Nosferatu — the original, of course — the Crypt Keeper! And when I got into making my own clips, it kicked my desire to make movies into a higher gear. ‘Michalien’ comes from that creative place.”
This past April, Masque submitted “Michalien” for a slot at the prestigious annual Porn Film Festival Berlin, and the film was quickly accepted into the shorts program.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Masque, who will be traveling to Germany for the world premiere and the Adult Industry Forum happening alongside the Porn Film Festival Berlin, enthused. “It’s three days and nights of watching films with literally the coolest film audience in the world. It will be the first time ‘Michalien’ will be shown to a large crowd of cinephiles and people who love erotic films who don’t know me personally. I’m super excited because it’s always been my dream to expand from performance into production and distribution and growing my abilities to help people get their creative projects seen. As excited as I can get about making my own thing, I get even more excited about helping people make theirs.”
After its world premiere at the 21st Porn Film Festival Berlin — with screenings at diverse Berlin venues and also online — “Michalien” will be available at Masque’s newly launched Membership site MichelleMasque.com powered by Paysite.
