If it is the actors who are put in the spotlight because they are the ones who appear in front of the camera, the film industry is full of different professions. You necessarily know many directors or even producers, but other people do not act behind the scenes, and are not known to the general public. This is particularly the case for “intimacy coordinators”. We focus on this still little-known profession.
A post-work#MeToo : privacy coordinator
It dates back to 2007 already, but it is from October 2017 and the Weinstein affair that the movement #MeToo exploded. The goal of the movement was simple on paper, but unfortunately much more complex in reality: to denounce sexist and sexual violence and to encourage the victims, mainly women, to speak out publicly to denounce these acts, so as not to suffer in silence deafening. In the months and years that followed the Weinstein affair, speech was freed up and cases of aggression and violence have been particularly numerous in the film industry. It is in this context that a new profession has emerged which had previously had difficulty establishing itself: intimacy coordinator.
For simplicity, An intimacy coordinator is a person who, on set, advises and monitors the well-being of actors and actresses who have to shoot sex scenes. Because the filming of such a scene is actually much longer and more demanding than what the spectator could imagine at first sight. Henceforth, it is therefore common for the filming of such scenes to be preceded bya long preparation, physical, psychological and emotional actors and actresses. Intimacy Coordinators also ensure respect people filmed, while ensuring that streamline communication among themselves, as well as with the teams present on site.
How do intimacy coordinators work on film sets?
That’s on paper. But concretely, how does all this take place on a film set? First, intimacy coordinators work directly alongside directors on sex scenes, which most often follow a choreography just as precise as a fight scene, for example. The idea is therefore to make the scene as realistic as possible while respecting the privacy of the actors. (prohibition to touch the genitals) and their well-being.
An essential role, since it is particularly embarrassing to shoot an X scene in front of sometimes very numerous teams. Let us mention for example the case of Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in season 1 of Game Of Thrones : these first X scenes were rape scenes which had bothered the actress a lot at the time. His on-screen partner, Jason Momoa, had reassured him and wore, as is customary in the cinema, a sock firmly tied around her sex in order to conceal it. In the middle, we call it “cock socks“. At the time, no privacy coordinator, but these impose today this kind of practices, when it is not outright flesh-colored pants that are worn. Moreover, HBO was one of the first channels to systematically hire these specialists.
With series such as The Bridgerton Chronicle, to name but one, the Netflix platform has also granted itself the services of intimacy coordinators. Moreover, those who work on this series have an astonishing policy when comes the problem of involuntary erection during a shoot (more common than one can imagine, since it is mechanical and sometimes involuntary): the latter will reassure the actors and de-dramatize the situation, in order to avoid embarrassment on all sides. Conversely, on series such as Sex Education Where The CrownIntimacy Coordinator David Thackeray instead encouraged the actors to take a break for a few minutesthe time that the erection goes down. Henry Cavill had also experienced a similar situation while filming an episode of You sleep, while an actress had to ride it. He had explained that he was confused in apologies before having to resume filming.
Finally, since it is important that the actors and actresses are on the same wavelength, the intimacy coordinators work hard to develop the relationship of trust between them. For this, everyone has their own method, although some may surprise: during the filming of the first season of Sex Education, the coordinator Ita O’Brien had organized a workshop during which each actor and actress had to “reproduce animal matings”. A way – original – to create links, but also to work on certain gestures. And if this last example can make you smile, the profession of intimacy coordinator is nonetheless essential in the film industry.
