By Shani R. FriedmanOver the weekend, HUMP! Film Festival, a caravan of carnality, rolled into Brooklyn’s Roulette and its spacious theatre on Atlantic Avenue. The fest was created by sex-positive columnist and It Gets Better co-founder Dan Savage, and for a decade you could only partake on the West Coast. Now you can get in on the fun as the tour makes stops from Missoula to Montreal. For the uninitiated, HUMP! is comprised of porn shorts, none lasting more than five minutes, submitted by amateur porn filmmakers who want a pre-posthumous chance for naked glory, awards and cash prizes.The impressively-curated pornucopia of 22 films explored a wide variety of subjects: polyamory, BDSM, water sports, mountaintop fucking, orgies and even fisting puppets. The performers were equally diverse: Gay, White, thin, Straight, Asian, plus-sized, Trans, Latino, Black and from Millennials to AARP members. Participants also had the option of including designated props: the picks were accordions and the infamous Make American Great Again hat. (The organizers explained with an apology that the hat was chosen during the GOP primaries last year when everyone thought Clinton was going to be the winner.) The themes weren’t just about getting off: some selections mined humor while others courted longing and loneliness. But of course, whether there were people skydiving sans clothes, a woman brought to ecstasy by her rainbow dildo, or a well-hung Merman in his altogether popping up in a raunchy dance club, there was an abundance of hotness to celebrate too.Some highlights: It’s Fucking Complicated, which was a runner-up for Best Humor. In it a couple gradually shared more and more of the things they were “really into,” like furry costumes (but only for endangered species), pies and holding up a sign that says #1 after having sex. Another audience favorite was I’m Not Poly But My Boyfriends Are, which picked up the award for Best In Show. It was a mini-memoir about a woman who overcame her fears as a younger woman about sex to embrace having multiple partners later in life. In that short, all the participants were anywhere from ages 51-75. A couple of charming films used songs to winning effect, including A Pervert’s Guide To Avoiding Loneliness, which featured a guy wearing an accordion and jockstrap as he squeezed out a tune about his search for love. Probably the most memorable was Breakfast In Bed, a runner-up for Best Kink. It involved a new method for buttered bread: a stick of butter shoved well up one guy’s bum so that he would later be able to provide it special delivery for his partner’s bread. You will likely never think of butter the same way again.To see if you’ll be able to get your HUMP! on where you live, check the schedule for remaining dates this year. Next up in Minneapolis starting tonight. The tour will continue on the West Coast next year.Learn more about HUMP! at humpfilmfest.com, or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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