SECS FEST 2021: Halsted Double-Feature

SECS Fest 2021 will showcase 30 short films and 4 feature films from around the globe, plus an archival double-feature from American gay porn director, Fred Halsted. The festival will be both in-person at the Grand Illusion Cinema and live-streamed on September 10 -12. 

SECS Fest aims to bring world-class erotic cinema to Seattle audiences with their annual international film festival by selecting films inclusive of authentic adult sexual expression. Films selected will show a diversity of representations: race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, kink, and body-type; with a strong sex-positive core that has been the mission of SECS Fest since its inception .Attendees can expect to experience a range of film genres, sexual orientations, and sexual activities. Both narrative and documentary films will showcase a variety of interests – fetishes, BDSM, sex work, and more.   

 

IMPORTANT:

• All patrons are required to show proof of vaccination (card or photo of card) or proof of a negative COVID test from the last 48 hours.
• Masks required for all regardless of vaccination status.
• Concessions will not be available. Please feel free to bring your own non-alcoholic beverage and keep your mask on when not drinking. No outside food allowed.

*Content warnings are included to warn of potentially triggering content, but it should be noted that all film programs contain sexually explicit content.

*No one under 18 admitted*

This ticket is for admission to the in-person screening of  the Halsted Double-Feature Archival Program only. 

The Halsted Double-Feature can only be seen at the Grand Illusion Cinema at 9pm, September 11 and is not included in the SECS FEST 2021 virtual live stream. 

details-

The Fred Halsted, Archival Double-Feature (130 min)

LA PLAYS ITSELF (United States, 1972,55 min)

SEXTOOL (United States, 1975, 60 min)

Fred Halsted (July 20, 1941 – May 9, 1989) was an early innovator of the hard-core gay feature. His films have been heavily censored and rarely exhibited outside of a rare cinematheque or museum screening. So we are fortunate to be able to screen two of Fred Halsted’s films, LA Plays Itself & Sextool, recently restored by Altered Innocence.

Typical of Fred Halsted’s filmography, both films are loosely, non-narrative with a focus on scenes of rough, sadomasochistic sex. At there core, these films are an assault on everything wholesome about an idealized American Culture. Here, Halsted takes viewers into a dark and subversive side of L.A. These films are the earliest to show fisting on screen.

Both films, LA PLAYS ITSELF and SEXTOOL will include an introduction from gay film scholar and archivist, Evan Purchell. 

CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of non-consensual BDSM.

SECS Fest is powered by Shunpike. 

About Shunpike:

Shunpike is the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington State with the services, resources, and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.