US
2006
102 minutes
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell

Opening Night Party immediately following screening at Hot Metal Grille, 2829 E. Carson St. for all Diva Pass, Festival Guests and Opening Night ticket holders.

When life gets rough, we all need somewhere to take refuge. For the chic New Yorkers in this film, the Shortbus provides a space for them to break out of their relationship ruts and engage in some steamy, Technicolor dreaming.

The Shortbus is indeed an unusual place: part art salon, part nightclub, part sexual free-for-all. It provides both an over-the-top setting to act out desires and a philosophical sanctuary to contemplate life. The characters that frequent this special night spot include a sex therapist who has never herself experienced an orgasm, and a gay couple who are thinking about opening up their relationship. And then, of course, there’s the larger-than-life dominatrix who shelters herself in a storage unit.

John Cameron Mitchell (of Hedwig and the Angry Inch fame) has written and directed his second film project, with the goal of including real sex in a feature film.While the early buzz about this film focuses on the sex scenes, these explicit moments act as Mitchell’s tool for exploring the emotional being of his characters, who are also given life by a smart script and winning performances.

After a struggle to finance the film, Mitchell landed a hit when it debuted at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where crowds carried the stars on their shoulders through the streets. As Mitchell puts it, “This is an act of resistance. There is such a reluctance to address sex as an inherent part of the human experience in this country.... The true perversion to me is crushing it and hiding it.

PILGFF is proud to make Shortbus one of our Opening Night selections, highlighting a film that may initially shock you with its audacity, but which will ultimately provide you with a heartwarming peephole into human strength and vulnerability. – Michael Gamilla and J. O’Neill