The idea of ‘art porn’ has been around for quite a few years now, but it’s only relatively recently that the ‘porn’ part of it been taken seriously (previously it was just movies with very explicit scene, which often were actually rather sex-negative). It’s something a few gay porn studios have taken note of.
That includes Helix Studios, who’ve teamed up with queer filmmaker Matt Lambert for Flower. While Lambert is known for his unusual, visionary films, this is by far his most explicit work yet. He tells Out that he nearly decided to remove his name from the movie to protect his more commercial work, “It was definitely something I never thought I’d make a year ago, that’s for damn sure. I realized that if [the film] is about celebrating sex positivity and dismantling the shame that surrounds gay sex, why the fuck would I negate that by shaming myself by being afraid to stand for the work?”
The film itself takes what is in many ways a porn staple – five young guys having sex – and infuses it with a sense of intimacy, sweetness and honesty. It intercuts the men having a bit of a sex-fuelled party with a sun-dappled and far more sensual erotic session the next morning. Then things take an unexpected turn when the men start lip-syncing to Pansy Division’s 90s tune, Flower. That includes using an erect penis as a microphone (something John Cameron Mitchell previously did in Shortbus). It certainly adds an unusual but rather fun, punk edge to the end of the film.
Lambert also feels that adding a sense of connection and humanity to porn is important, saying,“People, especially now more than ever, learn about their sexuality through porn. If all you have is the trash that’s out there, then you’re just going to start fucking like a porn star and you’re going to learn how to demean people and dehumanize people and have impersonal, non-intimate sexual experiences.”
Although the movie is far too NSFW to post here, it’s currently available to watch for free over at Helix studios, and you can watch it by CLICKING HERE. You can also watch a trailer below, and read more about the movie over at Out.
If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/225271177
NOT free. You have to join Helix and pay a membership fee.
Sorry it it’s not working for you, but you should be able to just click the link and watch it, without having to pay anything (at least at the moment). The rest of Helix is paid for though.
Too bad the link does not work. Message: Video not found when the ‘play’ arrow is selected.