| Critics Adult Film Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Excellence in the porn film genre.[1] |
| Sponsored by | East Coast Producers Association of theAdult Film Association of America[1] |
| Location | New York City |
| Country |  United States |
| Presented by | Critics Adult Film Association |
| Reward | Trophy |
| First award | 1981 |
| Final award | 1987 |
TheCritics Adult Film Association (CAFA) was aNew York–based group ofEast Coast adult sexfilm critics, which bestowedawards upon those working inpornographic film during the 1980s. The awards were first presented in 1981, honoring the movies of the previous year.Talk Dirty to Me, a sexcomedy starringJohn Leslie, who won Best Actor, was voted best film of 1980.Samantha Fox was the first Best Actress, winning for her role inThis Lady Is A Tramp, another sex comedy.
Amanda By Night, an adultcrime-drama andRoommates, also a drama, would become CAFA's most-honored movies, with the latter being presented with seven awards in 1983, including Best Director (Chuck Vincent) and BestActress (Veronica Hart).[2]Amanda By Night scooped six awards the previous year in a ceremony "held at the famedCopacabana":[1] Best Film, Best Actress (Hart), BestSupporting Actress (Lisa De Leeuw), Best Director (Robert McCallum), BestScreenplay and Best Editing.
The CAFA andAdult Film Association of America awards were considered the major adult film awards of theGolden Age of Porn. By 1985, sex news magazineCheri declared: "Held at the Silver Lining, a snazzy littlebistro on theWest Side's Restaurant Row, the fifth-annual Critics Adult Film Awards was a gentle reminder that porn films can be measured against standards other than thePeter Meter."[3]
The seventh CAFA Awards were presented May 27, 1987, inManhattan.[4] The association seems to have faded away after that, as did the New York–based adult film industry, overtaken by theX-Rated Critics Organization and itsHeart-On Awards, which had first been presented two years earlier and which were based in California, the new centre of porn production.
In 1986 all three awards programs chose the same Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress.[5]
Thetrophies were called the Critics Adult Film Award and each was inscribed with the year the award was being given for, on a gold-plated round icon with decorative edges on a wooden base.[6]
In 1987,Cinema Blue magazine described the voting as a two-stage process: "CAFA President Jack Shugg and officers Steffani Martin, Colette Connor and Will H. Jarvis, aided and abetted by the members of CAFA...mail out two ballots to the New York porn critics. On the first ballot, the critics make five choices for best movies and performers in each category. (This year, any film or video released between January 1, 1986, and February 28, 1987, was eligible.) The ballots are then mailed back and the officers and their assistants count them. The choices with the most votes are then listed on a second ballot and again mailed to the critics who make one final choice in each category. These votes are once again tabulated and the movie or performer in each category with the most votes becomes the winner."[4]
Winners are listed below by the year in which the awards presentation was held, not by year the award was for, which was the previous year.
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Talk Dirty to Me[7] |
| 1982 | Amanda By Night[1][7] |
| 1983 | Irresistible[7] |
| 1984 (tie) |
|
| 1985 (tie) | |
| 1986 | Taboo American Style[5][7] |
| 1987 | Winner:The Devil in Miss Jones 3[8] Nominees:Behind the Green Door: the Sequel,Every Woman Has a Fantasy 2,Lust on the Orient Express,The Oddest Couple,Star Angel[4] |
| Year | Actress |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Samantha Fox –This Lady Is A Tramp[7] |
| 1982 | Veronica Hart –Amanda By Night[1][9] |
| 1983 | Veronica Hart –Roommates[7] |
