the Yerba Buena Center for the ArtsJust wanted to let you know that the screenings went great, exactly the type of edgy event I love to have here. I’m always up for challenging people’s comfort levels and questioning stereotypes. Thursday was almost full, and Friday was sold out. Cyd Black and his wife, model Sarah Jane Ceylon, came on Friday for a rather intense q&a. It was clear that there were some people in the audience came knowing this was a film about bondage, but getting a little more than they bargained for (though there were no walk-outs at either show). So when Cyd brought up things like the 24 to 72 hour-long live feeds that Insex would do occasionally, there was some stunned silence. He was asked how many women he thought were actually into it, and how many just did it for the money, and he said he thought about 15-20% were into it, and I felt a little more uncomfortable silence. His wife then enthusiastically chimed in that she was really into it. One woman said she was doing a shoot with Brent next week, and was critical of the film for not making it clear that he was still working I was a little surprised no one asked any very challenging questions, but without the filmmakers present that wouldn’t have really been appropriate.
As a whole, I felt the majority of people there were positive and engaged with the film. A number of kink.com staffers were there. So it was a very interesting mix of people – some deeply involved in the scene, and some just out for an offbeat night at the movies. I like the film very much, and I hope you can get it out there. It’s going to be a bit tricky outside of film festivals, I think, but if you handle it very carefully you can do it. Thanks for letting me show it here. – Joel Shepard, Film/Video Curator, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
