Divine Deviance is a multi-part TV series/ documentary project
about Kink/BDSM/Fetish around the world.
Although Divine Deviance will be by, about, and for the Kink/BDSM/Fetish community, this television or web series is also for anyone interested in the diversity of human sexuality and the creation of brother- and sisterhood outside of blood family. To our knowledge, this will be the first comprehensive documentary project on television, film - or anywhere for that matter - that takes an in-depth look at Kink/BDSM/Fetish globally and not just on a local level.
Rather than a typical documentary film, Divine Deviance will be a multi-part series: Each episode will include a lively roundtable introduction focusing on a specific theme and featuring a diverse and opinionated group of kink leaders and practitioners from around the globe – men and women, gay and straight, black, brown and white, cis and trans, older and younger. Their exchange will segue into a deeper exploration of the same theme following one or two people from the round table. Each one of these chapters or episodes (introduction plus individual story) will run from 30-40 minutes - except for the first one about the “The History & State of Kink,”which will be feature length. The various episodes can be viewed separately, but multiple components can also be combined into a longer piece. The beauty of this approach is that we can produce the series incrementally and the audience can view selectively—picking an assortment of segments that will suit their interests.
Our introductory chapter, about “The History & State of Kink,” will serve as the foundation for the entire series: a look at who we are, where we came from, and what kink/BDSM/fetish means in the 21st century. What are the various sexual and erotic practices we consider kinky today? What are their origins and how have they developed over time? Can the origins of kink be traced back to ancient China and Greece or is kink a phenomenon of the 19th & 20th centuries? The round table exchange will be complemented by kinky photographs, drawings and paintings from throughout the centuries, brought to life by meaningful and image-specific 2.5D animation, as well as fly-on-the-wall style documentary footage of 3 kinksters with different degrees of experience from the US, Asia and Europe. From a newcomer’s first time at a play party to a long time BDSM aficionado’s role play at home with their partner/s, fetish fairs, bondage workshops, pony play events and shibari demonstrations to sundance hooking rituals and uniform get togethers. Through the eyes of our protagonists and their everyday kinky life, we will experience the different facets of what it means to be a kinkster in the 21st Century.
Since we started Divine Deviance we have managed to assemble a high profile international advisory committee with representatives from all aspects of the Kink/BDSM/Fetish community—LGB and heterosexual, transgender and cisgender, women and men, differently abled, people of all colors, and various nationalities. This group will help ensure that the project represents the true diversity of Kink/BDSM/Fetish.
As mentioned, Divine Deviance will cover a whole range of themes relevant to the Kink/BDSM/Fetish community. The first season/batch will include a few key topics and we will expand from there:
• History
• Gender
• Race
• Spirituality
• Bodies
• Age
• Mainstreaming
We are fundraising in collaboration with Kink/BDSM/Fetish organizations and allies around the world and will make extensive use of crowd- and social media-based funding. Our kickoff party took place in San Francisco at the famous/infamous Armory. During the party, we started our campaign with the premiere of the above teaser/trailer.
All contributions towards our doc series are funneled through the non-profit organization the Center for Independent Documentary. For people who pay their taxes within the US that means, their donation is tax deductible and they will receive a tax receipt upon making their contribution. (*Tax laws vary from state to state - please check with your accountant or look into your local tax laws to make sure that this applies where you pay your taxes!)
Any profits gained from Divine Deviance will be put directly into financing production of the next chapters. Once the full series has been completed, left over funds and any monies made moving forward, will be split between the kink non-profits that have been supporting the project. Divine Deviance is not a for-profit endeavor.
Without help from our kink sisters and brothers around the world, we will not be able to pull this epic project off. So please, join our effort to create Divine Deviance. You can start by clicking on the donate button above or below and support us in one (or more) of the following ways:
1. Make a tax-deductible cash donation – no amount is too small (or too big for that matter…)
2. Sign up as a “fundraiser” for us and become an ambassador for the project.
3. Share this website and our funding link on social media and via email.
Thank you!
***UPDATE MARCH 2018:
Our original fiscal sponsor, the HIV Story Project, is in the process of changing its legal status and no longer able to sponsor us. We thank the organization for their support and are now paired up with the Center for Independent Documentary.
