Sex, Lies, and Videotape won the Palme d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, making Soderbergh the youngest solo director to win the award; he was 26 at the time.

In 2006, Sex, Lies, and Videotape was added to the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry, deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Ann Bishop Mullany lives in Baton Rouge, unhappily but comfortably married to John, a successful lawyer.

Once he has a place, she makes an impromptu visit and notices stacks of camcorder videotapes, labeled with women's names.

Cleaning her home the next day, Ann discovers Cynthia's pearl earring in her bedroom while vacuuming and deduces her affair with John.

Ann turns the camera on Graham, who resists opening up but soon confesses that he is haunted by his ex-girlfriend Elizabeth and that his motivation in returning to Baton Rouge was an attempt to achieve some closure.

He would later call it: “the only movie I’ve ever made where I felt like I had all the money and all the time I needed.”[3] Principal photography took place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[2] Sex, Lies, and Videotape was well received in its initial release in 1989 and holds a rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 52 reviews with an average score of 8.00/10.

The consensus states: "In his feature directorial debut, Steven Soderbergh demonstrates a mastery of his craft well beyond his years, pulling together an outstanding cast and an intelligent script for a nuanced, mature film about neurosis and human sexuality".

[7] In 2006, Sex, Lies, and Videotape was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

LaBute's presence prompts Soderbergh to talk about reverse zooms, dolly shots, how actors have varying expectations of their director, the difference between stealing from a film you admire and paying tribute to it, shooting out of sequence, how the role of a director changes as their success (and their budgets) grow and other filmmaking topics.

Directed by Seth Wiley and a cast that featured Amanda Bauman (Ann), Emily Williams (Therapist), Shauna Slade (Cynthia), Justin Christenson (Graham) and Jack Sundmacher (John).

[19] A sequel was announced in 2001 and Catherine Keener was the first actor attached to the project, named How to Survive a Hotel Room Fire.