What happens in Vegas...

Yeah, you've heard that one. What happens in Vegas gets plastered all over the Internet! And so it was with all (well, many) of the exploits that went down at CineKink: Las Vegas.

First off, we were graced with a truly gratififying amount of insightful and generally positive press attention for the kick-off to our national tour:

Examiner/Sex & Relationships: Sexy Films: CineKink Film Festival comes to Sin City
Examiner/Modern Love: Interview with founder of CineKink: Exploring the world of sexual diversity
Las Vegas Weekly: Get cinekinky
Las Vegas Sun: CineKink film festival brings smart sexuality to Las Vegas
Las Vegas Review-Journal: What's Hot This Weekend
Las Vegas Weekly: Getting tied up with CineKink
Las Vegas Weekly: Kink n' Grind

While the tour circuit can get a little lonely, this trip we had some delightful company along, Diva and Tess from Tied Up Events, to help get the trouble started: Day One - Pillow Fight with Nina Hartley and Day Two - Let the Films Begin!



And, of the CineKink filmmakers, panelists and performers who graced us with their presence in Sin City, including Alicyn Packard (The Pinky Song), Wes Hurley and Marc Kennison/aka Waxie (Waxie Moon), sexologist Carol Queen and UNLV Professor Lynn Comella, Julie King and Jessica Keck (Libidoland) kept themselves busy documenting what seemed like every waking moment of their time there. Here are their engaging accounts of Day #1, Day #2, Day #3 and, phew! Day #4.

And they were also busy with the video camera!



(More pics here!)

Sniff, we'll miss you, ladies ... and all who came out for the festivities! Many thanks to you all, and also to Onyx Theatre, Erotic Heritage Museum and to our CineKink 2010 tour sponsors B-Side Entertainment, Make Love Not Porn, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, njoy and Tied Up Events for their help in making our visit possible!

Cinekink Las Vegas Day Two – Let the Films Begin

Waxie Moon

After a day spent at the rooftop topless pool, yes, life out here in the desert is that rough, we excitedly piled into a cab and made out way to the Onyx Theatre, located in the Commercial Center, for the first day of screenings.

Lisa Vandever & Dr. Carol Queen arrive at Cinekink Las Vegas

Yesterday’s schedule was Waxie Moon, Bring It, and My Sexuality: A Sensory Experience. The best thing about an alternative film festival, besides the rather obvious – seeing amazingly fresh films that explore viewpoints outside the “norm” – is the ability to interact with the artists directly involved in making these works. Seeing a film and then hearing the back story -what ran through the actor’s mind, why the director filmed a scene in that manner, what led producers with no formal training to start making films – really helps you to look at what you’ve just seen greater understanding, bringing a new depth to the experience. If you have an insatiable intellectual curiosity, alternative film festivals are for you. So come on, Las Vegas, get your butts and brains down to the Onyx today because we have another day of amazing programming for you.

That said, I now have to gush about Waxie Moon. We first met Marc Kenison, in glorious Waxie regalia, glitter, lashes and a vintage suite everyone coveted, at the Erotic Heritage Museum for the wine & chocolate gala. But hearing him and director Wes Hurley talk about the film was truly one of the highlights of the day. Instead of talking about it, I’ll leave you with a Youtube clip of one of the many outstanding performances in the film.

After the film, Marc told us how he was uncomfortable that day, the stones made walking in high heels a challenge, the water was frigid and a random dog was tagging along making him nuts. And yet, once he saw the completed piece, how much he felt indebted to Wes for understanding the character even more than he himself did. Watch. And then search out Waxie’s other videos on Youtube and should you have the opportunity to see Waxie Moon, seize it.

Cinekink panel discussion at Onyx Theatre

A panel discussion, with Lisa Vandever, Jessica King, Julie Keck and Dr. Carol Queen, moderated by UNLV’s Dr. Lynn Comella, followed My Sexuality: A Sensory Experience, where we learned that this wonderful film which explored the sexual side of five very diverse women was a student project. Astonishing. Carol, by pointing out that the self esteem building experiences these women went through all focused on very traditional images of femininity, got me wondering what it would look like and what the women’s reactions would have been if in addition to learning pole dance and getting fitted for corsets, they’d been asked to butch it up.

