dive: a new independent erotic film festival

On August 26, Detroit will host its first erotic film festival, Detroit Independent Video Erotica (DIVE), a one-night showcase of international short films and videos. Open to amateurs and professionals, DIVE is currently accepting submissions of films, videos and animations of all genres ranging anywhere from a few seconds to 6 minutes, "so long as the theme is erotic or concerning sexuality:"

 If you can tell a story, entertain and titillate, or enlighten in six minutes or less, the DIVE Film Festival is the place to show your skills! Videos can be in any style — drama, comedy, thriller, science-fiction, documentary, animation, puppetry, musical, dance numbers, horror, visual art, straight or LBGT — anything you can imagine and put on video. Maybe your band has a video that’s too hot for YouTube… Submit it to us!

DIVE wants to make a distinction, however, between erotic material and straight-up porn. If you have videos of you and your mate going at it gonzo-style in some motel room — we’ll probably look at it…but it wouldn’t be right for the festival.

Explains DIVE to Detroit-based sex and art blogger Jane Fader:

The goal of the DIVE Film Festival is to inspire people to make (or submit existing) creative erotic/sensual works on video. The criteria for submission is being left somewhat vague because we don’t want to limit people’s creativity. As I’m sure you know, the range of expression of sexuality is vast, in terms of the range of preferences, and in individual expression. We want to be accepting of all of it. The great news is that creating video works no longer depends on having professional-grade equipment. Most newer cell phones and point & shoot cameras have very good video quality, and editing and soundtracks can be done with software provided free on many home computers (like iMovie). These are easy tools for “amateurs” who want to create and contribute a piece.

Ultimately, the finest image quality is less important than the overall concept and style. Beyond that, we’re hoping to draw in the artists, too — the people who have a unique vision that they can use to approach this subject matter. In talking with people in the art community, I’ve heard tales of some video work that sounds incredible, and hope that the creators of those works will submit them to the festival. While we expect that most videos will be live footage, there’s always the possibility some will be animated, claymation, stop-action or even a Ken Burns-style montage of still photos that use zooming and panning to create the dynamics. That would be fantastic! Works need not be literal, either. The depictions can be metaphorical or abstract. They can be as short as a television commercial or any length up to six minutes. We want the audience to leave the festival…over-stimulated…(pardon the bad pun).

Find more information and updates at the DIVE Film Festival's Facebook page where I found this comment from DIVE reflecting their thoughts on what is erotic and the distinction between erotica and porn:

The question is frequently posed regarding what is “erotic.” It’s a good question to consider. Of course, it is very much in the eye (or mind) of the beholder in terms of the specific content of the erotic material: What arouses one person may not turn on the person in the seat next to him or her. The goal of erotica tend to be the same, however — to stimulate the sense of desire in the audience.

To make a distinction between erotica and the typical x-rated material, erotica should be thought of as the journey rather than the destination. This is not to say that erotica is never explicit but that it typically contains more of a storyline and more intense interaction between characters or the work and its audience. Erotica can also be abstract, a representation of style, form, and technique that displays the human body and all its sensual properties.

Also, "About Releases & Record Keeping:"

Some people may be concerned about the requirement to keep records, particularly Records Keeping Compliance Form Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. ñ2257. DIVE would like to assure you that it’s in place for your protection, as well as its overall purpose of protecting minors from exploitation.

While we’re not steering contributors toward a specific content, we recognize that there can be nudity and/or sexual content in the videos and want to ensure that the makers are protected from outside scrutiny, so long as the participants are all of legal age. As long as that is the case, there’s no cause for concern. There won’t be anyone breaking down your door (unless they want to buy copies!).