Content consideration: contains explicit, unsimulated sexual content.

"At a time when American moviegoers have become numb to the rampant, mainstream pornography of violence, it's refreshing to see a non-mainstream movie that wears its heart and lust on its sleeve, and has anything but violence on its mind." - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

"A rather sweet, wistful little movie that just happens to have a lot of explicit sex in it." - Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

John Cameron Mitchell’s SHORTBUS explores the lives of several emotionally challenged characters as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex in and around a modern-day underground salon. A sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, a dominatrix who is unable to connect, a gay couple who are deciding whether to open up their relationship, and the people who weave in and out of their lives, all converge on a weekly gathering called Shortbus: a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality. 

Set in a post-9/11, Bush-exhausted New York City, SHORTBUS tells its story with sexual frankness, suggesting new ways to reconcile questions of the mind, pleasures of the flesh, and imperatives of the heart. (Oscilloscope) Content consideration: contains explicit, unsimulated sexual content.


Awards & Nominations

Winner - Producer Award, Film Independent Spirit Awards
Winner - Golden Eye, Zurich Film Festival
Winner - Best Supporting Actress (Sook-Yin Lee), International Cinephile Society Awards


We require proof of full vaccination for all screenings and events at the Film Center. See our full COVID-19 policy and details below. 

COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS