CineKink Announces Line-Up for Annual Film Festival

NEW YORK — CineKink NYC has announced the lineup for its 13th annual festival, March 1-6, which presents a specially curated program of films that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality.

In addition to screenings, plans for the festival also include a short film competition, audience choice awards, a fund-raising kick-off gala, a concluding AfterGlow party, and more.

Billing itself as “the kinky film festival,” the event is hosted by CineKink, an organization dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television.  Works presented at CineKink NYC will range from documentary to drama, comedy to experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit — and everything in between.

“It’s stunning how sex-positive filmmaking has evolved in the years we’ve been presenting the festival, just in terms of range and quality,” said Lisa Vandever, co-founder and director of CineKink. “I know our audience will be particularly delighted this year. We’ve managed to book-end our competition screenings with two sexy, light-hearted comedies, ‘S&M Sally’ and ‘Schnick Schnack Schnuck,’ and then present a stellar round-up of kinky offerings in between.”

The festivities begin Tuesday, March 1, at 8 p.m., with a fundraising kick-off extravaganza to be held at Taj (48 W. 21st Street, N.Y.), a pansexual celebration that in addition to music and sexy performances, offers several cinematic gems on-screen.

The festival then moves to Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, N.Y.) from Wednesday, March 2 through Saturday, March 5, with several different film and video programs scheduled for each day.

An awards celebration and an AfterGlow play party complete the festival’s run on Sunday, March 6.

Among the headliners on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m., is the festival's CineKink Season Opener screening of “S&M Sally,” a comedy that follows a lesbian couple as they explore the underground world of BDSM, while their friends compete to see who’s cool enough to go through with a polyamorous, bisexual threesome. Then, at 9:15 p.m., “The Pleasure of Rope” is a documentary look at the Japanese art of rope bondage and the people who practice it, sometimes obsessively.

On Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m., the shorts program mix and mingle offers up a range of libidinous pursuits, from solo act to group expression. Then, at 9:15 p.m., the Swedish feature “Kim” follows a young artist as she struggles to come to terms with whether she’s dominant, submissive... or both.

On Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m., a documentary, “The Red Umbrella Diaries,” digs deep into the personal experiences of people who trade sex for a living, illuminating the complexities and contradictions that sex workers face. And at 9:30 p.m., “Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Sex Workers’ Words and Wisdom,” is a special event bringing together Jiz Lee, Stoya, Chelsea Poe, Colin and Angie Rowntree, and Morgana Muses to share their personal experiences around coming out — or not — about their involvement in the porn industry.  

Kicking off Saturday, March 5, at 1 p.m., the shorts program “Scarlet Women” takes a direct gaze back at societal norms, staking a claim for female agency and all desires fulfilled.

At 3 p.m., CineKink’s annual porn showcase, “Bring It!,” features an array of talent from today’s adult cinema, each representing a wide range of genres and visual styles through their recent endeavors.

At 5:40 p.m., a double feature, “Sector King Zulu King,” and “Gone,” explores the mixed emotions of lust, longing, love and loss. 

At 7:50 p.m., a collection of shorts, “Rites & Roles,” focuses on a range of kinky connections.

At 10 p.m., the festival’s closing competition film, “Schnick Schnack Schnuck,” a refreshingly up-to-date and sun-dappled homage to 1970’s porn, combines explicit sex with a playful take on relationships, love, sex and jealousy.

CineKink NYC concludes the evening of Sunday, March 6, at 7 p.m., with a CineKink awards celebration, including presentation of the annual festival awards, to be followed at 8:30 p.m. by the CineKink AfterGlow party, offering one last chance to mingle with like-minded festivalgoers and to enjoy a few additional screenings in a relaxed, play party setting.

The location for both Sunday events is Bowery Bliss, a club located on the Lower East Side. The address will be provided to all ticket holders.

For more information, visit CineKink.com.