The most erotic film ever made about a window washer, “Squeegee” follows a delightfully weird tryst between a career woman and the scruffy younger man who washes her office windows. As always in Puccini’s work, the characters are tender and natural the images aglow with intimacy. “Dirty” explores the awkwardness of a more universal folly - bottoming for the first time. “The Mess He Made” starred Max Jenkins as a man waiting for the results of an HIV test, and “Lavender” featured Michael Urie as half of a couple who invite a younger third into their longterm relationship. With a light touch and a lyrical eye, Puccini’s shorts play like a moving triptych of quietly pivotal moments in the lives of queer men. Three films in, and director Mathew Puccini has pretty much covered the gamut of queer experience.
Many of the scenarios are surprisingly moving, like the guy who just wants to see a pretty girl call him “honey” and “love.” The film shows the coupe lugging camera equipment around their California home, interviewing the performers, and recounting customers and requests that stuck with them. Customers approach them with fantasies, whether to explore a specific fetish or to revisit an erotic childhood memory, and the Humes then craft them into bespoke porn. Though they began their career in mainstream porn, the duo soon recognized an opening for user-designed content. This funky little documentary explores the world of custom-order porn, a niche filmmaking enterprise designed by married couple Dan and Rhiannon Humes. They’re all available online, though you’ll have to head over to YouTube for the more explicit titles, and each one has its own unique vibe. Whether it’s a feminist genre take on actual bloodlust, or a comedy about an erotic encounter where the two people never touch, these films celebrate the full spectrum of human desire.
While mainstream Hollywood struggles to address human sexuality in any meaningful way, these four recently-released short films explore sex and desire with a refreshing playfulness. What’s more, younger and emerging filmmakers naturally have a finger on the pulse of more progressive ideas, ensuring a broader range of perspectives. Most filmmakers begin to craft their voices with shorts, and given the significance of making a strong first impression, the format encourages creative risks.
With any luck, the new reality will broaden movie lovers’ horizons enough to include short films, which U.S. Audiences can now experience a wider variety of films online, opening a world of possibilities that will hopefully benefit smaller films. As film festivals pivot to the ever-shifting landscape of distribution and sales, the way we consume independent film is changing more dramatically than anyone could have predicted.
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