It’s HUMP! day.
No, it’s not Wednesday in the sea of office cubicles with that dopey obnoxious camel … This is a good kind of Hump Day
The 11th-annual HUMP! Film Festival returns to Philadelphia as part of its international tour featuring homegrown dirty (read: porn!) movies May 21 at Theatre of Living Arts.
The brainchild of Savage Love advice columnist and activist Dan Savage, the festival celebrates sex positivity and sexual expression with a showcase of short porn films featuring subjects and filmmakers from a variety of body sizes, shapes, ages, races, sexualities, genders, kinks and fetishes.
One of the short films featured this year is “Level Up,” co-filmed and co-edited by Jenna, starring Amory Jane. The film starts off as a humorous video-game-themed adventure with a pro-feminist message before spiraling into a bisexual orgy.
Jenna and Jane talked to PGN about their film and what inspired them to throw their hats into the HUMP! ring.
PGN: You managed to pack a lot of humor, feminism and social commentary into “Level Up.” What were your influences and inspiration for this film?
AJ: We came at the film from multiple perspectives, but mostly it just started off with us wanting to find a way to incorporate our feminist views and love of classic video games. It is not a critique on the porn industry, but does attempt to show things we would love to see more of in movies: women as heroes/in charge of their own sexuality, cis men showing affection and exploring sexuality with each other and an awareness of patriarchy/kyriarchy and how it impacts the ways we have sex and experience desire in our society. We’ve always loved HUMP! and put our hearts into every film, but “Level Up” was especially meaningful for us. It’s a film we all really believe in, and it’s a privilege to be shown alongside so many other incredible films, including ones with professional porn stars.
J: Honestly, we’re all friends and we wanted to have fun but also make something meaningful. We wanted to create a film that makes you think, laugh and super horny. And remind you that one of the best parts about sex is the ability to laugh. Never stop laughing.
PGN: Were there any challenges or difficulties in making the film that you did not expect?
AJ: Making the film was great, especially the unscripted orgy, which was very natural and all done without direction/interruption from the camera crew. That allowed us to be authentic and have fun with each other without worrying about our “performance.” I also have a really nice memory of all of the actors eating together after filming and then sleeping in the yurt (where we filmed the orgy) together as a way of providing aftercare for each other. It was definitely a really special weekend.
J: While we were filming the yurt orgy, I put on some music in the background to make people feel more comfortable and “in the mood.” Problem was, I only had Spotify to work with, so in those two-three hours it took to film, I had to go through quite a few different radio stations to maintain the mood. I tried artists related to Sneaker Pimps, Hooverphonic, etc., but every once in a while you’d hear a gargled, mid-blow-job, “Please change it,” which sounded more like “Plurs churngs it” and it would crack me up, every time.
PGN: What kind of feedback, either from Dan Savage or from audiences, have you gotten about “Level Up”?
J: We’ve heard nothing but good things, and it’s just fantastic. Each of our actors seems to get recognized on a regular basis with positive feedback, and we’ve heard from friends in other cities about how much fun they had at the fest and how much they enjoyed our film in particular. It’s certainly awesome and exciting to know that our films are traveling all around the U.S. and Canada, and we hope we’re making a positive impact on as many people as possible.
PGN: What is it about the HUMP! Film Festival that appealed to you as a filmmaker and/or a fan of erotica?
J: Growing up in middle-class, ticky-tacky, American white suburbia, I was fed the same heaping spoonful of bullshit that many like me have been fed: that porn is just wrong, shameful and dirty. I think one of the amazing parts about HUMP! is that it makes adjectives like “dirty” a positive thing. It helps de-shame porn and the entire sexual experience, which I think is incredibly important. Dan Savage and HUMP! are such revered icons (especially in Portland and the Pacific Northwest at large) because of what they represent and constantly work toward: sexual revolution and sex positivity. One of the reasons we have created — and continue to create — films for HUMP! is because of the desire to be part of that revolution, this amazing movement toward sexual liberation.
AJ: Plus, we wanted to make the kind of porn we’d like to watch! Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of films out there that include things like pansexuality, politics, humor and mixed-gender, bisexual group sex. We are also big fans of queer/feminist porn, and we wanted to contribute to what we hope will be an ever-growing category.
PGN: Were you making adult films before you had heard of the HUMP! Festival?
J: “Level Up” was the second film I made for HUMP! (after “Humparoke,” which ran in the 2014 festival and the 2015 tour) but not the first amateur porn I’ve made. However, the several films before HUMP! were just amateur homemade videos, solely intended for the partners involved, without a plot or fun theme. I have to say, making HUMP! films are way more fun — and sex is already pretty damn fun. It was Amory Jane who brought me into HUMP! with her ideas for “Humparoke,” and she had also starred in a film a couple years prior that also made it into the festival, “D&D Orgy,” which is just as amazing as it sounds.
PGN: Do you get to meet or interact with the other filmmakers featured on the festival?
J: I haven’t yet, but I’d love to in the future!
PGN: What do you think this festival offers audiences that they can’t get from the adult-film industry? And do you think the HUMP! Festival will get mainstream audiences to be more open-minded toward adult films that are outside of the “norm”?
J: Dan Savage explains this better than I ever could, but essentially, HUMP! is absolutely for everyone. It’s a unique opportunity to not only mentally explore your own sexual boundaries, but to be exposed to sexual kinks and arenas you’ve probably never even thought about. And whether or not it turns out to be “your thing,” it’s still worth experiencing. It’s a lesson in acceptance, though you wouldn’t even realize it, because it’s so much fun. You’re in a packed theater, surrounded by people who are all in the same boat. I’ve never been to a HUMP! screening where I felt judged or self-conscious.
The HUMP! Festival comes to Philadelphia at 6, 8:15 and 10:30 p.m. May 21 at TLA, 334 South St. For more information or tickets, call 215-922-1011 or visit www.humpfilmfest.com.