(A)sexual is an
independent documentary film about asexuality,
asexual people, asexual people's lives, and the making of a movement.
Stats:
Director: Angela Tucker
Producers: Katy Chevigny, Beth Davenport, Jolene Pinder
Executive Producer: Ewa Bigio
Editor: Michelle Chang
Main Interviewees: David Jay, Barb, Swankivy, Elizabeth, Brian
Running Time: 75 minutes
Production Company: Arts Engine/Big Mouth Films
Premiered: Frameline Film Festival - San Francisco - June 18, 2011
Other Film Festivals Shown: MIX COPENHAGEN (formerly known as Copenhagen Gay & Lesbian Film Festival), Reeling 2011: The Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, Queersicht (Bern, Switzerland), Vox Feminae Festival (Zagreb, Croatia), New Orleans Film Festival, Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, NewFest Film Festival (New York).
Official description: Facing a sex obsessed culture, a mountain of stereotypes and misconceptions, and a lack of social or scientific research, asexuals--people who experience no sexual attraction--struggle to claim their identity.
(A)sexual follows the growth of a community that experiences no sexual attraction. In 2000, David Jay came out to his parents. He was asexual and was fine with it. And he was not alone. Studies show that 1% of the population is asexual. But in a society obsessed with sex, how do you deal with life as an outsider? Combining intimate interviews, verite footage, and animation with fearless humor and pop culture imagery, David and our four other characters grapple with this universal question and the outcomes might surprise you.
My comments:
This independent documentary introduces the audience to the concept of asexuality--the sexual orientation of not finding anyone sexually attractive--and subjects viewers to both good information and popular misconceptions. Largely following the life and mission of asexual poster boy David Jay (founder of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network), we're introduced to how asexuals handle intimacy, what the different kinds of asexuals are, what they do to spread awareness, and what the people who study them think.
(A)sexual is both a discussion of asexuality and a slice-of-life portrayal of how several asexuals live their lives, combined with information and commentary from sexologists, researchers, and random people on the street.
Also? I'm in it, because I'm awesome.
See it on iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/a-sexual/id533681543
See it on Netflix:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70261008
See it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=KgRxxls7JxI&feature=mv_sr
See it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/A-Sexual/dp/B008F5IM0M
Its main website:
http://asexualthemovie.com/