Anna Span

Anna Arrowsmith (born Anna Imogen Thompson 15 January 1972 in Greenwich, London), who works under the pseudonym Anna Span, is an English pornographic film director and producer. She makes frequent public appearances, speaking on sex, pornography and feminism, though not without significant opposition from feminists.

Early life

She was born and raised in Kent, the daughter of finance director Clive Thompson. She is a graduate of the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in BA (hons) Fine Art (Film & Video). Her films are female-friendly based on her ideas first outlined in her 1997 dissertation 'Towards a New Pornography'. She later graduated with a MA in Philosophy from Birkbeck University and is currently studying a PhD in Gender Studies at Sussex University, titled "Rethinking Misogyny: How Men Experience Women to have Power in Dating Relationships".

Career

She had her first film aired in 1999 on UK porn channel Television X and has made over 250 scenes to date.

Her films focus on women enjoying sex including lesbian sex and heterosexual sex, with some bisexual sex. Other themes include sex toys, everyday objects (such as a chocolate bar or orange) being used as sex aids, threesomes, group sex and gang bangs. Role playing and fantasy are also common. Sometimes a character from one of her films appears in another. There is a big emphasis on reality both in script and actor performances. In her films she includes a much higher than average percentage of shots which look at the men, which she has termed 'female point of view' shots.