Find a kid-free spot to indulge in this year’s online Hump Fest

Hump Fest, the Seattle-based festival of short erotic films, began in 2005 as an effort to let average people make and star in porn without the footage winding up on the Internet — and as a way to make porn an inclusive community experience.

The whole idea was to go to a crowded theater and watch dirty movies with other people, something crowds of locals have done during the years the festival screened at Olympia’s Capitol Theater.

Life in a global pandemic being what it is, all that has changed. The last festival of serious, funny, fantastical and just plain out-there films started out in theaters in November 2019 and wound up on the Internet, where the 2021 fest will premiere Saturday, Jan. 30.

The online festival is available only as a scheduled livestream, with some screenings offering the option of watch parties in hopes of capturing some of that community feeling. Festival founder Dan Savage, internationally known for his sex column, will host Saturday’s screening.

What hasn’t changed is that Hump — which Savage describes as “a porn festival for people who don’t like porn” — showcases a wildly diverse range of ages, genders, colors and kinks. In fact, organizers are promising that this year’s festival is one of the most diverse ever.

The idea is both to have something for virtually every taste and to reveal the commonalities that lie beneath the activities and accoutrements in the films, all 5 minutes or less.

“Gender differences, kinks — they’re all a thin veneer laid upon everything we have in common: desire, passion, vulnerability, a sense of humor and a desire for connection and intimacy,” Savage said in interview for Ars Technica. “All of that is the same. After the 5-to-6-film mark, you see that shift. No matter how off-the-wall the next film is, everyone’s cheering for each film. …You’re shielding your eyes at first, then you’re watching and cheering at the same content.”

All that diversity means that you’re likely to see not only something you haven’t seen before — one of this year’s films involves the sex lives of orcs and werewolves, for example — but also something you’ll wish you hadn’t.

In 2016, for example, a film called “Breakfast in Bed” concerned an unusual way to butter toast. (For those who want to know more, the trailer is available online.) Filmmakers and stars Ethan Folk and Ty Wardwell returned in 2019 with the similarly themed “Brunch on Bikes,” and as it turns out, they have an entry in this year’s festival, too.

“The great thing about Hump is that you can close your eyes and be sure that it’s only going to last for five minutes max, and then they’ll be on to the next thing that might float your boat,” said Caroline Dodge, the festival’s marketing director. “We always have a few films that are there just to test the audience.

“I’m on the jury,” she told The Olympian. “You should see some of the stuff that doesn’t make it in.”

Restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 haven’t substantially changed the content of the films, Dodge said. The trailer does include several masks, but none of the type you need when you go out in public.

Neither the stresses of pandemic life nor the risks of showing the films online had much impact on the number of submissions, Dodge added.

“We really steeled ourselves to adjust our expectations and maybe have a lot of solo stuff,” she said. “We were so relieved, and we were just touched at how many people really brought it.”

“If anything, it looks a little more DIY than it used to,” Dodge added. “That’s refreshing. That’s Hump getting back to its beginnings.”

While the intention is to put Hump back in theaters as soon as it’s safe to do so, there are a few possible advantages to watching at home.

The timid can stream the festival with no risk of exposure, and those at the other end of the spectrum have the option of attending the Nude Viewing Party on Feb. 27.

“Nude Viewing Party attendees must keep their cameras on throughout the entire screening,” the Hump Fest website explains.

Hump Fest

• What: The Hump Film Festival, sponsored by Seattle weekly The Stranger, is a compilation of short erotic films celebrating creative sexual expression and including people of many body types, ages and genders.
• When: Opens at 8 p.m. Jan. 30, with a screening hosted by festival founder and famed sex columnist Dan Savage of Seattle, with screenings through March 6
• Where: Online
• Tickets: $25-$40
• More information: https://www.humpfilmfest.com/

This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Find a kid-free spot to indulge in this year’s online Hump Fest."