‘Preaching to the Perverted’ on Kickstarter

Written and directed by Stuart Urban, the British romp was inspired by actual UK trials of people practicing consensual BDSM. It stars Christien Anholt as a fetish scene infiltrator, gathering evidence for a conservative MP keen to crack the whip on smut, who falls in love with the domme played by lesbian icon Guinevere Turner, leader of the colorful ‘House of Thwax.’ Filmed in a high camp style with a cast and crew often drawn from the UK scene, the film is a joyful–and funny–portrayal of kinky sexuality, one that is all too unique in its presentation of kinksters in a sympathetic, human light.

Interest in kinky topics has found Preaching to the Perverted a new audience, but the technology used to make it has meant that a revival on Blu-ray and HD digital download requires extensive restoration work. In order to fund this, the production company has launched a crowd-funding campaign to restore and remaster the 35mm original.

The cast and director are reuniting for this appeal and are offering a slew of rewards to encourage donations… among them, tickets to a planned NYC premiere of the restored version, which will be hosted by CineKink.

Get in on the fun and help restore a kinky, cult classic!

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This post, Help restore a kinky, cult classic – ‘Preaching to the Perverted’!, originally appeared on cinekink on April 11, 2013.

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Rounding out multiple days of screenings and parties in its tenth anniversary appearance, organizers for CineKink NYC/2013 announced the recipients of awards in a range of categories during the film festival’s closing celebrations held on Sunday, March 3, 2013

“When we set off on our first year of CineKink, little did we think that one day we’d be celebrating a ‘decade of decadence,’” noted Lisa Vandever, CineKink co-founder and director, as she presented the awards. “It’s because of amazing, quality films that we’ve reached this important milestone and it’s a pleasure to honor just a few of those tonight.”

Audience Choice Awards were given to Remedy (Cheyenne Picardo; pictured above, right) for Best Narrative Feature, with Betty Page Reveals All (Mark Mori) winning for Best Documentary Feature. The CineKink Choice awards were determined by audience ballot just following each eligible film’s screening during the festival.

In the shorts competition, juried festival awards went to Pinecone (Michael Markham) for Best Comedy Short, Krutch (Clark Matthews) for Best Dramatic Short, Impact (Mollena Williams) for Best Experimental Short, and to “Zucht und Ordnung” (Jan Soldat) and Ritual (Jörg Fockele), which tied for Best Documentary Short. Honorable Best Mention awards were presented to 50 Seconds of 50 Shades (Bo Blaze), Amber (Aven Frey, Gala Vanting and Frank Ly) and Rift (Keith Hodder).

Determining the shorts awards, CineKink jurors this year included Viviane Tang, ring-leader of the sex blog “Viviane’s Sex Carnival,” Mike White, editor and publisher of the independent film-focused “Cashiers du Cinemart,” and Bill Woods, a film festival programmer and curator of the New Filmmakers series at Anthology Film Archives.

The fourth annual CineKink “Bring It!” award, determined by audience ballot during a presentation of excerpts showcasing current adult cinema, went to Joy Club (Petra Joy).

The CineKink Tribute, recognizing extraordinary depictions of kink and sex-positivity in mainstream film and television, was presented to Sessions (Ben Lewin/Fox Searchlight) for its “amiable and often humorous assertion that sexual pleasure is an essential human right.” Honorable mentions for the CineKink Tribute went to the film Hysteria (Tanya Wexler/Sony Pictures Classics) and to the television show Our America with Lisa Ling (OWN), with a special “‘Pokemon Polyamory’ Farewell Tip of the Hat” presented to the outgoing series 30 Rock for “introducing such terms as ‘normaling’ and ‘sex idiot’ in the American vernacular.” Works eligible for consideration this year were those released or aired in the United States from January 1 until December 31, 2012.

Making its tenth anniversary run February 26-March 3, 2013, CineKink NYC featured a specially selected program of films and videos that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality. Billing itself as “the kinky film festival,” the event is dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television. With offerings drawn from both Hollywood and beyond, works presented at CineKink NYC ranged from documentary to drama, comedy to experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit – and everything in between. Sponsors of CineKink NYC/2013 included Crystal Delights, KinkyMedical.net, njoy and TakeDown Piracy, along with ainsley-t, DistribPix, Feminist Porn Awards, FetishMovies, Leather Archives & Museum, Les Jeux du Marquis, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Pleasure Salon, Reload and The Eulenspiegel Society.