And so begins another day. Albeit one that started two hours earlier then I would have liked. My Mac apparently prefers East Coast time and I jolted awake thinking it was 9:30 AM not the 6:30 it actually was. When she came back carrying our Starbucks venti bolds to discover my little timing error, Diva was not at all amused.

Today’s programming begins at 1PM and includes Yes, Mistress, a film shorts program that asks (and sometimes answers!) the question: “How may I be of service?” Swingers, S&M Judge and Best of Cinekink, a special screening of shorts deemed the year’s best. The jury-selected awards were determined during the latest run of CineKink NYC.

(Cross-posted on Tied Up Events)

Cinekink Las Vegas Day One – Pillow Fight with Nina Hartley

I said it on Twitter but I’ll say it again, life doesn’t suck when your first day in Las Vegas includes a photo shoot at the elucidating and supremely sexy Erotic Heritage Museum that degenerates into an all girl pillow fight with me, Diva, Dr. Laura Henkel and the one and only, Nina Hartley on an island sized bed covered in scarlet velvet.

Right now, we have Cinekink’s Lisa in bed with us as we finalizing details for tonight’s Wine & Chocolate Benefit Gala. If you’re in Las Vegas it’s the place to be tonight. Aside from the wine, chocolate, Original Sin Cider, performances by Alicyn Packard, Carol Queen, rope demos by Reverse Tensionz and films shown in Erotic Heritage’s theatre, we’re delighted to also bring you very sensual gyrations of gothic belly dance troupe Fuego Fusion. And other surprises are always possible.

In the meantime, here’s a little photographic preview of some of the things you’ll see at the museum tonight.

Too bad Nina had to fly out last night, we'd love if she'd been able to stay longer

Cross-posted from Tied-Up Events

CineKink Kicks off in Vegas!

CineKink kicks off our annual national tour in Las Vegas, May 13-15, 2010!

Starting with a gala benefit and including several days of screenings, Cinekink: Las Vegas will offer a specially-curated program of films and videos that celebrate and explore a wide and exciting world of sexual diversity, with works ranging from documentary to drama, comedy to experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit - and everything in between.

THURSDAY
The festivities begin Thursday, May 13th, at 8:30 PM, with a wine and chocolate gala benefit at the Erotic Heritage Museum, to include an erotic rope bondage demonstration by Reverse Tensionz, a performance by the renowned Dr. Carol Queen from her work "Peep Show," and a live rendition of the CineKink award-winning music video, " The Pinky Song," by singer/comedian Alicyn Packard. The event will also feature film shorts and clips highlighting the festival, and by noted photographer JM Darling, along with other fun surprises and a kinky raffle!

All proceeds from the gala will benefit the Erotic Heritage Museum and CineKink ... with special thanks to MakeLoveNotPorn and Tied Up Events for making this spectacular evening possible!

FRIDAY
The festival then moves to the Onyx Theatre for Friday, May 14 through Saturday, May 15, with several different film and video programs scheduled for each day.

Among the headliners, first up on Friday, May 14 at 3:00 PM, features "boylesque" sensation Waxie Moon taking the world of neo-burlesque by storm in a hilarious and thought-provoking portrait of one artist's unlikely journey.

At 5:00 PM, a special industry showcase, BRING IT!, features a dazzling array of talent from today's adult cinema, each representing a wide range of genres and visual styles, all stepping up with a hot sampling of their recent creative endeavors.

And at 6:45 PM, the documentary MY SEXUALITY: A SENSORY EXPERIENCE, shines light on five ordinary women from different backgrounds, sexual preferences and past experiences as they experiment with five deliciously different activities intended to boost both sense of self and sexuality. This screening is immediately followed by a panel discussion featuring the film's director, Felicia Giouzelis, UNLV's Dr. Lynn Comella, Sexologist Dr. Carol Queen and others.

SATURDAY
Beginning at 1:00 PM it's YES, MISTRESS, the film shorts program that asks (and sometimes answers!) the question: "How may I be of service?"

