Homoccult & Other Esoterotica

The [Homoccult & Other Esoterotica] was part of the 20th annual Mix NYC-Queer Film Festival and a presentation of a series of short films by artists and filmmakers who are part of the "Generation Hex," a group of collaborators. Sorry, but not one budding Kenneth Angers in the bunch. The flicks were supposed to blend occult and esoterica, but magick was in short supply. Lots of blood, though. Performance artist [Ron Athey](www.ronathey.com) couldn't fly in from L.A., but we watched three minutes of him entombed by a coffin-like pane of glass, blood squishing about (pictured). Lee Adams presented a "short" – 14 long minutes, inspired by Yukio Mishima, roses looking like blood spiraling out of his mouth. Then, there was the filmed initiation of some Thai boys razoring their tongues.

The Terence Koh 18-minute "short" was repetitive grainy B&W images of half-naked boys smoking and having sex with stone statues who were better than any blow up doll. Todd Berlow's "Boyfriend #3" got a few laughs – a noir narrated by voice-over depicting a gay couple who invented elaborate sexual scenarios to keep things lively. Not a bad idea. But the night belonged to two documentaries about Breyer P-Orridge, the pandrogynous combination of Psychic TV3 rocker [Genesis P-Orridge] and late wife Lady Jaye who passed away recently. "Breaking Sex" and "New York Story" brought fresh air and some heart into the room after lots of pretentious posing. Scenes of the bandaged duo having plastic surgery to look alike were funny, sad, and real. Genesis, resplendent in white with freshly bleached hair, was in the audience surrounded by a posse of band-members and friends, crying, mourning the loss of partner and other half, Lady Jaye.  Momento mori.