Well this is a first. Perhaps the boundaries between ‘porn’ and mainstream are truly blurring. In February, luxury sex toy brand LELO released its first movie Beyond the Wave, starring Casper Van Dien, making it the first ever sex toy company to release a mainstream movie. Now that very movie is going to be screened at the 68th Festival de Cannes this May.

And in case you were wondering if Casper Van Dien has ventured into porn, no he hasn’t. This movie, unlike what you might think does not have Van Dien fighting off the bad guys in a bloodied battle using only bullet vibrators – no matter how much I might want that scene to become a reality.

The trailer looks interesting enough, but then again, I am always up for any sort of apocalyptic movie. The story is set in the future where men and women are divided and choose to live apart. Which ordinarily would mean that this is a great market for the sex toy companies, you’d think, and yet, there is not a luxury dildo in sight. The film examines the interactions between a man and two women and how those interactions aren’t always all they seem.

Trying to go beyond just the surface, Beyond the Wave explores the importance of communication in a time of increasing self-interest and worsening communication. It is a parable, and a warning.

I’m sure being the first sex toy company to release a movie being screened at Cannes is no small feat. Steve Thomson, Head of Marketing at LELO seemed well pleased about it: “We are honored to have been selected to screen at Cannes. Every day we see the world become more individualistic and fragmented. This movie is a creative intervention, designed to do what LELO does best: bring people together. That’s what’s at the heart of what we do and at the heart of the film too, and it does that in a way that goes way beyond what people expect from a pleasure brand like ours. It engages couples, encouraging them to get closer and the Festival De Cannes is the perfect platform from which to share this increasingly important message.”

Well, it certainly is quite a project to undertake! Even without a sex toy in sight, LELO is keeping to its brand by bringing people together, in an apocalyptic movie. And they even got hot hunky Van Dien to help.

Director, Goran Gajic said: “Cannes is an ideal film festival for a movie with structure, sophistication, nuance and a message, as we tried to convey in “Beyond the Wave”. I hope the other film festivals will be able to recognize its value as well.”

This is a first, but hopefully not the last. I’m certainly glad to see that sex toy companies can bring their message of togetherness forward in this manner.