"Wrong as hell"

Stewart is against loud masturbation in movies

Kristen Stewart thinks loud masturbation scenes feel "wrong".

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Kristen Stewart is of the opinion that masturbation in films is not always portrayed realistically. In many films, moaning can be heard in masturbation scenes, the 34-year-old told dpa. "It's always so loud," she said, imitating exaggerated moaning noises. That felt unrealistic.

In her new film "Love Lies Bleeding", her character masturbates unagitated in one scene - and doesn't make any noises.

"We can't do that"
The film team experimented with adding moaning noises afterwards, Stewart said. "But then I said: 'No, we can't do that. That's fucking wrong."

Kristen Stewart can be seen in "Love Lies Bleeding" in cinemas from July 18.

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In "Love Lies Bleeding" (cinema release in Austria on July 18), which is set in 1989 in a small town in New Mexico, runaway Jackie (Katy O'Brian) comes to the gym where Lou (Stewart) works one day. The two fall in love, but their relationship is put to the test by conflicts with Lou's violent brother-in-law and her criminal father. Jackie wants to take part in a bodybuilding competition. To support her, Lou supplies her friend with steroids. But these make Jackie aggressive, which has disastrous consequences.

Changing sex scenes
German actress Anne Schäfer also has the impression that sex scenes in films have changed in recent years - at least to some extent. "The scenes have changed in young films," said the 45-year-old. "There is a more realistic and diverse portrayal. I believe that a new generation of filmmakers is growing up for whom this is important."

Schäfer ("Alle reden übers Wetter") also works as an intimacy coordinator when she is not filming herself. This is a profession that has become increasingly common since the MeToo movement. Intimacy coordinators ensure that intimate scenes in films and series are well planned and shot with the consent of all those involved.

Intimacy coordinators are not the "sex police"
Schäfer talks about a cliché that many people have about the profession: "That someone comes along and says: 'Here's the sex police and everything's fine.' No, that's not how this job works at all. This job is actually three quarters desk and communication work and that takes place beforehand."

Kristen Stewart has now spoken openly about intimate scenes in her new movie.

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Schäfer has 25 years of experience as an actress. She talks about how sex scenes were often shot in the past - namely with much less sensitivity. Directors would have given instructions such as: "Everyone does sex. You can do that. Why don't you do it? Why don't you improvise?", or even: "It's especially sexy when it's especially real."

Schäfer: "You would never say that in a fight scene: 'Get in each other's faces, because if it really hurts, it's especially real and looks good. That's complete nonsense."

Job requires "backbone"
Schäfer says of intimacy coordination: "You have to have a backbone to stop filming if necessary, for example if the agreed boundaries of an actor are violated or, in the worst case, someone is triggered and needs to be removed from the situation." She has already done this in the past.