At 3:00 PM, SWINGERS has first-timers Diana and Julian inviting a couple they've met online to join them for an adventurous weekend in the country.

At 5:00 PM, S&M JUDGE ia a compelling drama in which a respected judge finds his job, reputation and family life in jeopardy after he and his wife begin to explore sadomasochism.

And, closing out the festival's regular screening schedule at 7:00 PM, BEST OF CINEKINK features select, award-winning shorts deemed the year's best during the festival's latest run at CINEKINK NYC.

Following the final screening, the action heads back to the Erotic Heritage Museum for a closing party that will go until the clock strikes midnight. With a DJ, cash bar and other entertainment still to be announced, end CineKink: Las Vegas surrounded by your fellow revelers while benefiting the EHM!

TICKETS AND PASSES:
Ticket prices for each regular screening are $10; single day passes for either day are $20 ($15 for seniors and students); an all screenings pass is available for $30 ($20 for seniors and students). Admission to the Wine & Chocolate Gala is $25. Admission to the Closing Party is $10; free to Gala attendees.

And our best value, for a weekend of non-stop kinky entertainment, is an all-access pass, which includes all screenings, the wine & chocolate gala AND the closing party for $50 ($40 for seniors and students, $35 for CineKinksters).

For tickets to the Wine & Chocolate Kick-Off Gala at EHM:
http://cinekinklasvegaskickoff.eventbrite.com

For all passes and screening tickets:
http://www.onyxtheatre.com/nowplaying/cinekink-the-kinky-film-festival.htm

SPONSORS:
Sponsors of CineKink: Las Vegas include the Erotic Heritage Museum and Onyx Theatre; national tour sponsors are B-Side Entertainment, MakeLoveNotPorn, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, njoy and Tied Up Events.

MORE INFO:
http://www.cinekink.com/tour/vegas

Where in the world...

...have we been hiding? For the past week, at least, it's been off to Germany, where we had the pleasure of attending the Pornfilmfestival Berlin!



A wonderful event with a familiar merging of independent cinema and sex-positivity, it felt quite a bit like old-home week, even if we were on unfamiliar terrain. We came across many new films and directors we'll hope to feature at the next edition of CineKink NYC. And, in a historic gathering--we finally have enough erotic/sex/porn film festivals to call a meeting!--chatted with other curators and presenters whom we'll look forward to collaborating with in the future.

In addition to presenting a program we'd specially curated for the festivities, CineKink's Kinky Bits, it was also a delight to catch up with CineKink alumni filmmakers Charles Lum, Jennifer Lyon Bell, Candida Royalle, Julie Simone and Sofia Varino, while finally getting to meet directors whose works we've featured, including Anna Span and Shine Louise Houston.

Alas, after their brilliant performance at the Pornfilmfestival Berlin party, we found ourselves too star-struck to finally say hello to the rest of the notorious Norwegian singing sensation, The Hungry Hearts, even though their piece In the Closet screened at CineKink NYC 2009.

We'll hope to resolve our shyness someday. Meanwhile, we'll continue to admire from afar. And play In Your Face (The International Lesbian Anthem), over and over and over again. (It's stuck in my head... might as well be in yours, too!)

Hey, Seattle!

Tell all your friends and make plans to join us, we’ve just landed in town to wind down our annual tour with a two-night run of the “Best of CineKink” at The Grand Illusion Cinema - tonight and Saturday!

Works in this traveling showcase run the gamut from documentary to drama, camp comedy to hot porn, mildy spicy to quite explicit - and everything in between. Among the offerings, the animated TEAT BEAT OF SEX presents three short lectures on sex. OFFICE MOBIUS traces a tawdry office flirtation. In SALT, three people share a passion for food - and other things. COMING OUT SPANKO is one woman's autobiographical coming to terms with her kink identity, while CROSSING looks at what it takes to move between the realms of kink and "normality." In SOMETHING ABOUT NADIA, three women recount the uncontrollable desire they feel for the mysterious Nadia. And in WHO'S THE TOP?, a fantastical S/M musical comedy, one writer finds her true self by determining who's the bottom.

