Photo Courtesy of Lauren Max Winkelman
By Brooklin Pigg
Porn that featured a diverse set of body types and ages, people covered in neon paint and sex on top of mountains, showed at Pickford Film Center Friday, Feb. 15 and Saturday, Feb. 16. The HUMP! Film Festival has made porn stars for the weekend, said the festival’s creator, Dan Savage.
“You are going to feel all the feelings,” Savage said in the pre-recorded introduction.
Peer sexual health educators from Western were tabling outside the theatre. Thadeus Warrington gazed at the stickers and booklets before going in to the screenings.
“I’m expecting to see some family-friendly porn, I imagine,” Warrington said.
Audience members laughed and shied away from the screen. The various humorous films, mixed with the more serious ones, never let people know what was about to come next.
“Whatever Floats Your Goat” was the runner up for best humor. It featured a farmer who milked a woman wearing a goat costume. “Troughman” was the winner for best humor and was a musical number about a man who wanted someone to pee on him in the club bathroom.
There were also ones that involved voice overs or interviews. “Porn Yesterday” was a series of conversations with adults about their experience with porn.
Attendee Michael Lynch had an abundance of favorites. “Optic Perve,” a collection of clips with googly eyes on and around genitals, was one of them.
“We should replace all sex education in the country with watching this festival,” Lynch said.
Another attendee, Andrea Pitz, also had trouble picking a favorite. Flipping through the pamphlet, multiple films stuck out as memorable.
“There was an artistic component,” Pitz said. “It’s not just watching porn on the internet.”
Bodies in the films were shown in an unfiltered state. She said the stretch marks and blemishes shown made her feel more confident.
“[The festival] makes sex more accommodating, less shameful and open to possibility and diversity,” Pitz said.
There are other ways to get involved or watch for upcoming shows at humpfilmfest.org.
The creators of HUMP! are also putting on a SPLIFF Film Festival with submissions due March 1. According to their site, it’s where “filmmakers, artists, animators, and stoners share original film shorts exploring stoner themes.” More information can be found at https://splifffilmfest.com/.