CREATIVE TEAM & ADVISORS
Race Bannon has been an organizer, writer, educator, speaker and activist in the LGBT, leather/kink, polyamory and HIV/STI prevention realms since 1973. He has authored two books, been published extensively, and has spoken to hundreds of audiences. He created the world's largest kink-friendly psychotherapist and medical referral service and led The DSM Project that yielded beneficial changes in the way psychotherapy views BDSM. Race also founded a groundbreaking alternative sexuality publishing company, was an internet radio sex talk show host, received national and local awards, appeared in numerous documentaries, and currently writes for the Bay Area Reporter. His blog is www.bannon.com
Caritia is an experienced professional Dominatrix, BDSM Practitioner and conscious kink educator, creating and running her own unique workshops and sessions for individuals, couples and groups since 2012, commencing in Berlin and now travelling throughout Europe. She is a London born, Berlin based queer, feminist, woman of colour (Afro-Caribbean decent), with 18+ years of experience within BDSM. A strong advocate of self-empowerment for all, who works from a female led perspective. Caritia's focus is feminine dominance and empowerment. Embracing the practices of R.A.C.K - risk aware consensual kink, self responsibility, open communication, personal growth and presence. Caritia enjoys the practices of ritual and protocol, and sees BDSM as a form of creative expression and expansion. A way to transform one's state of being.
Tobias Fleischer is an independent film producer and also the founder of the annual NACHTSCHATTEN BDSM/Fetish Film Festival in Munich, Germany, an event that showcases international BDSM, kink and fetish films. Toby has been an active part of the BDSM, kink and polyamory communities for many years and maintains an extensive network of friends and professionals from all over the world. By participating in various projects and helping to organize international BDSM events like workshops, festivals and social mixers, he aims to go beyond the stereotypical view on kink and BDSM that the media often presents and instead tries to promote tolerance and acceptance of the BDSM lifestyle in all its varieties.
Jörg Fockele is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, executive producer and TV director/producer of shows such as Bravo’s “Queer Eye,” ABC ’s “Wife Swap,” MTV’s “Savage U” and AMC’s “Small Town Security.” In addition, Jörg has written and directed 10+ short films, 4 feature documentaries and numerous music videos and PSAs – among them “Ritual,” an award-winning short documentary about the Sun Dance Hooking ritual and the PSA and interview series “Unsung Heroes – The Leather/Kink community’s fight against AIDS.” Jörg’s most important awards and distinctions include retrospectives at the Goethe Institutes New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Mexico City, 2 Emmys and a special prize from the International Film Festival in Berlin.
Morgana Muses is an award winning filmmaker and the age-positive, sex-positive creative director of Permission4Pleasure. Morgana is a first generation Australian born in Sydney to Slovenian parents and is currently residing in Melbourne. She was inspired to create porn at the ripe old age of 47. Her body of work draws from her journey from repressed housewife to alt-porn star and she focuses on creating content that celebrates age positivity with the hope to inspire others to find their pleasure. Permission4Pleasure seeks to depict truthful representations of sexuality on screen.
Silke Niggemeier, aka. Lola De Milo, is a German systemic sexual therapist and relationship coach with 20+ years of kink and BDSM activities, activism and social engagement under her belt. She has been engaged in various projects from the organization of a charity Pin-Up calendar series, to appearances on different TV & radio shows to 6+ years of PR as a board member of Europe’s oldest registered association of kinksters SMart-Rhein-Ruhr e.V. and 2 years on the board of the German Society of Social-Scientific Sexuality Research e.V. Her favorite work apart from coaching is to hold talks and workshops for professionals in the social/medical/therapy sector and for police women and men to promote kink awareness.
Adam Ouderkirk has been an organizer and activist in the LGBTQ and HIV/STI service communities since 1981, working to expand freedom and sexual expression for all. Combining passions, he’s been able to use his arts and design background and training to broaden access and acceptance, through innovative, inclusive programming in connection with healthcare and prevention services, through his involvement with the HIV Story Project and their films, and his ongoing devotion to creative, alternative exploration.
Marc Smolowitz is a multi-award winning director, producer and executive producer with 25+ years of experience across all aspects of the entertainment and media business. His career focus has been on powerful social issue filmmaking across all genres. His long list of credits includes films that have screened at top-tier festivals—Sundance, Berlinale, AFI Docs, IDFA, Tokyo, Melbourne, among others—and been released worldwide. Select titles include: “The Nine” (Producer 2016), “The Watermelon Woman” (Restoration Producer 2016), “Desert Migration” (Producer 2015), “Keep the Promise: The Global Fight Against AIDS,” narrated by Margaret Cho (Co-Director/Co-Producer) and the Academy-Award nominated “The Weather Underground” (Producer 2003).
Beatrice Stonebanks has been in the San Francisco BDSM scene for 20 years and lives in a 24/7 Master/slave relationship as the Loving Dominant with a taste for forced-femme, enforced chastity, 0-to-60 edge-play, and evolving long-term contracts. Beatrice also has 25 years’ experience working with leadership teams around the world increasing revenues as a Business Development Specialist; she knows what-works and what-doesn’t work, both in the boardroom and in the dungeon. Beatrice is the Coordinator for US non-profit, Society of Janus. She is a Feminine Dominant, a published author, an award winning speaker and a community outreach leader.