Featuring Beth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle doing a pre-film intro with an Ecosex 101 Primer and a post-film Q&A moderated by Matt Fagerholm
Gerber/Hart will be tabling in the lobby with a pop-up of queer archival materials from their collections before and after the screenings
Playing with Fire is a heartfelt, mythopoetic documentary born from the ashes of a massive, devastating forest fire. Long-time lovers Beth and Annie are forced to evacuate their home with their dog Butch and their lives are forever transformed. The film unfolds through an ecosexual lens (imagining the Earth as a lover) while weaving stories from a formerly incarcerated firefighter; Indigenous scholars; fire artists; a witch therapist; a fire fetishist; a fire tassel-twirling burlesque dancer; and Albert the wild, white peacock. Beth and Annie blend loss and grief with art, humor, sensuality and community care. Playing with Fire explores how a climate catastrophe intersects with social justice to create a powerful portrait of resilience in the face of a world in flames.
Playing with Fire is the third film in Beth and Annie’s trilogy of environmental documentary feature films. Their first in the series was Goodbye Gauley Mountain—An Ecosexual Love Story. The second is Water Makes Us Wet—An Ecosexual Adventure.
Music Box Theatre screens films of all genres and from every era of cinema, both new releases and repertory. These films may sometimes contain upsetting, outdated, or offensive material. While we aim to introduce many of our screenings, we do not always provide warnings about potentially triggering content within the films we screen. We encourage our patrons to research the film before they attend using trailers, reviews, or content information found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com.
Now Showing
September 24 – October 1 / View All
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Crucemos al Otro Lado
Indoor Kids: Family-Friendly Matinees
The Chicago Film Society Presents
You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution
Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency
Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story