Jonathan Agassi is one of the world's most successful gay porn stars. This is a rare and intimate look at the world of porn and escorting, as well as on a unique relationship between a mother and son.
Director: TOMER HEYMANN
Producers: BARAK HEYMANN, TOMER HEYMANN
Cinematography: ADDIE REISS
Additional Cinematography: TOMER HEYMANN, JONATHAN AGASSI
Editing: TAL RABINER, ALEX KHOSID
Sound designer: ITZIK COHEN
Original Score: MATAN DASKAL, ALBERTO SHWARTZ
Theme song: INBAR HEYMAN
With the support of :
CHANNEL 8 – ISRAEL/MAKOR FOUNDATION FOR ISRAELI FILMS
Director: TOMER HEYMANN
Producers: BARAK HEYMANN, TOMER HEYMANN
Cinematography: ADDIE REISS
Additional Cinematography: TOMER HEYMANN, JONATHAN AGASSI
Editing: TAL RABINER, ALEX KHOSID
Sound designer: ITZIK COHEN
Original Score: MATAN DASKAL, ALBERTO SHWARTZ
Theme song: INBAR HEYMAN
With the support of :
CHANNEL 8 – ISRAEL/MAKOR FOUNDATION FOR ISRAELI FILMS
Jonathan Agassi is one of the most successful gay porn stars in the world. His rise to fame was stratospheric and revolutionized the industry. He built his fame and success on what is considered a global taboo, but in fact pleases millions. The film offers a rare and intimate look at the world of gay porn and escorting, and presents a unique relationship between a mother and son, who courageously redefine familiar family concepts.
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Kyle Turner, New York Times
Jude Dry, IndieWire
Matthew Carey, Deadline Hollywood
Glenn Gaylord, The Queer Review
★★★★★
Paul Salt, Screen Mayhem
★★★★★
Randy Shulman, Metro Weekly
Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film
Huck Magazine, UK
Liselotte Vanophem, OC Movie Reviews
Alex Godfrey, The Guardian
Uri Klein, Haaretz
Avner Shavit, walla.co.il
doctalk.co.il
Gili Izikovich, Niv Adas, Haaretz
TimeOut Israel
The New York Times: “‘Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life’ Review: A Gay Porn Star Is Born” (English)
IndieWire: “Not Feeling ‘Pleasure’? ‘Kamikaze Hearts’ and ‘Jonathan Agassi’ Show Queer Porn Stars on Their Own Terms” (English)
Deadline: “‘Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life’ Creates Intimate Portrait Of Gay Israeli Porn Star” (English)
The Guardian: “Former porn star Jonathan Agassi: I’d be dead if they hadn’t made a documentary about me” (English)
The Advocate: “How Jonathan Agassi Navigated the Perks and Perils of Gay Adult Film Life” (English)
EDGE Media Network: “Jonathan Agassi Was King of the Porn World, Until… Inside Doc Filmmaker’s Tomer Heymann’s Provocative Film” (English)
The Queer Review: “Mother Of Intervention – Film Review: Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life” (English)
OC Movie Reviews: “An Uncensored, Vibrant And Emotional Documentary” (English)
Screen Mayhem: “Review: Porn, Drugs and Mum” (English)
Eye For Film: “The non-fiction highlights of this year’s NewFest” (English)
Haaretz: “Up Close and Personal With an Israeli Gay Porn Star” Film review (Israel, English)
Best Documentary and Best Editing – Jerusalem Film Festival, Israel
Special Jury Award – Atlanta Film Festival
Best Documentary – Outview Film Festival
Best Director Award – Qfest Houston, USA
Best Feature Documentary – GAZE International LGBT Film Festival Dublin, Ireland
Grand Prix Award – Jewish Motifs International Film Festival, Poland
Ophir Academy Award for Best Documentary (Israeli Oscar)
Jury Award for Best Documentary Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
Best Documentary – Santo Domingo Outfest
Audience Award – KOQIX INDIE Film Festival, Italy
“I met Jonathan Agassi on the streets of Tel Aviv. Our paths crossed here and there, and I felt envious whenever I saw him – envious of his freedom, of his wild choices. I insisted on continuing seeing him. When I approached him because something about him intrigued me, he smiled his charming, crafty smile and said, “Pleased to meet you, my name is Yonatan Langer”.
From the little information I had about him, I knew that he was an internationally successful porn star, that he had millions of fans all over the world, and that the porn films he starred in were sold and watched by millions of people that were dying to meet him.
Finally, when he agreed to meet me, he adamantly refused to be the hero of the film, and said that his mother would never agree to be exposed in a film that told the whole truth. I found out that he was a giant star, admired all over the world, and that his films were sold by the millions.
When I saw him again on one of his visits to Israel, as his career in Berlin was skyrocketing, and asked his consent to meet his mother, he said, “If you can convince my mother to be in the film, I’m in too”. He added, “My name is not Yonatan anymore. My name is Jonathan Agassi, and you should know that this persona – Jonathan Agassi – saved my life”.”
– Tomer Heymann
(Photo by Mari Laukkanen)