Let’s talk about sex-y Cinema
Written by Mark Brennan
It’s that time of year again… Valentine’s Day. Where just about everywhere you look (or scroll) there are seemingly endless references to love and romance. Well, that won’t be happening here.
Instead, we’re going to be talking about sex. Erotic cinema that is. With a growing appetite for films that specifically explore sex, sexuality and fetishism, through artistic expression that makes audiences think as much as feel, more festivals are thrusting their way on to the festival circuit than ever before.
Firstly, here in the UK there is Erotic Film Festival London, which over the last two years has screened a selection of films in curated programmes, ‘each offering a different perspective on intimacy, desire, and connection’.
EFFL: “We set up Erotic Film Festival London to create a welcoming, thoughtful space for erotic cinema to be seen and discussed with care and curiosity. Erotic film is often sidelined or sensationalised, and we wanted to offer an accessible platform that treats it as a legitimate, creative art form while inviting audiences of all backgrounds to engage with it on their own terms. We look for work that is artistically ambitious, emotionally resonant and made with intention, whether that’s playful, political, intimate or challenging. Above all, we prioritise films that approach desire, bodies and sexuality with nuance, consent and curiosity, and that invite audiences into conversation.”
“We aim to fill the gap between underground erotic spaces and traditional film festivals by offering a bridge between the two. Erotic Film Festival London creates an accessible entry point for curious audiences, while giving filmmakers a visible platform where their work can be experienced collectively and taken seriously.”
The London festival came shortly after Erotic Film Festival Barcelona, with a similar aim to be ‘a welcoming and inclusive space for reflection and exploration, encouraging discussions on eroticism, sexuality, and identity’.
EFFB: “Barcelona has been a bit of a hub for the adult industry, hosting various big commercial trade shows for years. And at the same time, there's a large progressive, queer community. But there wasn't much crossover. So, we felt there was space for a dedicated community exploring eroticism. While our focus is on the medium of film, we are finding ways to enhance the event experience with performance too. Ultimately, we want a space where filmmakers can explore sexuality without the constraints of mainstream censorship, and where audiences can watch these themes without the stigma often attached to adult content.
For some, there is such a fine line between pornography and art, that there can be some pretty common misconceptions of what these festivals actually offer audiences. What are some of the mistaken assumptions that both festivals have experienced?
EFFB: “That it's sleazy; basically, a few hours of awkwardness in a dark cinema with a bunch of dudes watching a dick slide in and out of someone. In reality, it’s quite the opposite. It's bright, social, diverse and, interestingly, with perhaps even more women/non-binary folk than men, we've noticed! It is quite a queer event which we love too, and it feels safe and open to learning, sharing, expanding...”
EFFL: “A common misconception is that erotic films are only about provocation or niche audiences. The work we show is often thoughtful, funny, tender or confrontational in ways that feel very human. Our audiences are wonderfully diverse in age, background and experience with the art form.”
And coming back to the topic of the art form, in the opinion of these festivals, how does it differ from pornography?
EFFB: “It's an important and popular question, and while there is so much crossover between them, in that there's porn with a ton of artistic merit, and there's art that is pornographic, I think traditionally it boiled down to intent. If the intention of the piece was something more utilitarian, i.e. to wank to, it fell into a porn category. If the intention was an exploration, asking question, etc, it fell into art, even if it did lead to some arousal too. Anyway, I'm not too sure how much such categorisations are always useful... But that's a longer conversation.”
EFFL: “For us, the line isn’t fixed, and that’s part of the point. Context, intention and audience matter. Erotic cinema can be explicit and still be deeply artistic, political or emotional, and we’re interested in exploring that grey area.”
It’s an area, nonetheless, that is growing in popularity so much that the Erotic Film Festival team will soon be expanding across the pond.
EFFB: “We sit in between the major art house festivals, and the adult industry expos, and we're very community focused. This is why a few of our friends in LA are partnering with a few of us to bring a similar event Stateside. As the global capital city of the film industry, with a thriving adult industry to boot, we felt it was time for those two worlds to speak in a meaningful way. By bringing this European-style art-house erotic festival to LA we look to bridge that divide between the film industry; ethical, progressive, queer, artistic... an LA-based platform for American filmmakers on their home turf that treats their work with the dignity it deserves.”
