SAN FRANCISCO - An eager crowd filled the historic Castro Theater to capacity Thursday night for the third annual Good Vibrations Amateur Erotic Film Festival. Local celebrity drag queen Peaches Christ and Good Vibrations staff sexologist Carol Queen, Ph.D., presided over the screenings of this year's eight short films.
The festival "started as an alternative to the mainstream porn universe," said Events Coordinator Camilla Lombard, offering "different people's takes on what is erotic." Erotica was the only thing the diverse films held in common. But that was part of the point - to expand on the already broad concept of erotica, enabling porn as a genre to accommodate the unique tastes of as many individuals as possible.
The films succeeded in demonstrating that erotica is as varied as human sexuality, and that mainstream porn falls short in capturing this diversity of desire. Lombard described the festival as giving "power to the people." As in sex, however, the festival combined power with submission. The audience, captive to the whims of the filmmakers, twittered when the first erect penis popped up on the oh-so-big screen. One lesbian let out a guttural squeal. Others responded with nervous laughter.
But as the shock of hardcore material faded with each additional genital close-up, the artistry and thoughtfulness of each film became more and more apparent. "Color Sex Cook" (directors David and Ellen Borengasser) layered hyperbolic sound over low-grain footage of a couple alternately cooking breakfast and making love. "Future O" (director Cecil Hirvi) used animation to create a futuristic "BDSM spaceship" inhabited by sadistic cyborgs and their huge-breasted sex slaves. But many in the audience were too primed for laughter to appreciate that film's earnest philosophical propositions. ("Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the times your breath is taken away.")
Comedy was in no short supply, however. Lombard explained, "I'm excited that this year's crop blends the arty ... with the funny. I like a good laugh, I think sex can be quite funny, and it's good to bring that to the big screen."
In "Phil Loves San Francisco" (director Irene Catempa Milder and others), a hefty man with a blank stare demonstrates his love for San Francisco by humping public spaces - a park in the Panhandle, a bike lane, a MUNI bus. That film received the Most Creative Award. The winner of the Superior Filmmaking Award was "Ghostsbustanut" (director Lance Raynor), which features, among other surreal happenings, a pregnant man begging a young blonde woman to eat his pussy, crying, "Yes! Give me an ultrasound with your tongue!"
The Best Use of a Sex Toy Award went to "Narcissister" (director Narcissister). The sex toy in question: a stationary bike retro-fitted with leather whips and big black dildo. The grand prize of the evening, the People's Choice Award, went to "Suck My Crutch" (director Stephanie Ann Barba), which follows a young man on his first visit to a handicapped dominatrix. He kneels before her in submission, licks the spokes of her wheelchair and, yes, sucks her crutch. "Placeres" (director Sico) offered the only hardcore penetration imagery of the evening, cross-cutting between stills of yonic fruit and the passionate intercourse of a young couple. After the lights came on, many in the audience seemed to be pleasantly exhausted and vaguely turned on. The festival, while a great success, might not have been better than sex; but then again, what is?
A second installment of the festival is set for Nov. 7 in Brookline, Mass.
In Brookline, hostess Evil Kinevil will welcome attendees to the 1970s Sherman Oaks porn scene at the themed event. The Good Vibrations store, located at 308-A Harvard St., is the site for the pre-party from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 7. The party will feature drinks, hors d'oeuvres and DJ Summer's Eve spinning disco and funk.
Movie screenings begin at 9:30 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theater. Tickets are $10 at the Brookline Good Vibrations store or online at GoodVibes.com. Tickets at the door are $12. For group rates, call (415) 974-8985, ext. 201.
For more photos of the event, click here.
