CarnalNation

The biggest news in erotic cinema is happening Saturday, September 18th, through Thursday September 23rd, as legendary Bay Area pleasure product retailers and educators Good Vibrations present the Fifth Annual Independent Erotic Film Festival (IXFF). There's five nights of screenings and parties, culminating in the premiere of the 2010 international Independent Erotic Film competition at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco- with Peaches Christ and Dr. Carol Queen as MCs!

The Tuesday night program is a highlight of the event, with a showing of dee-licious European erotic short films, curated by popular Amsterdam-based American director Jennifer Lyon Bell. The showing is at the Red Vic, one of San Francisco's most relaxed and cozy independant theaters, and will be followed by a Q&A with Bell. Why not make a night of it, with a romantic Ethiopian dinner or cocktails at Alembic on Haight St. before the show?

Director and curator Bell will be presenting her own award-winning film "Matinée" at the Red Vic. (You can see the quite hot trailer here!)

We interviewed Bell when she was banned from screening at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (yes, MUFF!) by the Australian Classification Board.

She spoke to us about issues of censorship, and the freedom independent film festivals provide for artistic erotic vision.

As a filmmaker and curator personally obsessed by the exciting overlap between sex and mainstream/art film, I definitely talk to other like-minded filmmakers about their challenges. There are lots of overlapping issues: Outright banning, being unfairly burdened with restrictive ratings, or being forced to excise everyday sexual acts (like power play, or female ejaculation in UK films) because, bizarrely, they are considered completely illegal to show. In the festival circuit, underground film festivals often bear the brunt of censorship issues, both because they generally embrace genre-crossing films, and because they dare to accept edgy films that make bigger festivals (particularly ones with mainstream corporate sponsors) nervous.

From Carnal Nation (share this quote)

Bell discusses the difference between working in Europe and working in the US:

Europe is still more daring than America when it comes to sex in film. In part that's a longstanding cultural difference, and in part I think it's due to sharp financial and labor distinctions that the USA makes between porn and mainstream film. For example, actors must choose whether or not they want Screen Actors Guild membership, which doesn't apply to "porn" performers. In Europe, at least, these problems apply less often, which is great for me. Here in Amsterdam, it's still a struggle for me, but the general vibe—among regular people, and actors/actresses, and potential crew—is more accepting of sexuality in film.

From Carnal Nation (share this quote)

The film Bell is showing, Matinée, is a great example of what creative freedom can give rise to. The Euro Cinema screening will be an opportunity to speak with this award-winning director in person, hobnob with lots of sexy alt-porn folks, and relax on couches in the warm vibe of the Red Vic. A fabulous evening out- we'll be there for sure!