How to: Awareness

Awareness is essential for creating safe and inclusive spaces—especially at a festival that explores sexuality, identity, and representation. In this interactive workshop, the team behind the Porn Film Festival Vienna will provide insights into the fundamentals of awareness work, why it matters, and how it applies to events like ours.

As a film festival that engages with pornography while remaining rooted in cinema and cultural discourse, we recognize the importance of fostering an environment where everyone feels respected and comfortable. Through open discussions, we will explore what awareness means in festival practice, how festivals can implement effective measures, and why these efforts are crucial for participants, audiences, and organizers alike.

This workshop invites all interested individuals to join the conversation, ask questions, and exchange ideas on making events safer, more accessible, and more inclusive. Whether you’re a festival visitor, organizer, or simply curious, we welcome you to be part of this important discussion.

Workshop will be held in ENGLISH

Facilitator CVS Sophie (she/her) studied Theater, Film, and Media Studies and wrote her bachelor's thesis on pornography. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Gender Studies and is active in the cultural sector and event management. Not only through her work at cultural events and the Porn Film Festival Vienna does she see awareness as essential, but also through her work with children and adolescents. As part of her role in the PFFV team, she completed an awareness course from the Vienna Club Mission and wants to engage not only with the festival but also with the attendees.

Nadine Stiftinger (she/no pronouns): Following her education as a psychotherapist, Nadine is approaching awareness work through a psychoanalytic perspective, considering social backgrounds and individual psychodynamic processes when it comes to political activism and awareness topics. Being active within the awareness field in sexpositive spaces, Nadine has a special interest in open exchange about sexuality, kink and queerness and how awareness can be developed in vulnerable spaces.

Accessibility: Accessible to anyone with auditory capacity and the visual ability to follow a PowerPoint.