I’ve always loved going to Good Vibrations Indie Erotic Film Festival, or the IXFF, a collection of erotic films from all over the place representing different sexual orientations and fantasies. It’s always been delightful, with mostly amateur films that make me laugh, feel a little wistful, and challenge my perceptions of what’s erotica. But this is the first time I’ve been lucky enough to go as press!
The IXFF started 5 years ago, and the call for film submissions was limited to people in the Bay Area. As the word began to spread, submissions began to come in from all over the States, and, eventually, from all over the world. The festival is all about cultivating sex positivity, sexual diversity, entertainment, and, of course, erotica in multiple forms. 
The idea was born from the popular opinion that mainstream porn just wasn’t getting the job done, and it was time for something new, exciting, different. As the movie medium became increasingly accessible to more people, the creation and submission of amateur productions by “people next door” types became more of a possibility. In keeping with Good Vibrations' history of being, for quite a while, the only female-friendly, non-creepy, sex-positive options for sex toys, the IXFF adheres to its independent ethos— and the quality shows.
As a contrasting example, the boy and I went to a film festival in London called Pornorama. This film festival similarly showcased erotic films, though many of them were professionally financed. I presented the film Shortbus. It was a fun film festival, but the time consumption of the multiple full length films, the dark nature of the venue (a repurposed bar) and the lack of audience investment made for a very different experience. This year, all the films submitted to the IXFF had to be 7 minutes or shorter, encouraging directors to be creative in how they expressed themselves. The audience is definitely invested, too, because your vote decides which filmmakers get to go home with a $1500 check for their hard work. It has a very different feel, and I was really excited to get to show this festival to the boy. London needs a night like this, but 'til they have one, we were giddy to come to the home of the festival here in San Francisco.
We arrived to find a red carpet leading into the venue- the Castro Theatre, of course, home to many an entertaining film festival. Upstairs we encountered the VIP party, which had delicious quesadillas, margaritas, a sex toy wheel of fortune, and a mariachi band that really set the theme, Mexicana. The crowd were entertained by a few burlesque dancers, male and female. I was pleased to get to catch the performance of a woman in a Lucha Libre mask, corset, bodystocking, and long, elbow length satin gloves. She had a piñata that had bondage cuffs on, which she teased with a crop before pulling off one glove and lovingly playing with and then fisting the hole you stuff the pinata through. The finale was her pulling out a fistful of confetti- olé!
We found seats in what was a very crowded theatre and settled in for the show. Camilla Lombard, Good Vibrations Events and Publicity Manager, started off the evening thanking us and getting us squirming in our seats for what we were about to see. Then, she handed the microphones over to Dr. Carol Queen, Peaches Christ, LadyBear and Hugz Bunny, who hilariously compered the rest of the evening. After getting us riled up and ready, the films began to play, controlled by Peaches’ giant remote control of smut.
“The initial hope was that we could provide a forum for people to show what they think is sexy, regardless of mainstream standards, and have it be fun and inclusive,” Camilla said to me via email. “ In the process, attendees may discover something new that turns them on, or at least gain an appreciation for sexual diversity. And the fact that the films are contextualized by a panel of witty drag queens and Dr. Carol Queen herself also makes the experience hilariously entertaining, whether you're turned on or not.” So true! While normally the idea of going to a theatre to watch porn might make you a little uncomfortable, the fact that these are shorts and that there’s this commentary in between puts the viewer at ease. This isn’t a wankfest, this is a film festival, and looking around the variety of people in the audience—gay, straight, queer, trans, cis, kinky, vanilla, curious, whatever—proves that the IXFF is hitting the right notes. And considering the festival used to be one day and now spans five, and is touring to other cities in the US, it just shows that people are eager for smart, interesting erotic programming—and Good Vibrations is ready to dish it out to us!
The films were hugely varied, from the slightly sci fi wistfulness of “Lorelei”, a story of a ship’s captain missing his nymph-like lover who dances nude, underwater, in his fantasies, to the campy parody “The Filth Element”, a gay short featuring the Seattle Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as the priests helping a cute boy Leeloo save the word from destruction. “Trash Day” was inspired by a craigslist ad about a woman who lusts after her garbage collector. “The Outlaw”, meanwhile, was a queer film inspired by a dildo of the same name, following its adventures with sex workers, cam girls, and couples of all types and combinations. The beautifully shot “Handcuffs” by Erika Lust is a work I was already familiar with, as I had seen it in London a few times at different events. However, London-based entry “The Orgasm Raygun”, based on a poem by Martin Newell, was new to me, and a cute take on what might happen if a raygun that made you cum was invented. When I stopped by the Center for Sex and Culture’s booth at Folsom and showed Carol Queen my Little Death Ray, she pointed and squealed “Orgasm Raygun!”
There was a clever short named “Allison, My Love”, which did a good job being short, sweet, and with an amusing twist. There was the moving documentary about the background and creation of the Real Doll company called “Honey Pie”, which gave an inside look into the process of how Real Dolls were made and was surprising touching. There was also “Butterfly Caught”, which used a woman browsing a rope bondage book in a shop to open up her fantasy world, using other customers at the shop as her playmates, which was quite creative. And there was the supremely odd animated film “Dildoman”, which is from Sweden and therefore I’m going to guess a little more about feminist politics and a little less about giantess fantasies. Again? Pretty healthy mix.
But two really stood out for me as my personal favourites, and when it came to the judging they, plus “The Outlaw”, were the top three.
One was the film “Bun in the Oven”, which was a hilarious music video featuring 8 months pregnant women as sexy, horny MILFS looking for a little nookie before their water broke. Incredibly well done, the song was catchy and funny, the music video was brilliant, and the subject was rad, while being silly too. I mean, there’s no reason why sex shouldn’t be a part of your life if you’re pregnant and want to, yet there’s not a lot of discussion of it or visuals of that idea. And, as the video points out- no worrying about pregnancy, because it’s already been done, and if you’re into watersports, with a baby on your bladder there’s plenty of fluid. Really, really good.
My favourite above all was the cleverly named “T4-2”, based on a scene from Allegra Hirschmans' play, 'Shame: A Musical about Pride.' The scene opens with a “Better Homes and Gardens” vintage fantasy kitchen, with a femme wife and a trans husband sitting down for tea. As the song “Tea for Two” plays in the background, the wife does things like use an eggbeater in an empty bowl and powder her nose with flour, so when she pulls a pre-baked cake out of the over it’s almost like she was toiling away, right? Guests come to the house, another couple, and one man helps the other shoot his T shot in a way that makes it look romantic, and definitely more than a bit sexy and tender. The two ladies, meanwhile, share a bubblebath, fooling around with each other among the foam. “A girl for me and a boy for you” indeed! I liked very much how this film managed to replicate these 50’s stereotypes while totally poking fun at them, but also how it managed to compassionately and creatively insert queer values and open relationships into this romantic setting and song. It was fantastic, and also the winner of the $1500 prize- I’m sure to the delight of the filmmakers, Allegra Hirschman and Shellie Citron!
Afterwards the boy and I went with quite a few others to the Lookout to dance, talk about the films we had seen and eat delicious dim sum and mini cupcakes. I’m already plotting my film for next year, and am puzzling over how to get such a diverse, quality erotic film festival to show internationally, as well as get more international entries. One thing that struck me was that quite a few entries this year were from the Bay Area, though there was a sprinkling of international flavour in there. I’m hoping I can convince Camilla to help us host a showing of the IXFF in London, so we can really spread this sex positive, playful message through the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia... let’s see what people think is sexy all over the place, and how they respond to this year’s crop of smut and sensuality.
In short? I look forward to the Good Vibrations IXFF takeover, and you should, too. It's over here for this year, but next year, maybe it'll be your face we see on the big screen!
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