Hot d'Or

Overview

The awards have been described as the porn equivalent of the Palme d'Or or the Academy Awards. The analogous American honor is the AVN Award. The inaugural event was held over two weeks in May in a hotel complex, at exactly the same time as the Cannes Film Festival. Venues included the Royal Casino Hotel, situated five miles from the Croisette. In 1997, the event was held at the Lido in Paris.

The Hot d'Or was noted for the lavish parties that accompanied it, particularly those held by Private Media Group on board a yacht in Cannes marina. The event attracted many performers, paparazzi, directors, and producers and distributors who would make deals buying and selling films. The event would often court publicity by having porn stars pose naked on the public beach. Consequently, it attracted attention from international media who were in town for the mainstream festival.

The highest award given was the Hot d'Or d'honneur, which was awarded to figures including Estelle Desanges, Marc Dorcel, Julia Channel, John Stagliano, Internet Entertainment Group and Ona Zee.

20th anniversary*

After an eight-year absence, the awards returned to Paris on October 20, 2009 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hot Vidéo magazine. They were held at Salle Wagram at the art deco Radisson Hotel, and French pop star Helmut Fritz performed at the show. French television giant Canal Plus had the rights to broadcast the show during their late-night block of adult programming.

Reception and review

Hot d'Ors presence was not particularly welcomed by the Cannes Film Festival or Cannes city officials. In 1998 (when the awards were again held in Cannes), Steve Vlottes of Wicked Pictures said the awards were: "the most important show that we attend".

Return of award program

Upon the announcement of Vardon's wife, former adult film star Tabatha Cash, taking over as the editor in chief of Hot Video magazine, there was speculation about the return of the award program and show.

Award history

Award winners:

The complete list of winners follows:

Honorary Awards: