Hot D'Or

Hot d'Or (English: Golden Hot) was an adult film industry Pornographic award, awarded annually from 1992 to 2001 in Cannes, France by the French magazine Hot Vidéo. It has been described as the porn equivalent of the Palme d'Or or the Academy Awards. The analogous American honor is the AVN Award. The event was held over two weeks in May in a hotel complex, at exactly the same time as the Cannes Film Festival. Consequently it attracted attention from international media who were in town for the mainstream festival. Venues included the Royal Casino Hotel, situated five miles from the Croisette. Hot d'Ors presence was not particularly welcomed by the Cannes Film Festival or Cannes city officials. 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, and directors; and producers and distributors who would make deals buying and selling films. In 1998 Steve Vlottes of Wicked Pictures said the awards were, "the most important show that we attend". The event would often court publicity by having porn stars pose naked on the public beach. The highest award given was the Hot D'Or D'Honneur, which was awarded to figures including John Wayne Bobbit, Marc Dorcel, Julia Channel, John Stagliano, Internet Entertainment Group and Ona Zee.

After an 8 year absence, the awards returned to Paris on October 20, 2009 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hot Video magazine.