CineKink Announces 2015 Award Winners

LOS ANGELES — Organizers of the 12th annual CineKink Film Festival in New York announced the recipients of its 2015 awards in a range of categories during the show's closing celebrations on Sunday.

"It was an especially tight competition this year," noted Lisa Vandever, CineKink co-founder and director, as she presented the awards. "It's an indication of the overall quality of the works showcased this festival, that our jurors and audience had such a hard time choosing between them. And what we're honoring is the absolute best of the best."

Audience Choice Awards for CineKink 2015 were given to "Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story" (Michael Lee Nirenberg) for Best Documentary Feature; "Marriage 2.0" (Paul Deeb) won Best Narrative Feature; and an Honorable Mention award went to the documentary "Inside Her Sex" (Sheona McDonald). A special festival prize, a CineKink Community Visionary Award, went to "High Shine: 15 Years of International Ms Bootblack" (Christina Court). The CineKink Choice awards were determined by audience ballot just following each eligible film's screening during the festival.

In the shorts competition, juried festival awards went to "It's My Birthday and I"ll Fly If I Want To" (Morgana Muses) for Best Documentary Short, while "The Gordon Game" (Jared Robbins) and "Kimi Kabuki" (Yoko Okumura) tied for Best Comedy Short.

"Rubber Romance" (Sophie Dros) and "The Table" (Izabel Grondin) tied for Best Dramatic Short, and "Zolushka" (Wes Hurley) for Best Musical Short. Honorable Best Mention awards were presented to "No Artificial Sweeteners" (The Madame), "Tease" (Ms. Naughty) and "The Art of Spanking" (Erika Lust).

Determining the shorts awards, CineKink jurors this year included Viviane Tang, ring-leader of the sex blog "Viviane's Sex Carnival," Bill Woods, a film festival programmer and curator of the New Filmmakers series at Anthology Film Archives, and Cheyenne Picardo, an alumnni CineKink filmmaker.

The sixth annual CineKink "Bring It!" award, determined by audience ballot during a presentation of excerpts showcasing current adult cinema, went to "(S)he Comes" (Petra Joy).

The CineKink Tribute, recognizing extraordinary depictions of kink and sex-positivity in mainstream film and television, was presented to the series "Transparent" (Jill Soloway/Amazon), for its "wry, yet tender look at the ripples created when one individual finally comes to terms with their true identity." Honorable mentions for the CineKink Tribute went to several television series: "Bob's Burgers" (Fox), "The Mindy Project" (Fox) and "Outlander" (Starz!). Works eligible for consideration this year were those released or aired in the U.S. from Jan. 1 until Dec. 31, 2014.

The 12th annual run Feb. 24-March 1 led to what organizers said was "record-breaking attendance with several sold-out programs."

CineKink NYC featured a specially selected program of films and videos that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality. Billing itself as "the kinky film festival," the event is dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television. With offerings drawn from both Hollywood and beyond, works presented at CineKink NYC ranged from documentary to drama, comedy to experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit - and everything in between.

Sponsors of CineKink NYC/2015 included Bowery Bliss, KinkyMedical.net and njoy, along with Conduit Enterprises, Dom Sub Friends, Leather Archives & Museum, Leather Pride Night NYC, Lyft, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Open Love NY, Pandora’s Box, Pleasure Salon, Poly Cocktails, Purple Passion and The Eulenspiegel Society.

Selections from CineKink NYC will be featured in a traveling version of the festival, slated to appear in various cities throughout the coming year.

For more information, visit Cinekink.com.