VICTORIA, B.C.—A consumer protection agency in the Canadian province of British Columbia has forced the Victoria edition of Dan Savage's popular HUMP! Film Festival to cancel its upcoming screenings scheduled to start May 25 because of "adult licensing" violations.
HUMP! Film Festival describes itself as "the world's best amateur porn film festival." The 2024 edition of the festival is split into two parts, with tours through Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, in May and October. The festival curates short erotic films produced by amateur pornography producers.
However, the regulatory agency Consumer Protection BC informed festival organizers and venue staff that it suddenly required "adult licensing" to screen the short films. Being that the event was scheduled less than a month out, the organizers had no choice but to cancel. According to Victoria Buzz, the festival will be offering a live-streaming version online.
Consumer Protection BC maintains that it reserves the right to deny the sale of tickets to adult viewers because of subject matter, like "bondage in a sexual context," per Victoria Buzz.
The drama associated with the festival began around two weeks ago when a Vancouver venue screening one of the festival's selections, the Rio Theatre, was ordered not to proceed with the showing of a three-minute-long short called "The Reward." Rio Theatre hosted HUMP! April 11 to April 13 as part of the touring format of the festival. Due to the content of the short dealing with consensual bondage, the theatre must censor it, or the operators of the venue could face criminal charges, reports online news outlet the Daily Hive.
Vancouver is also in British Columbia and is subject to the same regulations.
“This is such an overreach," Rachel Fox of Rio told the Daily Hive in April. "It’s a waste of time. It’s like five people in an office with nothing to do." Consumer Protection BC's statement to the Hive pointed to a provincial law called the Motion Picture Act. According to the spokesperson for Consumer Protection BC, "We enforce that legislation, and by law in BC, all adult films must be reviewed and approved by our office. This process ensures that specific content such as incest, necrophilia, child pornography, bondage in a sexual context, and other defined content isn’t depicted in adult films." Festival organizers and the venue maintain that all selections shown in the HUMP! Film Festival are between consenting adult performers.
