“Every fantasy became real”: Raya Martigny’s cinematic awakening
The Cannes-nominated actress and queer icon on discovering Fetishes in a Paris attic — and why it still defines her view of power and pleasure.
Raya Martigny is a model, actress and activist, recognised for her impact in the fashion industry and advocacy within the queer community. In 2024, she starred in Queens of Drama (dir. Alexis Langlois), which premiered at Cannes and was nominated for both the Queer Palm and Best First Film. She also starred in Queen Size (dir. Avril Besson, 2023), nominated for Best Fiction Short Film at the 2025 César Awards – the French Oscars. Alongside her film work, she has walked and been photographed for some of fashion’s most iconic houses. This year, she will present Kwir Noù Exist, an art project combining photography, video and archive, celebrating queer and Creole identities. Co-created with her husband, the photographer Edouard Richard, the project will be exhibited in Paris, La Réunion, Rio and São Paulo.
A profile of dominatrices and their clients, shot in a Manhattan BDSM dungeon by the noted British documentarian, whose BAFTA- and Sundance winning CV includes Kurt & Courtney (1998) and Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017).
“I have become the merch”
Raya Martigny
WHY I LOVE IT
“My curiosity was fully awakened when I discovered this film, the story of a place where every fantasy became real: the BDSM institution, Pandora’s Box in New York. Watching this makes me feel a lot of power, the sorority between the dominatrixes, their generosity, their control of the room, their ability to twist the rules of the world. Those girls heal people. They take fantasies and turn them into concrete, touchable realities. I felt deeply seen watching it for the first time, learning how to meet limits, play with them, own them, and then transform them. It’s honestly so sexy.”
FIRST TIME I SAW IT
“When I was 18, alone in my tiny Parisian rat’s nest on Rue Quincampoix. I don’t remember who told me about it; just whispers about a place where women ruled with leather and discipline. It made me want to smoke a cigarette while in 18cm fetish heels, covered head to toe in latex. Which I did.”
LAST TIME I WATCHED IT
“In my husband’s house and my dogs. The beauty of it inspired us to create together – photography, a movie project. I’ve seen It more than 20 times, never at the cinema. It was impossible to find. For years, I kept searching, obsessively; it was frustrating, not having access to it, but I kind of loved that feeling, too. The restriction made it feel even more precious. I ended up finding it on a porn platform a couple of years ago. It’s not a movie for everyone, I know that, but I’d love to organise a screening.”
HOW DEEP MY LOVE GOES
“At this point, I have become the merch: I have a lot of fetish books and shoes; an addiction to leather; a lot of latex in my closet. It all makes me remember this movie.
I do own the book that was shot during the making of Fetishes [Pandora’s Box by Susan Meiselas]. The book has something the film does not: poetry. You turn the pages and find actual latex bound into the book. There are handwritten letters from clients of Pandora’s Box. It’s really immersive and beautiful.”
MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER
“I am obsessed with [Pandora’s Box proprietor] Mistress Raven. I love her tenderness. She doesn’t shout for power, she holds it – she lets you know who’s in control. She makes me want to know more, to imagine what happens when the door closes? What happens when the game begins?”
THE BEST OUTFIT
“The house slave of Mistress Raven, in a 1920s maid look in full latex, a cat mask and a vacuum cleaner. I didn’t know a cat could clean a house.”
THE BEST BIT
“I love all of the moments that access the intimacy of the girls, with their masks down. I wish that had been explored more.”
MY FAVOURITE LINE
“When Mistress Raven looks straight at [director] Nick Broomfield and asks him how he can make a film about a world he’s never entered. That’s my girl!”
