United States/Australia
She/Her
2023 Cohort
Born in Sydney, Alex Bateman is a filmmaker, writer and designer living in New York City. She was previously the Digital Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer for Sydney Film Festival, Communications Coordinator at NIXCo, Director of Verge Creative Arts and Culture Festival, and editor of the Hermes Literary Journal.
Narrative short film 
Alex Bateman is a filmmaker and researcher whose work explores the intersections of sexuality, pleasure, and cultural stigma. With an academic background from Columbia University and support from institutions like the Kinsey Institute and the American Australian Arts Scholarship, Alex developed narrative film projects grounded in archival research and social commentary. Their recent project, “Smut Merchant,” examines the history of pleasure taboos and obscenity laws through the lens of a short film set in mid-century America.
During her fellowship Alex grew her project “Smut Merchant”, a short film project exploring how obscenity laws have historically criminalized women’s pleasure. It uses a fictionalized pleasure party to highlight contradictions in how sexuality is marketed versus regulated.
Alex is finalizing the script and preparing for pre-production on “Smut Merchant,” while pursuing academic opportunities that continue exploring the cultural politics of pleasure. They are transitioning the film to include documentary elements and see the short film and TV pilot as complementary formats.
Highlights
Alex plans to develop a narrative short film project that comments on the commercialization of female sexuality during this time period through the exploration of industrial design.
“Smut Merchant” is a narrative short film that investigates the legacy of obscenity laws and the cultural repression of women's pleasure. Set in a conservative American town where sex toys are illegal, the film uses the setting of a Tupperware-style party to explore how raunch culture paradoxically marketed sex while reinforcing shame. Originally developed as a TV pilot during Alex’s master’s program at Columbia University, the project evolved into a short film script with extensive archival research at Cornell and the Kinsey Institute. With support from The Pleasure Project and the American Australian Arts Scholarship, the project has grown into a historically grounded, research-backed creative endeavor. Future stages include pre-production and possibly developing complementary formats such as a documentary. The film aims to challenge enduring pleasure taboos and spark public discourse about the intersections of law, sexuality, and power.
This project helped me use film to challenge taboos around sexual pleasure and obscenity laws. Working with The Pleasure Project deepened my approach and affirmed the importance of visual storytelling in SRHR work.
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© 2025 The Pleasure Project. All rights reserved.
The Pleasure Project is an initiative by Taking Action for Sexual Health CIC.
© 2025 The Pleasure Project.
All rights reserved.
The Pleasure Project is an initiative by Taking Action for Sexual Health CIC.
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