You know I love your work, Tony, and I love your take-no-prisoners attitude to this subject. I think that’s important, and I am really proud that my baby Sex+++ was able to screen one of your films (even if I myself missed the screening, being over here in Africa and all).

I do feel like you’re being unfairly dismissive of my concerns, though. Maybe I was over-anxious, maybe I was oversensitive … but look at it from my perspective. I’m 25 now, but I was 24 then, so: I was a 24-year-old novice programmer and activist who only managed to start this program by the skin of my teeth. I was not an official employee of Hull-House Museum, I wasn’t being paid for my curatorial work, and I was already nervous about just how much Sex+++ pushed the envelope. A lot of the apparent legitimacy of Sex+++ depended on how well I could make it look like a “serious”, academic project … and, at least at the beginning, part of that effort meant screening films that were (as much as possible) beyond reproach. Which, unfortunately — in a country where filmed sexual content is considered more obscene than filmed torture and murder — meant that I had to be very careful about the actual sexual content of my films … sex-positive film series or no.

I wasn’t trying to dismiss or marginalize your films. I certainly take your films seriously — whether one calls them pornography or documentaries, I take them very seriously and I talk about them all the time! I was just trying to be sensitive to the climate I find myself in. Maybe I was oversensitive; as it happens, I was obviously able to add your film to the list, so it’s entirely possible that I was oversensitive! But it’s not like my fear arose from conservatism, or failure to appreciate your work — I was simply afraid that one misstep could bring the whole beautiful Sex+++ edifice crashing down.

So, given all that, I feel a little hurt by the tone of your post. Just as you’ve taken risks, Sex+++ was a big risk for me; including “Bill & Desiree” felt like an added risk. I think it’s a bit much to lump me in with CNN and PBS when my concerns were about effectiveness rather than, say, “decency” or “acceptability”.

Anyway … I’m glad it went well, I’m sad that I missed it, and I’m so honored to have had the chance to work with you personally. I am proud to be your ally in this movement and I truly hope “Bill & Desiree” picks up some great sales!

very best
lisa

cheers,
Matt and Khym