T-Port Blog

German filmmaker and artist Geeske Janßen discusses her short film MONIKA, part of a three-year research project on sex dolls that took her from Las Vegas factories to brothels in Dortmund. We chatted to the filmmaker, a long-term resident of Leipzig, about discovering filmmaking through theatre, the three-year research process for her film, and approaching a subject shrouded in taboo. 

MONIKA appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Hessische Film und Medienakademie (HfMA).

Hi Geeske! Would you mind introducing yourself? 

I was born in Northern Germany and have been working and living in Leipzig, Germany for 13 years. I am a filmmaker and artist and have been working with film since 2010. Since then, I have made twelve short films.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

In my first studies, I mainly dealt with performance and new forms of theater. At some point, a professor pointed out to me that I create images and asked if I wanted to try out the medium of film. For me, film was and is a way of expressing myself, highlighting and discussing issues and asking questions of myself and society.

How did you first start working on this film? What was the process like and what first sparked the idea to make it?

MONIKA is part of a three-year research process on sex dolls. I visited a wide variety of places and people from a factory in Las Vegas to a brothel for dolls in Dortmund.

The protagonist of MONIKA was the last film shoot of the project. This encounter and above all, the protagonist’s relationship was so special that I had to give him and his companion their own film.

The interest in sex dolls arose from another project on sex work. There I visited an erotic fair where sex dolls were also presented. As I was talking to the salesman, a visitor stuck his closed fist into the doll’s bottom as I walked past. This incidental yet violent act made me think about how these human-like objects are treated. Who uses the dolls? How are they used? Who decides what they look like? Who produces them? Who sells or lends them?

And then when you began the practical side, how did the production process pan out for you?

It all started with research into the topic. The next step was the search for possible locations and protagonists. This turned out to be a very difficult and lengthy process. As people are often stigmatized, there weren’t many people who were willing to talk to me.

What were the biggest challenges you encountered during making your film?

To convince people that I am not interested in exhibiting them and their life situation. It was easier to approach companies and film there. Private individuals were very reluctant and had great reservations. Building trust was particularly difficult in this project.

How was it to collaborate with your cast and crew? Have you formed any particular meaningful connections?

Developing the contact with the protagonist and then establishing trust was not easy. That’s why I’m very happy that it worked out after several exchanges and that the protagonist had the courage to talk about his relationship with the doll.

Tell us about the visual choices in your film

You don’t see any faces in the movie. This is to protect the protagonist, but also to draw the viewer’s attention to the details and movements.

Can you share the most important lessons you learned through the process of making the film?

I collected a lot of interesting material during my research. Actually, I wanted to make a completely different movie, but after a long period of editing, I decided to just make a movie about the relationship between the doll Monika and the protagonist. This process was relatively lengthy and not easy, as it was not easy for me to say goodbye to the other material. I learned that sometimes it’s important not to include great shots and interesting locations in the film, because these would not have made it possible to portray the relationship between humans and dolls in this way.

If you could go back in time to pre-production and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

I would say that I shouldn’t stress myself so much and believe in my work.

What would you like people to take away from your film?

I would like the viewer to gain an insight into a different world and be confronted with their own images and prejudices and have to endure them. In a world in which ever greater divides are emerging and people are no longer learning to tolerate and discuss other realities and attitudes, I think films like MONIKA are important.

What do you wish you’d known before you began the distribution process?

It would be nice if art colleges that also teach film could prepare students for this. As it is, you have to teach yourself everything and ask around.

What’s next for you on the filmmaking front?

Next, I’m working on another movie about sex dolls, but this time from a female perspective. In the research, it was mainly men, but I also met and interviewed women. Their reason or cause for using sex dolls was often different to that of the men. So now that the focus was on a male protagonist, I would like to tell another perspective.