HUMP!’s 20th anniversary was my first. 

Up until last Friday, I’d (fairly intentionally) never watched porn outside of my own home. Headed to the 6:30 p.m. screening of Dan Savage’s Dirty Little Porn Festival™ at On the Boards, I didn’t know what to brace myself for. Was I heading into a film festival that happened to be porn? A series of porn clips that happened to be organized into a festival? 

Still not sure how they were able to breathe in this one. 

It was neither. There’s a reason people have been showing up to HUMP! for 20 years: it’s a blast. Don’t mistake this for the two-minute clips you watch in the cold blue light of your laptop. The five-minute shorts that make up the festival feel like your best friends sharing something cool they made. Don’t get me wrong, they’re flirty, silly, hot, and sweaty. But they’re also earnest, and creative, and probably something you’ve never seen before. 

Going in, I was told that The Polar Bear’s Foreskin would be the most memorable entry of the evening. And while those definitely aren’t visuals I’ll soon forget, the absurdity of Camp Baloney, gentle nerdiness of Dice and Pleasure, and quiet meditation El Sofa are just as long-lasting.

"Ask me about my foreskin."

HUMP! is in Seattle for two more weekends before it starts traveling the world (40 cities and counting), and I’ll probably go again. Consider the 6:30 show—plenty of time to compare favorites with friends after. Grab a drink at the Sitting Room or Streamline Tavern beforehand, then settle in and watch your new friends show you what they made. 

HUMP! is playing every weekend at On the Boards through March 15th.Â