Friday/Saturday, January 2nd & 3rd, 11:00 PM

Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th Street

More info!

Taking it to Washington...CineKink: DC!!

Make plans to join us and tell all of your friends... CineKink has packed up the car and is heading to the nation's capitol with two nights of double-headers!

Celebrating and exploring a wide diversity of sexuality, the films and videos in these sex-positive and kink-friendly showcases range from documentary to drama, camp comedy to hot porn, mildy spicy to quite explicit - and everything in between.

And, then...we party!

On Friday, November 21 at 8:00 pm, the program is "Give & Take," a kinky collection of short films and videos that probe, prod and play with the dynamics of sexual power and release, control and submission.

And on Saturday, November 22 at 8:00 PM, "Mix, Match & Mingle" is a round-up of two-somes, three-somes, four-somes and more-somes, featuring short works that look at the delights - and some dilemmas - of moving beyond monogamy.

Taking place at The Crucible (1816 Half Street SW, Washington, DC), tickets for each screening are $10/advance and $15/door; tickets for each screening plus after-party are $30/advance and $40/door.

Advance tickets are available at via The Crucible.

For more information and the full program line-up, visit here!

Basking in the afterglow

Sincere thanks to everyone who came out for CineKink: San Francisco! It's always nice to sell out a show, but even moreso when the crowd is so enthusiastic and involved.

It was also a treat having so much talent in the house, with Midori taking time out of her busy Rope Dojo weekend to make an appearance after Silken Sleeves, and filmmakers Westland Armitage, Tanya Bezreh, Steve Gatlin, Michelle Johnson and Madison Young joining us for some compelling post-screening discussions.

And we'll be headed home with more wonderful new blurbs for the collection!

CineKink: The thinking person's traveling erotic film fest - Violet Blue, Open Source Sex
I’m so very excited that CineKink is this weekend here in San Francisco — and the refined, indy, edgy traveling eroto-porn film fest might be coming to a major city near you. If it does, don't miss it.

Rated X-static - Michael Fox, SF Weekly
An orgy of celebration more than titillation, the six programs shine a flattering light on real people and real sex, with an endearing splash of art and humor.

CineKink: More Flavor - Flavorpill
Whether you're crazy for leather, proudly polyamorous, or you just like to watch, CineKink's popular, perverse film series educates while it titillates.

Thanks again to Joel Shepard, Calvin Souther and everyone else at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. See you next year!

California here we come...

We look forward to hooking up with old friends and meeting some new, as we venture west this week for...

CineKink: San Francisco!
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street, SF

July 10-12, 2008

Thursday, July 10th - 7:00 pm
SILKEN SLEEVES
Director Maria Beatty has created an evocative journey through four seasons of domination and submission, one in which fetish icon Midori, by turns playful and cruel, captures and binds the delicate Mayan, whose struggles avail her nothing in the presence of such rope-wielding expertise. (Winner - Audience Choice Award for Best Experimental Feature/CineKink 2008) Plays with the short, A DOG'S TALE, a black-and-white reverie on control and submission, longing and desire.
Midori will be on hand for a post-screening discussion.


Thursday, July 10th - 9:00 pm
SUSAN FOR NOW
A first-person account of a woman reclaiming her sexual freedom after a ten-year period of self-imposed celibacy, this documentary follows filmmaker Robin Franzi's personal quest through the sex-positive community in Seattle and into the world of sadomasochism. A vivid and unflinching exploration, the film also provides insights into the hearts and minds of articulate individuals from every walk of life, and how they practice BDSM in a consensual and responsible manner. Plays with the shorts F/F, a look at the Folsom Street Fair, and THE GAY LEATHERMAN, a romp through the streets (and dungeons) of Oslo, Norway.

