Mickey & Richard

A portrait of 80s gay porn icon Mickey Squires and the man who performed him, Richard Bernstein, which turns from a fringe-film historical documentary into an essay on the mysteries and unpredictabilities of acting as a key activity in all our lives.

One of the most beloved works screened at IFFR 2025 was Raw! Uncut! Video! (2021), a documentary about gay macho fetish porn auteur Jack Fritscher and his Palm Drive Video production studio. Some folks called it a heartwarming, feel-good movie, which you might not expect looking at the subject – but it’s true. The directorial duo showed this world (unknown to many) as just a mirror of all of our shared longings and desires. With their latest offering, Mickey & Richard, the Wohler Films team returns to this territory to focus on one performer in particular: Richard Bernstein, aka Mickey Squires, one of the most venerated faces (and more) of 80s gay porn.

As the title already suggests: Richard is not Mickey – so what did it mean to be an object of male sexual worship, a gay icon, an industry figure? Did Richard learn something from Mickey? And how much Mickey was always present in Richard? Can you be erotic without giving at least a bit of yourself? Questions with answers that reach far beyond porn…

– Olaf Moller

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