Selections from CineKink NYC will be featured in a traveling version of the festival, slated to appear in various cities throughout the coming year.

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This post, And the winner is…, originally appeared on cinekink on March 8, 2013.

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A psychological drama based on writer/director Cheyenne Picardo’s personal experience, Remedy follows a woman into the dungeons of New York City and the world of professional domination and submission. There, entering the business almost on a lark, she takes on the fantasies of her clients, all the while exploring her own desires, and discovering some very real physical and emotional limits along the way.

“I’m hoping to demystify professional BDSM in a way that’s personal and accessible by showing it through the eyes of someone discovering that scene for herself,” said Picardo, who hopes that the film “humanizes the people who do this work, showing the perks and the pitfalls of exchanging money for fantasy.”

“Remedy is precisely the type of film we exist for, and it feels very fitting to have it open our milestone, tenth season,” said Lisa Vandever, co-founder and director of CineKink. “Cheyenne has done an amazing job at creating a colorful yet sympathetic look at some of the characters that inhabit the city’s kinky landscape, conveying both the fun and self-discovery that can be found within it, and the importance of knowing where your trust is best placed.”

Starring newcomer Kira Davies in the title role, Remedy will screen on Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 PM at Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, NYC), where the majority of CineKink NYC’s festival screenings are also unfolding.

CineKink NYC kicks off the previous evening, Tuesday, February 26, with a gala fundraising kick-off party, and runs through Sunday, March 3, concluding with an awards ceremony and an AfterGlow closing party.

The full CineKink NYC schedule will be announced on Wednesday, February 6th… and tickets go on sale Friday!

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This post, CineKink Selects ‘Remedy’ to Open Tenth Annual Kinky Film Festival, originally appeared on cinekink on February 5, 2013.

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First up at 1 PM, The Feminist Porn Show features feminist pornographer Tristan Taormino, who will introduce the concept of feminist porn and play a selection of short clips she has curated from filmmakers around the world. Narrated by Tristan, the show highlights the work of both pioneers and newcomers, many whose works have previously screened at CineKink, including Candida Royalle, Annie Sprinkle, Nina Hartley, Jackie Strano and Shar Rednour, Petra Joy, Erika Lust, Shine Louise Houston, Anna Brownfield, Carlos Batts, N. Maxwell Lander, Emilie Jouvet, Louise Lush, Jaiya, Maria Beatty, Buck Angel, Madison Young, Courtney Trouble, Morty Diamond, Tobi Hill-Meyer, Kelly Shibari, Loree Erickson and more.

At 2:30 PM, The Feminist Porn Panel will have Tristan joined by groundbreaking filmmaker Candida Royalle, professor and porn scholar Mireille Miller-Young, and sex-positive performers Jiz Lee, Sinnamon Love, Kelly Shibari and Courtney Trouble for a discussion of their contributions to The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure. Sharing their thoughts on feminist porn as a film genre, an industry, and a movement, the panelists will explore what feminist porn is, how it relates to the mainstream adult industry, and their experiences creating, performing, or studying it.

Immediately following the panel, CineKink will host a reception and book signing to celebrate the publication of The Feminist Porn Book, the first collection to include writings by scholars, academics, producers and performers about feminist porn.

And at 4:30 PM, CineKink’s annual competition and showcase, BRING IT!, will feature a dazzling array of talent from today’s adult cinema, all stepping up with a hot sampling of their recent creative endeavors. Taormino herself is a past two-time winner of the competition, in 2010 (for Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex) and 2011 (for “Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex 2”); the line-up for the 2013 showcase has not yet been announced.

“I am so thrilled to bring The Feminist Porn Show and a discussion about feminist porn to CineKink,” said Tristan. “CineKink is one of the only film festivals that supports and nurtures feminist porn, and creates space to talk about the politics that come along with it.”

