Lola Clavo

No Love Lost opens on an abandoned factory, or industrial space. Blood on the concrete floor and the sound of violence off-screen. The back of a blonde torso flicks in and out of view, smacking down methodically. Neither the sound heard nor the body shown can be attached to a gender, and the viewer is even unsure which limbs belong to which bodies. There are long pauses where the screen goes dark and only the sounds of grunts and impact can be heard. A fight scene without the fight: just sounds, flickering images of limbs and hair.

This is a documentary portrait of Pennie Key, a 29yo art student from Athens living in London and working in the sex industry. The film follows Pennie through her daily life for a period of one year and is structured in a way that every scene reveals a new facet of the character. In doing that, the film challenges preconceived notions and ideas regarding femininity, sexuality and sex work. Pennie is queerness in its essence. She is able to fluidly move through gender roles, stereotypes and sexuality in the most natural way, even when being part of an industry that moves strongly in the opposite direction.