Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

‘HUMP!’ Fest offers porn by the people, for the people

Published

6 years ago

on

Image courtesy HUMP! Film Festival

Dan Savage’s HUMP! Film Festival is on the road again, bringing a carefully curated collection of porn to a city near you.

Yes, that’s right, porn.

Now in its 15th year, the HUMP! Festival brings audiences “a new kind of porn,” according to its website. The films it screens are submitted, on condition of anonymity and limited viewership, by sexually adventurous couples and friends, “people who aren’t porn stars but want to be one for a weekend.”

The best of the crop, selected by Savage and a 12-person jury, then go on a tour across the country, screened in theatres for a short, limited run and then never to be seen again. The movies are short – each less than five minutes – and they offer proof that, when it comes to sex, it’s all a question of taste. The HUMP Fest’s entries feature “whatever their amateur filmmakers and stars think is hot and sexy, creative and kinky, their ultimate turn-ons and their craziest fantasies […] a cornucopia of body types, shapes, ages, colors, sexualities, genders, kinks, and fetishes, united by a shared spirit of sex-positivity.”

The official line from its creators:

“HUMP! is a celebration of creative sexual expression. You will see films at HUMP! that shock you. You will see films at HUMP! that make you laugh. And you will see films at HUMP! that turn you on. You will also be touched by the sincerity and vulnerability with which these films are lovingly made. HUMP!’s main mission is to change the way America sees—and makes and shares—porn.”

Savage, the out journalist and activist behind the “Savage Love” sex advice column and the “It Gets Better Project,” started the festival back in 2005. He told BuzzFeed in a 2015 interview, “We are reviving old-school, artisanal pornography.”

He explained the purpose of the festival by offering an example from the many films submitted for consideration.

“A couple years ago, there was a film called “Go Ahead and Pee.” It was just a normal, average-looking woman jumping on a trampoline with a leotard, saying, ‘Go ahead, pee.’ Eventually, she’s jumping on the trampoline, and you begin to see that she is urinating. She’s peeing herself. Her leotard is changing color as she pees down her own legs. That was the video. That’s all that happened. And we were like, ‘That’s someone’s kink. That’s somebody’s porn. That’s something we want in the festival.’ Juxtaposed with the other films, I thought it worked really well. It was beautiful.”

He summed it up by saying, “It makes people better humans to be comfortable with and down with what other people are doing, what other people are into. To witness it and cheer for it.

“Under the plumbing, under the kinks, under the gender identity, everything is the same: the desire, the lust, the passion, the humor, the vulnerability. All of those things, the more important things, are the same. That’s the cake, and the differences are the frosting. We are all the fucking cake.”

If you’re interested in seeing some of the many flavors of frosting on display at this year’s HUMP! Film Festival, you can find the tour schedule and ticket info, along with a full listing and description of the selected films, at their website.

Related Topics:
Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Sports

Jason Collins dies at 47

First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer

Published

20 hours ago

on

May 12, 2026

By

Jason Collins (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.

The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.

Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.

Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.

Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.

The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.

“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar.  We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”  

“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”

“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”

“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

Glitterati Productions hold party at Bunker

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip. 

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026 

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Continue Reading

Popular