| 1984 | Sharon Mitchell –Sexcapades[7] |
| 1985 | Colleen Brennan –Trinity Brown[3] |
| 1986 | Gloria Leonard –Taboo American Style[5][7] |
| 1987 | Sheri St. Claire –Sweet Revenge[4][8] |
| Year | Actor |
|---|---|
| 1981 | John Leslie –Talk Dirty to Me[7] |
| 1982 | Richard Pacheco –Nothing to Hide[1][7] |
| 1983 | John Leslie –Talk Dirty to Me 2[7] |
| 1984 | Eric Edwards –Sexcapades[7] |
| 1985 | Tom Byron1 |
| 1986 | Eric Edwards –Corporate Assets[7] |
| 1987 | Jerry Butler –Star Angel2[4][8] |
| Year | Actress |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Vanessa del Rio –Dracula Exotica[7] |
| 1982 (tie) |
|
| 1983 (tie) | |
| 1984 | Sharon Mitchell –Night Hunger[7] |
| 1985 | Colleen Brennan –Good Girl, Bad Girl[3][7] |
| 1986 | Sheri St. Claire –Corporate Assets[7] |
| 1987 (tie) |
|
| Year | Actor |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Richard Pacheco –Talk Dirty to Me[7] |
| 1982 | Richard Pacheco –Dancers[1][7] |
| 1983 | Jamie Gillis –Roommates[7] |
| 1984 | R. Bolla –The Devil in Miss Jones 2[7] |
| 1985 | Tom Byron1 |
| 1986 | Jose Duval –Taboo American Style[7] |
| 1987 | Ron Jeremy –Sweet Revenge[4][8] |
| Year | Director |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Anthony Spinelli –Talk Dirty to Me[7] |
| 1982 | Robert McCallum –Amanda By Night[1][7] |
| 1983 | Chuck Vincent –Roommates[7] |
| 1984 | Anthony Spinelli –Dixie Ray, Hollywood Star[7] |
| 1985 (tie) |
|
| 1986 | Henri Pachard –Taboo American Style[5][7] |
| 1987 | Cecil Howard –Star Angel2[4][8] |
| Year | Scene |
|---|---|
| 1981 | |
| 1982 | Games Women Play[1] |
| 1983 (tie)[10] |
|
| 1984 | Silk Satin and Sex (with Vanessa del Rio and Jerry Butler)[11][12] |
| 1985 (tie) |
|
| 1986 | Passage Through Pamela (transsexual scene)[5] |
| 1987 | The Oddest Couple (Danielle and David Christopher)[4][8] |
Like theAcademy Awards, CAFA also honored the best in various production categories. For example, at the awards show held in 1985,Every Woman Has a Fantasy scooped upcinematography and music awards,Raw Talent polished off top honors for editing prowess and Sandy Amsterdam's production design andTalk Dirty to Me III netted make-up and costuming kudos forTraci Lords' mermaid tail.[3]
However, unlike the Academy Awards, CAFA also presented awards in categories specific to the pornographic movie industry, such as Best Group Scene, bestowed in 1987 toThe Devil in Miss Jones 3: A New Beginning withVanessa del Rio and seven studs.[4][11][13] With the advent of pornography on video, a Best Adult Video award was created, won byCandida Royalle forUrban Heat[14] in 1985 andChristine's Secret in 1987.[4]
The annualGerard Damiano Special Achievement Award, named after the producer, writer and director of the1972 cult classicDeep Throat, went to actressGeorgina Spelvin in 1982,[1][6] Erica Eaton, publicist and former CAFA chairperson, in 1985[3] andGloria Leonard in 1987.[4][8]
^1 There is a discrepancy as to which movie(s) Tom Byron won for in 1985.Cheri magazine states "He managed to walk off with Best Actor (forSister Dearest) and Best Supporting Actor (Talk Dirty To Me III)".[3] Internet Adult Film Database founder Peter Van Aarle listsPrivate Teacher as his Best Actor win andSister Dearest as his Best Supporting Actor award.[7]
^2 In the bookThe X-Rated Videotape Guide II, authorRobert Rimmer states, "In May 1987, the CAFA (a New York film critics group) gaveSnake Eyes II awards for Best Script (Anne Randall), Best Actor (Jerry Butler, who also received it for the originalSnake Eyes), and Best Director (Cecil Howard)."[15] However, this seems unlikely asSnake Eyes II was not released until 1987[citation needed][16] and it contradicts two other sources that list Butler and Howard winning in 1987 forStar Angel and no category called Best Script.[4][8] PossiblySnake Eyes II won the following year, however, there doesn't seem to be a record of whether any awards were held in 1988.