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KINKED OUT
There’s a film festival this weekend taking place at a decadent playground where the idle rich enact scenes of ritual perversion. And for those who won’t be heading out to the Hamptons Film Festival, there’s Cinekink, which bills itself as the “true alternative film festival.” The fest opens tonight at Bacchus with a live performance by the Wet Spots and then bases itself at the Anthology Film Archives for its screenings and panels.
Highlights include a panel discussion on Saturday, October 21st at 4:30pm entitled “The State of Smut,” which features NYC filmmakers Audacia Ray/Waking Vixen Productions, Tony Comstock/Comstock Films, Tony DiMarco/Lucas Entertainment, Joe Gallant/Black Mirror Productions and Candida Royalle/Femme Productions.
From the press release:
No longer the hub of porn production it was in the 1970s, New York City has become a haven for filmmakers who are forging new paths in adult entertainment. A panel of NYC-based directors will discuss what it is like working in this sector of the film business, also considering whether the city itself inspires a unique approach to the subject matter and whether the movies made locally are all that different from those produced in “Porn Valley.” Questions from the audience will be encouraged and film clips will be included in the presentation.
And then there’s work by husband and wife filmmakers Usama Alshaibi and Kristie Alshaibi. Usama, whose doc Nice Bombs won the Best Documentary Prize at the Chicago Underground Film Festival this year, screens The Amateurs, a doc about a trio of struggling amateur pornographers, as well as a couple of shorts. Kristie, who also goes under the performance name of Echo Transgression, will be showing Other People’s Mirrors (pictured), in which she stars with filmmaker Nick Zedd. Cinekink founder Lisa Vandever tells me that both are “insightful in their transgressions.” And on Saturday night there’s O: The Power of Submission, veteran hardcore director Ernest Greene’s take on Pauline Reage’s classic book featuring Nina Hartley.
Over at The Reeler, Stu VanAirsdale has more of a preview. Here he talks with Vandever about the challenges of running the fest:
Though Vandever, like many an independent, perpetually fights for funding and continues to seek out sponsorship for the unique fest, she acknowledged that her payback comes in ways that can’t always be measured in dollars and sex. “The highlight for me is always that moment when a film really connects with our audience,” she said. “Watching a film in a theater filled with kink-minded sorts can be a very heady experience; there’s a definite ‘community’ feel to it. I love to stand in the back and soak that up.” For filmmakers considering CineKink, Vandever added, “We welcome all types of works, all genres and lengths, explicit or not. And our definition of kink tends be fairly loose; your film might well be kinky — you just don’t know it yet.”
As a teaser, here’s the trailer for Torture Garden TGX, a doc by Mark Blackman on London’s legendary fetish and body art club. It premieres tomorrow night. Check the Cinekink site for schedules and showtimes.
