Failed Films is a film and art project that was birthed under the streets of San Francisco, where the old creek still flows.
The adult creator economy was in its infancy. The industry was moving towards creators owning the relationship with their fan base.
The big production companies that ruled the adult industry for so many years were on their way out and the community of adult content creators that Failed Films came out of needed a container to put our failures.
We needed a place to put the things that were not for sale.
2023 Curatorial Team
antone
is under construction.
Lauren West
is a multidisciplinary artist focused on collage, film & fashion. She has proudly produced and curated the current and previous three iterations of Failed Films in Los Angeles. Her first self directed film, The Empress, debuted at Failed Films 2019 & was featured at the 2021 San Francisco Porn Film Festival. Her film ἌΦΕΣΙΝ followed suit in 2022. Lauren has also performed in the Antone directed film Collage Daydream inspired by Lauren’s collage work. This work, which largely centers vintage Playboy models as subjects alludes to themes of feminism & sexuality. In this regard, Lauren has worked with publications such as Playboy & the Los Angeles Times. Her ongoing goal is to fuse art and sexuality.
Sloane Down
is a multidisciplinary artist who specializes in photography, filmmaking, and fashion. Their interest in design was sparked by a close creative relationship with their grandmother who taught them how to work with fabric from a very young age. Currently, they are pursuing a certificate in patternmaking from Apparel Arts, a school for fashion design based in Oakland, CA. They also hold hold a certificate in Fashion Design from The New School Parsons. Sloane has worked professionally as a photographer since 2017 centering their work on portraiture, boudoir, and editorial photography. They directed, produced and performed in two short films that screened at Failed Films Los Angeles in 2018 and 2019. Their inclination towards portraiture expressed through many mediums is a way of projecting intimacy into a public space. Through photography and by using materials that traditionally hold feminine connotations, Sloane’s work communicates the potency, power, and presence of femme & gender-fluid energy. Sloane is based in LA and frequents the SF Bay Area where they used to call home. They are staying busy by writing their next film project, producing beautiful imagery, and continuing their study of fashion design.
Mimosa
creates art, preferring to use the body in all possible ways. Creating and expanding comfort zones is a what Mimosa does best whether in a crowd of strangers or with close friends. Mimosa works hard to help everyone access and celebrate the wilderness of their existence through personal connection, art performance, film, friendship, and writing. You can find Mimosa based in Los Angeles. Or, on Instagram as @mas.mas.mimosa, @bubblinbooty and Twitter: @masmasmimosa
Themba Alleyne
Themba Alleyne is a trained theatre performer/dancer. Experimental & movement based theatre are some of the main areas that have drawn his interest. As an autodidact & polymath, Themba's practice has expanded to sculpting wood, photography, aerial cinematography, brewing experimental beer, and the exploration of re-wilding humans. Themba is one half of the ecofetish conceptual art piece and research project Sacred Sadism.
Chris Holloway
Co-Founder of Failed Films. Oakland-based creator.