Ticket prices are $10 for each individual program, $15 for the The Feminist Porn + Panel, or $25 for the entire afternoon, with additional discounts available for advance, online purchase. An all-access festival pass, including admission to all screenings and parties for taking place during CineKink NYC, is also available.

Scheduled for February 26-March 3, 2013, our tenth anniversary festivities will feature a specially-curated program of films and videos that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality. In addition to screenings, plans for the festival also include a short film competition, audience choice awards, and a gala kick-off event, along with retrospective screenings commemorating a decade’s worth of kinky programming. The full festival schedule will be announced in early February.

THE FEMINIST PORN PANEL – Participant Bios

Tristan Taormino is a writer, sex educator, speaker, and feminist pornographer. She is the author of seven books and editor of 25 anthologies including her latest, The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge. She runs the adult film production company Smart Ass Productions and has directed and produced twenty-four sex education and porn films including the groundbreaking series based on real female kink fantasies, Rough Sex, and the Expert Guide sex education series, which she created for Vivid-Ed. She was the first female director to win an AVN Award for Best Gonzo Movie for the debut film in her reality series Chemistry, and she received the Trailblazer Award at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2010.

Jiz Lee is a genderqueer porn star who is known for a unique androgynous look, female ejaculation, vaginal fisting, strap-on performance, and a fun sex-positive attitude about sex. The award-winning performer, who prefers the pronouns “they/them,” is an advocate for diversity and sex-positive pornography with gender agency and ethical production. Jiz is a contributor to pornography anthologies, and has spoken at academic institutions such as Stanford and UC Berkeley on queer sexuality and their experiences in porn. With a background in web and arts management, Jiz runs the philanthropic porn experiment Karma Pervs, raising money through erotic images for the benefit of sex-positive, queer, and kinky charity projects. Ever fascinated by the radical potential of sex, love, and art, Jiz runs a personal blog about sex work as a medium for social activism at JizLee.com.

Sinnamon Love is an adult performer and fetish model. She began performing in adult films in the early 1990s, and has since appeared in approximately two hundred movies. She directed the movie My Black Ass 4, which received nominations at the 2001 AVN Awards for Best Ethnic-Themed Video and Best Anal Sex Scene (Video). Love was admitted into the Urban X Hall of Fame in 2009, and the AVN Hall of Fame in 2011. She was profiled in the book Money Shot: The Wild Nights and Lonely Days Inside the Black Porn Industry by Lawrence C. Ross Jr. Her writing has appeared in Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex, edited by David Henry Sterry and R. J. Martin Jr.

Mireille Miller-Young is associate professor of feminist studies and affiliate associate professor of black studies, film and media studies, and comparative literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research explores race, gender, and sexuality in visual culture, media, and the sex industries in the United States. Her forthcoming book, A Taste for Brown Sugar: Black Women, Sex Work, and Pornography, examines African American women in pornography.

Candida Royalle, president of Femme Productions, is a frequent TV and radio guest and sought-after expert on relationships, sexuality, and women’s self-empowerment. She is the author of How to Tell a Naked Man What to Do: Sex Advice From a Woman Who Knows. Royalle was a popular adult film star during the “golden age” of porn, between the years of 1975 and 1980. With that firsthand experience, Royalle felt she could effect change within the adult film industry, providing a woman’s voice to a previously male-dominated genre. Royalle pioneered the genre of erotic movies by and for women and couples. Widely used by counselors and sexologists, her work has received international accolades for its sex-positive and egalitarian approach to sexuality and eroticism. In 1995 Royalle, along with Groet Design, a Dutch industrial design company, created the Natural Contours line of stylish and discreet intimate massagers. Royalle has lectured at the Smithsonian Institute, the American Psychiatric Association’s national conference, and the World Congress on Sexology, as well as numerous universities including Princeton, Columbia, Wellesley College, and New York University. Royalle is a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) and a founding board member of Feminists for Free Expression (FFE).

From her background in design and construction in mainstream film and television production to performing in front of the camera as the sexually-charged figurehead for chubby Asian girls everywhere, Kelly Shibari is a stereotype-breaking tour-de-force. Her Feminist Porn Award-winning site, PaddedKINK, is the premier destination for plus-size fetish performers, and she has the distinct honor of having been the only plus-sized Fleshlight Girl in existence. Her current self-produced project, Kelly Shibari is Overloaded, was nominated for both XBIZ and AVN Awards.

