A couple weeks ago my boo and I met up in the city for the San Francisco Porn Film Festival’s FUCKING/FUN screening. Here are my thoughts on what we saw.
You can stream most of these titles on Pinklabel.TV- they specialize in porn that pushes the genre, and these films absolutely expanded my definition of pornography.
Heavy Load
Germany. 2023. animation, experimental, surreal, gay, hardcore
Oh my god y’all this is a masterpiece. It is a surrealist dream chronicling two truckers fucking their way across some desert landscape from Juan Saez’s fantasy realm. Literally, it’s incredible. It’s giving 1920’s erotic French surrealism on an acid trip in the back lot where they shot Easy Rider. This movie helped me understand why dykes have been getting off to gay porn since the dawn of time. It is trippy, it’s acidic, it’s like Woodstock ate a David Lynch montage and puked it out in a bathhouse. Not to be missed.
A Quick Fix
Oran Julius, April Flores, Manon Praline
Germany. 2024. comedy, trans, lesbian, hardcore
I’m getting hot just thinking about this one. The basic premise is that April Flores is a hot housewife with a busted washing machine and Manon Praline is every dyke’s fantasy of a handyman. Expect hitachi assisted orgasms, mutual fisting, and all of it on top of a washing machine. Just, thank god for this.
Sugar Daddy
United States. 2024. comedy, gay, surreal
THIS BLEW MY MIND, PUN INTENDED. I almost don’t want to tell you anything about it because it is so far beyond what you think it is going to be. All I can say is that if you have a sweet tooth and like gay male orgies, this is the film for you.
CumWich
Argentina. 2023. post-porn, fantasy, trans
Okay, this is such a triumph if only because of the way that it’s shot. It is gorgeous. It is so fucking beautiful. This was really my introduction to post-porn and you’ll see why when you watch it. The story and the way it’s shot are much bigger than your typical jack off material and at the exact same time it is literally explicitly about jacking off. There’s something about the protagonist in this that reminds me a lot of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character in Secretary. Actually, a LOT of this film reminds me aesthetically of Secretary. It’s even a little Gossip Girl, but with the depth of Pumpkin. Just watch it. It’s so worth it. The cinematography alone is a masterclass.
Das Medusahaupt
United Kingdom. 2023. Post-porn, darkwave, queer
Okay, this was definitely one of my favorites and I was not alone- there was a ROUSING round of applause after this one, which was the second film in a row to really define post-porn for me. There’s an element of it that reminds me of 1920’s German cinema and the way it’s shot has a little bit of a horror-thriller element to it, which really underscores the surface level sado-masochism of the plot. And if you went to a single sex school or a parochial school or both- you really need to see this film. They got right to the heart of the regimental fascia that lives on the surfance of anyone who went to a school with strict rules and/or a religious protocol. Not to mention the fact that there is this sizzling sibling-esque obsession that really only comes from loving your sibling so, so much. Delicious. Delightful. Two thumbs way, way up.
Bad Witch
United Kingdom. 2024. lesbian, comedy, hardcore, supernatural
And for those of you who have been waiting for an adequate Buffy The Vampire Slayer porn fan fiction film, this one is like if Buffy & Willow were on an episode of Charmed directed by Amy Heckerling written by Jamie Babbit. It manages to be ADORABLE (literally sweet as pie and kind of low key vanilla), while also being Harry Potter adjacent, and being a COMEDY- like it is an actual hahahahaha I’m laughing out loud for real comedy- while also being hot as fuck. Like, it could have just been funny Buffy realness, but the sex scene at the end took it to the next level. It was the mystical witchy dyke representation I didn’t know I was looking for. Like, I wasn’t looking for it consciously but my subconscious was definitely looking for it and altSHIFT understood the assignment as written in the ether.
Heartbeat Habitat
Italy. 2024. animation
This film reminded me of an animated film I might’ve seen on Nickelodeon in the early nineties and I really mean that as a compliment. It is deep and complex and really beautiful and moving and symphonic in its simplicity and brevity.
HARDROCKS
Hardrocks Team
France. 2023. animation, comedy
This is really one of the most important films I’ve ever seen in my life and it is devastating that I can’t find any links to share with y’all but I feel like that’s what makes it even more important to talk about. This was my favorite film of the entire showcase, and I would love to see it on youtube for everyone in the world to see because I think it is an extremely important film especially in times like these where we are so close to imploding as a society.
The general premise is that there are two rocks alive at the end of the world and they have to come together to make new life. The way they come together explores the complexity of anger and rage in human society and how those emotions feel (and are, perhaps) inescapable. The twist is the way that our protagonists find pleasure in their anger through BDSM and are able to manifest new life on planet earth by feeling their feelings and bringing one another pleasure in their authenticity and integrity. Pixar could never and yet, this is absolutely canonical with all your favorite Pixar films. I am desperate for the Hardrocks Team to make this film available for all to see because it is so sorely needed and brings so much good into this world.
Funghi Boost
Belgium. 2023. sci-fi, fantasy, video game, feminist, queer, erotic
Paging all my video game hoes who heavily fucked with Streets of Rage on Sega Genesis circa 1996 and/or your favorite part of elementary school was anytime you got to play Oregon Trail in the computer lab: have I got a treat for you. This film brought together video game culture, psychedelic mushrooms, queer porn archetypes, and fantasy realms that really made me think that whoever made this used to read horse books during recess in elementary school. IYKYK. This film is smart, creative, and refreshing and it’s definitely a witness to the deepest truth of every queer 90s dyke who subconsciously fantasizes about fucking a lesbian vampire.
Blue Balls
United States. 2023. animation, comedy, adult
This movie is adorable. It is such a sweet witness to everyone who can’t find a way to verbalize just how horny they are all damn day. It does this through the vantage of a cis straight white man who can’t stop thinking about sex all day long no matter where he is or who he’s talking to. I think the plight of the protagonist extends beyond his demographics, but I think centering the storytelling around a normy looking white guy makes it easier to laugh at him. But what I find so beautiful about any kind of storytelling is that ultimately if you can find a way to laugh it’s because you know the joke lives inside of you, too.
Meet the Camera
United States. 2023. experimental, fetish, balloon popping, erotic
To say this blew me away is an understatement, especially considering the easy double entendre of a blow joke about balloon popping porn. I have been a Shine Louise Houston stan since I was in high school, trolling the magazine racks of Winston-Salem’s Borders Bookstore in high school, hiding in the closet of my mind and reading Curve magazine where I thought no one could see me. I read an interview with Shine in the backpages of Curve and it probably fundamentally changed my life trajectory. Shine is one of the best of the best and this film elevates them into the realm of Hitchcockian brilliance. Seriously. Watch this shit. Immediately. Gorgeous. Truly spellbinding. Deep. On another level. Everything i’ve ever needed and more.
HAT TRICK
United States. 2023. comedy, heterosexual
This film is a triumph. It’s a perfectly imagined and executed silent masterpiece about a milliner who everybody wants to fuck. It’s funny, cute and quirky, and it’s less about getting you off than making you chuckle which, honestly- I think those are kind of the same thing.
The Sixty Year Itch
Italy. 2024. older, trans, comedy, hardcore
This is an adorable romp set to the soundtrack of the The Seven Year Itch’s promo trailer. It is so sweet and kind of low key vanilla while also being extremely gender and genre bending. I loved it and I’ve never seen The Seven Year Itch but it definitely made me a little curious.
Jessamyn Stanley is the author of Yoke and Every Body Yoga,
limited signed copies are available here. You can find unsigned copies on Amazon, Bookshop, and published in German here.
For paid subscribers: here’s me and my boo on the red carpet after the screening:
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