A Life in Dirty Movies is a love story about legendary sexploitation director Joe Sarno, “the Ingmar Bergman of 42nd Street,” and his loyal wife and collaborator Peggy.
The documentary follows the Sarnos for a year, as 88-year old Joe struggles to get a new film project off the ground – a female-centric softcore film that harkens back to the style of his heyday as a filmmaker in the 1960s.
As audiences tag along for the eventful and often hilarious journey between wintery Manhattan and the couple’s summer retreat in Sweden, the film’s intimate perspective reveals a filmmaker on the verge of being rediscovered in his golden years.
Intercut is a look back to the evolution of softcore films seen as racy in their day into unmistakable hardcore porn that all but put Sarno and his artform out of business.
A Life In Dirty Movies chronicles Joe Sarno’s place in film history as an erotic auteur, and whose ambitions as a filmmaker often surpassed the needs of the genre he helped define.
A Life in Dirty Movies is a portrait of a unique couple who follow their passion in life – onscreen and off.