Friday, July 11th - 7:00 pm
"Mix, Match & Mingle"
Two-somes, three-somes, four-somes and more-somes, this round-up of shorts looks at the delights - and some dilemmas - of moving beyond monogamy. With subjects ranging from a sumptuous orgy to the initial forays of a couple exploring the swing world to a few libidinous gerbils, the program includes: PLEASURE ME, PAC MOUSE, SALT, THREE IN THE MORNING, THE PARTY, DREAM TANGO, THE BIG BLUE, WRITERS & ROCKSTARS, WASH ME CLEAN, HIGH INFIDELITY and WILDEST DREAMS.

Friday, July 11th - 9:00 pm
"Give & Take"
Assume the position! A kinky collection of shorts that probe, prod and play with the dynamics of sexual power and release, control and submission. Somehow incorporating one man's fixation with lemons, the intimate thoughts of a woman newly exploring her kink, a couple struggling to the keep the passion alive and a fantastical S/M musical comedy, the program includes: IN YER ROOM, LEMON SQUEEZY, NEUROTICA, COMING OUT SPANKO, ANONYMITY, NAMAHA MAN, MARRIED WITH CHILDREN and WHO'S THE TOP?

Saturday, July 12th - 7:00 pm
TRIPLE X SELECTS: THE BEST OF LEZSPLOITATION
An international feast of lezsploitation from the 1960s and '70s in all of its notoriously twisted glory. Accented by music reflecting the era and featuring a wacked-out scientific commentary, Michelle Johnson has compiled selections from over twenty films, bringing together and re-appropriating Swedish wildcats, Italian lesbionic nuns, frisky inmates in South American prisons, Euro vampires - and a vast assortment of other Sapphic grindhouse frolics. Plays with the smutty short DIRTY WORDS: THE LETTER C, along with PILLOW GIRL and HIGHWAY AMAZON.

Saturday, July 12th - 9:00 pm
"The Best of CineKink / 2008"
A special screening of hot shorts deemed the very best of CineKink. The jury-selected awards were determined during the latest run of CineKink NYC, which took place February 26-March 2, 2008. Program includes: TEAT BEAT OF SEX, OFFICE MOBIUS, SALT, COMING OUT SPANKO, CROSSING, SOMETHING ABOUT NADIA and WHO'S THE TOP?

If you're feeling overwhelmed by indecision in the face of so much kinky potential, the lovely Violet Blue has already made her selections.

Our recommendation? Just go with it all!

























(Midori & Mayan, Silken Sleeves)

Hey, Chicago!

Come out and join us this week as the Leather Archives & Museum presents CineKink: Chicago, running November 29th -December 1st with a three-night stand of films and videos that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality.

Presented by the Leather Archives & Museum, works presented will range from documentary to drama, mildly spicy to quite provocative - and everything in between:

November 29 - 7 pm/Vice & Consent (w/The Line Between)
November 29 - 9 pm/Going Under
November 30 - 7 pm/Power Plays
November 30 - 9 pm/Passion Plays
December 1 - *6 pm/Liberty in Restraint
December 1 - *8 pm/The Best of CineKink

For more information, the full festival line-up and advance tickets/passes, go here!

Tonight...phew... it's CineKink: PDX!!

We're sorry to report we've been a bit distracted by a medical emergency on the old family homefront, as our arrival back in Portland was greeted - literally! - by a hard tumble on the part of CineKinkster's paternal unit. But one successful hip surgery and the start of some intensive physical therapy later, the show will go on! Thusly...

...please join us as CineKink: PDX makes its brazen appearance tonight - running Thursday thru Saturday, November 1-3 with a three-night stand of films and videos that explore and celebrate a wide diversity of sexuality.

A touring version of our "really alternative film festival" held annually in New York, works presented will range from documentary to drama, mildly spicy to quite explicit - and everything in between.

November 1 - 7 pm/Vice & Consent (w/The Line Between)
November 1 - 9 pm/Webcam Girls (w/Dick Ho: Asian Male Pornstar)
November 2 - 7 pm/Power Plays
November 2 - 9 pm/Passion Plays
November 2 - 11 pm/Pornology New York
November 3 - 7 pm/Going Under
November 3 - 9 pm/The Best of CineKink

Taking place at the Clinton Street Theater, tickets are $6 per show, door only.

For more information and the full festival line-up, go here!

CineKink SF in review