‘Virtual Girlfriends’ Director on How Doc Is About Loneliness, Not Sex
Barbora Chalupová will follow OnlyFans documentary “Virtual Girlfriends” with a fiction film with the working title “On Tranquility of Mind,” inspired by its supporting character known by the moniker Madame Cobra.
“She’s focusing on S&M practices and has a really interesting backstory. After spending a lot of time exploring similar topics in a doc, I’m ready to do something different, but I still want to use my experience. It will be scripted and deal with themes of manipulation, but I’ll make it with non-actors and their actual clients,” she tells Variety.
Prior to “Virtual Girlfriends” – chosen as the opening film of the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival – Chalupová has already explored online universes in “Caught in the Net,” co-directed with Vít Klusák and about sexual predators exploiting underage girls.
“Five years later, we are facing a very different landscape: adult women are taking control and recognizing the financial potential of their bodies. I was curious how this business actually works and whether it’s true that if a woman gets naked online, she immediately becomes a millionaire – which is what the media seem to be telling us.”
In Czech Republic, OnlyFans creators are starting to claim their space in the public sphere, too – “They don’t call themselves sex workers – they are ‘content creators’ and these men are ‘fans,’” she stresses – but they were hesitant to appear in the film.
“Most of them said no, explaining that a film is different from online activity – it’s the medium of their parents and grandparents. Then I found Inked Dory, who was leading workshops for content creators. Thanks to her, we got to meet women who are at the beginning of their journey, like Rosalinda and Tinix.”
Pavla Klimešová, who produces for Helium Film alongside Monika Lošáková and Simona Hrušovská – and is among this year’s Emerging Producers at the fest – adds: “Slovakia is a very religious country compared to Czech Republic. Over there, it’s actually a big issue if you are an OnlyFans creator. There’s still this stigma. That being said, even in Czech Republic it can be hard to hold onto a normal job. One of our protagonists lost it precisely because of her content.”
And yet many are considering joining the OnlyFans ranks.
“We have famous podcasters who are rappers and they’ve started to invite OnlyFans creators to talk about business. They respect them because they’re making money,” says Chalupová, arguing that younger generation seems to agree.
“Lots of girls are considering it instead of applying for a job at a fast-food place, but it’s important to know that it does get difficult, it can lead to depression or a loss of privacy. I wanted to show it all very honestly.”
She notes: “When I was first approaching the creators, I told them I wanted to go behind the scenes and show their motivation. There was no script – just my curiosity and my passion.”
With DoP Šimon Havel, she needed to film their content in a non-exploitative way. “We worked with long shots and just observed it all. This way, the material you get is not exactly sexy. It’s just a normal life.” But she’s not just showing the women.
“I was wondering why millions of men are buying this content when there’s so much free porn online. I’ve been reaching out to OnlyFans users and one of them told me he was tired of constant rejection. This way, he gets an ‘online girlfriend’ who ‘appreciates’ him but he can still sit in front of the TV by himself.”
Others are in stable relationships.
“According to the statistics, more than 90% of these men are in relationships. They have wives and girlfriends, and yet on their ‘menu,’ the women are also offering intimate online calls. This film isn’t about sex. It’s about loneliness,” says Chalupová, also depicting personal relationships of the content creators, who are not hiding their occupation.
“One of their partners calls himself phlegmatic, so that’s how he deals with it,” she smiles.
“I think that sometimes, they don’t know what their girlfriends do with their clients. They don’t realize how much time they have to spend with them. It’s a big emotional effort, but the money can be very significant for the household. So maybe it’s a small toll to pay?”
