The queer film fest is in town!

That’s right gays it’s our favourite out on screen festival, back with more smut and intellectually stimulating programming. Last night I went to see Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papi and Wil, which was all of the above; nasty, smutty homo and intelligent. A documentary about two self proclaimed “trans entities” that share their sexual explorations for not one, but two cameras in their bedroom. Director Morty Diamond (best known for his porn work and the film TrannyFags), sets out to demystify the way trans people fuck. He succeeds. Papi and Wil emerge as a loving, passionate, complex and consensual primary couple in a polyamourous relationship. They explore bdsm, role play, toys, their gender identities and trust. This “docu-porn” as Morty puts it, is a) not what I would call it and b) groundbreaking. Yes, the film includes Papi and Wil and a third partner in some fairly hard core sex scenes including a very intense role play ‘rape scene,’ however this was not porn in my opinion. The documentary is about trans sex relations and love, therefore it’s justified in showing these explicit images. The film acts as a portrait of Papi and Wil that allows the viewer to deconstruct the complex connection that they share.

The footage is pretty low-fi, even for today’s digital indie standards and every now and then you’ll see a camera guy working on the other side of the bedroom… meh, I figure if you’re documenting three people sharing a really intense sexual experience it’s probably hard to hold a clean frame, so I let it go.

The director gave a very important disclaimer before the film about the rape role play in the last scene of the film… thank you Morty! After seeing the film I really appreciated the foreword and I mention it specifically to let you all know that this is exactly the type of boundary that film can and should push. If you’re bold enough to view it, you’ll see what I mean. Morty was good enough to answer some questions after the screening, which was very entertaining. As it turns out the film was denied at almost every major glbt film festival it attempted. London accepted it… however made it screen at a bar down the road from the theater, after admitting they were afraid of the viewers it might attract. I’m happy to report that both Toronto and Vancouver’s queer festivals screened Trans Entities in a theater, where it belongs.

Contrary to the directors opinion… this is not gay porn, it’s an interesting documentary about how queers relate and fuck, depicted in a positive responsible light. I wouldn’t want to turn away the sexually repressed demographic that may not give this film a chance because it seems like porn.