Courtney Trouble is a filmmaker, adult performer, photographer, queer rights activist, DIY genius, and an award-winning feminist pornographer. The founder of TROUBLEfilms, IndiePornRevolution.Com, and QueerPorn.TV, as well of the director of 14 full-length films, including the Reel Queer Production line through Good Releasing and three films through their own line at TROUBLEfilms, Trouble has been producing, directing, and performing in Queer Porn since 2002, and is responsible for coining the term “Queer Porn” as a genre in the mainstream industry. Nominated for 7 AVN Awards, and winner of 5 Feminist Porn Awards, Trouble’s films speak to an extremely fluid, authentic, and hardcore version of graphic sexual imagery.

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This post, CineKink Showcases Feminist Porn at Tenth Annual Kinky Film Festival, originally appeared on cinekink on January 25, 2013.

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Billing itself as “the kinky film festival,” the event is presented by CineKink, an organization dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television. With offerings drawn from both the independent cinema world and the adult, works presented at CineKink NYC will range from documentary to drama, comedy to experimental, slightly spicy to quite explicit–and everything in between.

“It’s so amazing to me that we’ve made it to the decade marker,” said Lisa Vandever, Co-Founder and Director of CineKink. “Looking back on all the films we’ve presented since 2003, it’s incredibly gratifying that we’ve been able to connect such smart and sexy works, and such talented filmmakers, with an appreciative, like-minded audience. And we’re looking forward to another year of it!”

The organization is currently seeking works for CineKink/2013, with a call for entries open until December 11, 2012. The festival line-up and schedule for CineKink NYC will be announced in January.

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This post, CineKink Announces Dates for Tenth Annual Festival, originally appeared on cinekink on November 28, 2012.

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CineKink –”the kinky film festival”–is extending the “regular” deadline on its call for entries for its 2013 season.

Originally set for last week, the postmark deadline for “regular” entries is now Monday, November 19. A “final” deadline for the festival remains at December 4.

CineKink is seeking films and videos, of any length and genre, that explore and celebrate a wide diversity of sexuality. Dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television, we’re looking to blur some boundaries and will be considering offerings drawn from both Hollywood and beyond, with works ranging from documentary to drama, camp comedy to artsy experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit–and everything in between.

Scheduled for its tenth annual appearance in February 2013, the specially-curated CineKink NYC will also feature a short film competition, audience choice awards, a special adult entertainment showcase, presentations, parties and a gala kick-off event, along with retrospective screenings commemorating a decade’s worth of kinky programming. A national tour will follow, showcasing audience favorites from the NYC festival selections.

The deadline extension was made to help accommodate filmmakers affected by the major storms hitting the east coast over the past few weeks, as well as those whose entry information may have been impacted when Withoutabox, an online festival submission service, lost over a week’s worth of data during the period.

Anyone in the Hurricane Sandy-affected region needing more time for their entry may contact CineKink for an additional extension. Filmmakers who submitted to CineKink (or any other festival) via Withoutabox between October 25 and November 2 are asked to double-check their entries and to re-submit if needed.

For more information on the CineKink call for entries, please visit http://cinekink.com/programs-and-events/call-for-entries.

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This post, Call for Entries – CineKink 2013 / Deadline Extended!, originally appeared on cinekink on November 13, 2012.

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Various circumstances, not withstanding a hurricane and a nor’easter, have conspired to keep us from heading west to partake of the frivolities.

Given that, we would like to pass on the opportunity to a couple of lucky CineKinksters!

We’ve got two (2) tickets to pass along. To enter into consideration, please send an email to cinekink2012 @ cinekink.com, headed “Surrender,” including your name and email address, telling us why you’d like to attend.

Since the event starts TOMORROW, Friday, November 9th, please be local to San Francisco – and/or able to get yourself to town in time. The ticket does NOT include travel, hotel, meals or any other amenities.