Meanwhile, back here in the UK, the London Fetish Film Festival is offering yet another supportive, inclusive and niche space for filmmakers and audiences to experience ‘works focused on fetish culture - pure fixation, human pleasure and exploration’. Tainted Saint (Co-Artistic Director and Producer) in collaboration with Founding Artistic Director and Curator/Programmer Venus Raven tell us more.
“LFFF began from a shared passion for cinema and BDSM, and as a kind of “fuck you” to censorship. Founder, Venus Raven, wanted to create a space where kink and freedom of expression could exist without apology, beyond stereotypes and outside of nightlife culture. From the very beginning, it was about taking pleasure seriously - as an artistic, political, and deeply human language - and centring community in the process.”
“We look for the unexpected. Subtlety, cinematic craft, visual language, narrative depth – films that are thought-provoking, sometimes shocking, and that carry political or social resonance alongside artistry. Above all, we’re drawn to work that lingers, challenges assumptions, and makes the audience feel something they didn’t anticipate.”
“A common misconception is that fetish film is just about sex, or nightlife spectacle. It’s really about psychology, emotion, human connection, and lived experience. LFFF isn’t about performance for the audience; it’s about stories, fixations, and reflection. Fetish can be tender, political, playful, transgressive - and the festival is a space to explore all of that with care and intention.”
Hyperion
And where does the line between art and pornography sit for LFFF?
“It’s a big, subjective line. We rarely screen pornography. For us, LFFF is about fetish - paraphilia, fixation, psychology, obsession - not sex. Even when work is explicit. The distinction is less about nudity or sex and more about intention, context, and the way desire is framed: artistically crafted rather than purely titillating. You can have beautiful, cinematic porn... you can also have highly sexualised and objectifying kink films... you can also have really fucking erotic performance art videos...”
“We’re fixated on fixation. LFFF is London’s only dedicated fetish film festival, and it centres a community that has limited representation. In a world saturated with fetish imagery, the festival offers a self-produced, self-funded space where subculture merges artistry, politics, and consent. It’s about normalising play, reclaiming autonomy, and showing that fetish is more than sexual - it’s cultural, aesthetic, healing and even really fucking funny!”
What has the audience response been like to each of the festivals as word begins to spread?
Oasis
LFFF: “It’s been incredibly supportive and encouraging. People come back year after year, creating a strong social and community network around the festival. The curiosity and engagement we see highlights the absence of this type of space in London - there’s a hunger for intelligent, consensual, and challenging erotic cinema, and audiences respond with enthusiasm.”
EFFL: “The response has been incredibly warm and engaged. Audiences have told us they feel comfortable, surprised and grateful to experience erotic work in a space that feels safe, open and welcoming, even if the films themselves are challenging or unfamiliar.”
EFFB: “So collaborative! We've had so many local artists want to do things together, and we look forward to exploring more opportunities in 2026.”
And finally, what are some programming highlights of each festival?
EFFL: “Our highlights tend to be films that really shift the energy in the room. Our 2025 Film of the Festival winner, Marriage Unplugged, directed by the Nüesch Sisters, was a perfect example of this - there were moments you could hear a pin drop followed by a collective exhale or a laugh.”
EFFB: “As each short in the official selection is so uniquely individual, I've been most impressed how the final curation feels so cohesive yet having covered so much. It could seem disjointed, but there's this thread that runs through them.”
LFFF: “Our favourites are usually the ‘inside fetish’ and ‘documentary’ sections - they reflect our own practices a lot and are often the most challenging to navigate. These films are intimate and direct, giving POV glimpses into real people, real sessions, and lived lifestyles. We particularly love when filmmakers return to create specifically with the festival in mind; it turns programming into a conversation rather than a one-off screening, and it always pushes us creatively.”
Personally, what I love about short films and short film festivals is the broadest scope of storytelling that can bring together communities. Most of all, I love that no matter who you are - or what you’re in to - there are independent filmmakers the world over who making stories they love, all the time perhaps not realising how audiences will connect with it, appreciate it, and find themselves thirsty for more.
