I didn’t get to see every film on Cinekink’s roster — namely missing Friday night’s Headspace, The English Mistress, and (the ever controversial) R.C. Horsch‘s Slaves. And I wasn’t able to stay for the all-important sex-and-politics program which included Liberty in Restraint. But here’s a chunk of films encapsulated to show what this gem of kink-positive festival offered…
Dream Machine: A “Mind’s Eye”-styled short that restated the tale of Pinocchio in a fetisized fashion, completed with a soundtrack that could’ve passed as the musical love child of Tangerine Dream and Nine Inch Nails.
The Night Life: Its computer graphics were DoomI-rough, but its gay noir (!!!) story was an unlikely mix of hard-knocks dialogue and silly tranny zombies, vampire tops, and mummy bartenders. Chinatown reference: “He was brother. He was my personal trainer. My brother and my personal trainer.” Where else will you see vampires and zombies acting out Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare, West Side Story, and a Tchaikovsky ballet — all at once?
Succubus: Oh my God! A John Waters tribute? Though its website claims Succubus is a send-up of 50s schlock SF movies, I kept seeing John Waters similiarities, right down to the tranny mom and a throw-away “Divine” line! Silly, campy, schlocky, over the top, right down to its madcap ending. LOVED IT. (I’m such a sucker for camp.) ~website~
Spanky, Spanky: A catchy, kitschy music video that has Do Me written all over it. Euro pop lives — and now comes with a paddle.
Dominatrix Waitrix: A revenge fantasy for waitpeople everywhere. Obviously poly-perverse, it questions tug-and-pull of some power exchanges. Loved the body and orientation diversity in its orgy scene, the “collared” waitpeople, the Devo-esque Greek chorus of tranny-like servers, and the Forbidden Planet-like sountrack. ~website~
Haircut: Probably the most provocative of the entire festival, not because of sex but because of identity. Shot from a survellience camera at forehead level, it shows a domination haircut scene from the eyes of the bottom. But who’s identity are we examining? That of the bottom? Or are we examining the top through the eyes of the bottom? If you didn’t notice that the top was actually four different tops — all Asian muscle boys — then you have your answer. A good test of your racial sensitivities.
I Sit on Acid: Looking a tad Kurt Cobain-ish, director Ryan J. Wolowski mugs for the camera to the strains of a Lords of Acid tune in a frenzied ode to self-love via solo-love. Ejaculation finally makes its debut in a self-portrait — or what Wolowski dubs “personal porn.”
Alice in Footland: Sex romp! Alice gets off in a masturbatory fantasy that takes her down the rabbit hole — chasing after a shoe-stealing white rabbit — to find herself committing extended lesbian sex heresy in a world where only “foot sex” sex is allowed. Tons of foot licking and sucking, girl-girl action (with a double-ended dildo), spanking, and queenly domination. ~website~
Born in a Barn: A quiet, sensitive documentary that follows several people in their ponyplay experiences and desires. Has a lot of heart and is bound to make whatever circuit of kinky films we have in our greater community. Made me want a pony all over again.~website~
Crossing: Longing for theatrical feature status, this Canadian film maps the destiny of a mobster’ son who treads a fine line between making “the business” legit and getting pushed out by a rival via blackmail. The extortion evidence? He likes to crossdress for sex. But the prostitute who has to get the goods on him (to free herself from the same mob boss) falls for him, despite trying to distance herself by claiming he’s a freak, and must choose between her own freedom — on two levels, no less — and his well-being. A bit too long at 114 minutes, it needs some trimming. (Try losing some of the supporting character subplots.)
The Asylum: For the stand-and-model crowd into latex, nipple torture, girl-girl sex, and monotonous sex moaning. (I hesitate to say lesbian sex because I didn’t see much in the way of queer identity here.) Nice bodies, nice fetishwear makes for nice porn. Lite nice porn. Which means lots of style and only a touch of substance.
My Leather Jacket: Leather contestants and judges interviewed in this homemade video gives a glimpse into leather contests and titleholders. Very rough but leatherfolk will get its sensibilities right from the get-go. Frankly, this video is too homegrown in quality to ever serve as part of a greater work, but it will soundly serve as a compilation of oral histories for future leather/sex historians. ~brief website~
Proinhibition: A futuristic world in which Twelve Step has gone awry and warped into an anti-pleasure facism. Of course, the biggest prudes are also the biggest sinners and the institute’s directory gets his comeuppance at the hands and feet of the leather twelve step group. ~website~
Mango Kiss: Undoubtedly the tightest, most theatrically-bound of all Cinekink’s features, Mango Kiss explores polyamory, roleplaying, and lesbian identity among young adult lesbians. Old farts like myself might find it a touch slick and cloying in its youthfulness, but its humor and energy help bridge any generation gap. ~website~
Unforgettable Favorites: Excerpted from a larger thesis film project,its “Amethyst” short turns the sterotypical bored housewife and horny plumber on its head as a dyke and transman get it on. Pure porn with queer bodies.
The Adventures of Buck Naked: More queer porn as Buck — the man with a pussy — gets it on with a plentifully pierced woman. Loved her labia piercings raking his fake cock and really loved seeing her suck him off. His pussy/dick is to die for. ~website~
Yeesh. I have to fan myself after all that. Might even have to mop up the floor. Whew. But next year: More Cinekink!
