CineKink Announces Award Winners Of 2018 Kinky Film Festival

NEW YORK CITY—Well, the 15th anniversary of CineKink's Kinky Film Festival is now in the rearview, and its organizers have announced the recipients of awards in a range of categories. The official awards presentation took place during the festival's closing celebration on Sunday, March 18, 2018. “It was incredibly gratifying to stride into our 15th season with such a diverse range of quality offerings," noted Lisa Vandever, CineKink co-founder and director. "Congratulations and thanks are in order, not just to the winners tonight, but to all of the filmmakers for contributing to such a stellar line-up!" Audience Choice Awards for CineKink 2018 were presented to Fantasy (Dashiell Demeter) for Best Narrative Feature, with V-Card: The Film (Jamal Green, and featuring interviews with Asa Akira, Joanna Angel, Nina Hartley, Krystyna Hutchison, Sara Jay, Belle Knox, Lexi Belle, Ryan Driller, Evan Stone and more) winning for Best Documentary Feature. In the shorts competition, juried festival awards went to Queen Kong (Monica Strambini) for Best Dramatic Short, Asian Man, White Woman (Woody Fu) for Best Comedy Short, Cruising Elsewhere (Ryan White), Don’t Call Me (Olympia De G.) for Best Experimental Short, Yes Campaign (Ms. Naughty, and featuring Jiz Lee) for Best Advocacy Short, and F*ck Yes for Best Digital Series (Erica Anderson, Elisabeth Aultman, Emily Best, Julie Keck, Jessica King, Lauren Schacher and Blessing Yen). Honorable Best Mention awards were presented to Laurels (David Brundige), Library Hours (Jim Vendiola), Morning After (Patricia Chica), Rituals + Worship (Morgana Muses), Shapeshifters (David Bloom) and Writing in Bed (Shine Louise Houston, and starring Ingrid Mouth and Tommy Pistol). Determining the shorts awards, CineKink jurors this year included Charles Mallison, a curator for Stigma Unbound; Viviane Tang, ring-leader of the sex blog "Viviane's Sex Carnival"; and Bill Woods, a film festival programmer and curator of the New Filmmakers series at Anthology Film Archives. The annual CineKink "Bring It!" award, determined by audience ballot during a presentation of excerpts showcasing current adult cinema, went to The Pickup (Urvashi). The CineKink Tribute, recognizing extraordinary depictions of kink and sex-positivity in mainstream film and television, was presented to the feature film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (Director Angela Robinson, who also created the sensational D.E.B.S.; Annapurna Pictures). Honorable mentions for the CineKink Tribute went to the television series Brooklyn 99 (Dan Goor and Michael Schur; FOX),  I Love Dick (Jill Soloway and Sarah Gubbins; Amazon) and Sense8 (Lana and Lilly Wachowski; Netflix). Works eligible for consideration this year were those released or aired in the United States during the calendar year 2017. Making its 15th anniversary run March 14-18, 2018, CineKink NYC featured a specially selected program of films and videos that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality. Billing itself as "the kinky film festival," the event is dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television. With offerings drawn from both Hollywood and beyond, works presented at CineKink NYC ranged from documentary to drama, comedy to experimental, mildly spicy to quite explicit, and everything in between. Sponsors of CineKink NYC/2018 included Bowery Bliss and njoy, along with Film Festival Secrets, Manshop, Punk Pop and Purple Passion. Community partners included Leather Archives & Museum, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Pleasure Salon and Riverdale Avenue Books. Selections from CineKink NYC will be featured in a traveling version of the festival, slated to appear in various cities throughout the coming year. For more information, visit CineKink.com.