We’ll be drawing two winners at random from the responses we receive. Entries must be submitted by midnight PT tonight… so hop to it!

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This post, a last chance to surrender!, originally appeared on cinekink on November 9, 2012.

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Scheduled for its tenth annual appearance in February 2013, the specially-curated CineKink NYC will include a short film competition, audience choice awards, an adult industry showcase, presentations, parties and a gala kick-off, with a national screening tour to follow.

Cutting across orientations, topics covered at CineKink have included — but are by no means limited to — BDSM, leather and fetish, swinging, non-monogamy and polyamory, roleplay and gender bending, sex work and sex geekery. We’re looking to blur some boundaries and will be considering offerings of any length and genre drawn from both Hollywood and beyond, with works ranging from documentary to drama, camp comedy to artsy experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit — and everything in between. Basically, as long as it involves consenting adults, just about anything celebrating sex as a right of self expression is fair game. (Far be it from us to define “kink” — if you think your work might make sense in this context, please send it along!)

More info is right here!!!

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This post, submit to cinekink!, originally appeared on cinekink on September 27, 2012.

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After coming together for the weekend nuptials of lovely CineKink alum Veronica Vera,
a reunion of five adult film stars from the “Golden Age of Porn” will be the focus of a special evening we’re very proud to be sponsoring.

Veronica Hart, Gloria Leonard, Candida Royalle, Annie Sprinkle and Veronica Vera were the original Sex and the City girls. Turning to one another for the support they needed to navigate their way through life after blue movies, these dynamic women created “Club 90″ in 1983, forming a bond that would continue for nearly thirty years. They went on to pursue their personal goals, and in the process, blazed new trails in the fields of human sexuality, women’s empowerment, erotic expression, and free speech.

Come get a taste of the good old days when NYC was America’s sex film capital, movies were shot on 35mm film, and Times Square was x-rated! And most of all, come share the laughs, the drama and the intimate stories of this unusual support group. This rare reunion promises to be candid, informative and electric!

CLUB 90: GOLDEN GIRLS OF PORN

Tuesday, June 12 – 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Museum of Sex/OralFix Bar
233 5th Ave, NYC
$25

More info/tickets

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This post, A wedding and a reunion, originally appeared on cinekink on June 12, 2012.

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Best of CineKink/2012
A sexy selection of award-winning shorts deemed the year’s best during the festival’s latest annual run at CineKink NYC.

Best Music Video
THE TRANSEXUAL DOMINATRIX
Shawna Virago, 2011, USA, 4 minutes.
Shawna Virago doles out lyrical pleasure-pain in a new leather anthem.

Honorable Best Mention
BALDGUY (SKALLAMANN)
Maria Block, 2011, Norway, 12 minutes.
A lively musical about forbidden and boundless love.

Honorable Best Mention
PEDAL TO PLEASURE
Poppy Cox & Anne Fidler, 2011, USA, 8 minutes.
A young woman discovers that all the satisfaction she needs is right between her legs.

Best Experimental Short
WHAT MAKES US QUEER
Courtney Trouble & Tina Horn, 2011, USA, 7 minutes.
Attempting to define a queer identity, this explicit documentary juxtaposes queers having sex and audio clips from an interview that simply asks: “What makes us queer?”

Best Documentary Short
SMUT CAPITAL OF AMERICA
Michael Stabile, 2011, USA, 16 minutes.
In the late 1960s, as the Sexual Revolution was first gaining steam, San Francisco was pushing the boundaries of what could legally be put on film.

Best Comedy Short (tie)
CRAIGSLIST DATING
Ryan Hunter, 2011, USA, 2 minutes.
For those nights when that one point of compatibility is the only one that matters.

Best Comedy Short (tie)
TOOSHIE SMOOSHIE
Jessica King, 2011, USA, 10 minutes.
Remember the simple pleasures of childhood?

Best Dramatic Short
A DAY IN THE COUNTRY
Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja, 2011, Sweden, 14 minutes.
It’s a perfect day for a three-way in the Swedish countryside, but someone is always on the outs.

All that, plus CANDY!

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This post, ‘Best of CineKink/2012′ premieres at Momentum!, originally appeared on cinekink on March 31, 2012.

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