Leather Archives & Museum Announces New Film Series “Fetish Film Forum” March-December 2023

The Leather Archives & Museum is thrilled to announce Fetish Film Forum, a new monthly screening series about non-normative sex, relationships, and art. These ten erotic films spanning nine countries and six decades are visceral explorations of fetish, kink, leather, and BDSM, kicking off in March with the whimsical Sundance winner Secretary (2002) and concluding with nunsploitation stunner Cristiana: Devil Nun (1972) in December.

Screenings are March-December, 2023, held the 3rd Saturday of the month at 7pm at the Leather Archives & Museum (6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL), and post-screening discussions are included with all screenings. Tickets can be purchased in advance through the LA&M’s website and cost $10 per screening, or $8 for LA&M Members with an active membership. A Season Pass to see all ten films costs $80 for General Public, or $70 for LA&M Members. General Admission tickets include a 30-day membership to the LA&M.

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Requiem (2021)

A film like “Requiem” is just begging to be turned in to a feature, as I think a lot of the whole Salem Witch Trials is capable of interesting stories. “Requiem” is not so much a tale about the Salem Witch Trials, and how it became a scapegoat for hate, repression, and homophobia.

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Juniper (2022) [CINEJOY 2023]

Director Katherine Dudas’ drama “Juniper” is a powerhouse film, one that thrives on being a wonderful character study and an excellent take on grief. “Juniper” is one of the many films of its kind involving thirty something adults, and a weekend where all the secrets are aired out, but Dudas accomplishes such a great task of making it feel so fresh and new. “Juniper” is that kind of slice of life that really fleshes out its array of characters to suck us in to the situation that our main character finds herself in.

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The Park (2023)

This is one of the first times I went in to a movie without getting what I expected, and coming out of it satisfied. “The Park” is not a movie that necessarily breaks the mold, but it works within its simplistic and small budget and cast to create something of substance. While most dystopian movies opt for “Apocalypse Porn,” Director-Writer Shal Ngo opts instead to use the end of the world as an allegory for growing up.

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J.K. Rowling Steals Shit (or How a Bigot Got Rich Off of Other People’s Ideas)

Many years ago my good friend Felix asked me if I’d write about J.K. Rowling for his site, which I gladly obliged. That article is long gone now and, frankly, I’m a much better writer so I proposed taking another swing at it. When I originally wrote it I focused on the most obvious issue with Rowling. Since then, though? Oh my god, the flood gates of negatives regarding her has been opened nonstop.

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Knock at the Cabin (2023)

One of the hallmarks of M. Night Shyamalan’s films is that he seems to be a big believer in destiny and fate. Much of “Signs” was a religious thriller based around fate and destiny. With “Knock at the Cabin” he approaches the same plot elements, all while instilling much of the ambiguity he’s well known for. That works for and against “Knock at the Cabin” because while I was satisfied with his newest genre effort, I was ultimately left feeling like the finale left everything in the air, and not as neatly packed as he might have thought it was.

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Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

One of the things I loved about “Love and Thunder” is that Taika Waititi holds true to the message that Stan Lee held for his heroes. Anyone can be Spider-Man. Anyone can be an X-Men, and in “Love and Thunder” anyone can be a mythic hero. While it does in a sense take away value from the concept of Mjölnir, the concept behind “Love and Thunder” is a wholesome one, one that celebrates its audience of children and inspires heroism in the vein of virtue and morality and less on revenge or malice.

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