Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens are touring the country with their sui generis documentary Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency, the third in their series of ecosexual films. Described by the artists as “an environmentalism that is feminist, queer, sensual, sexual, post-human, materialist, and steeped in humor,” ecosexualism embraces those who imagine the Earth as a partner, “a lover that is sensual, even erotic.”
Opening with an introduction to some of Sprinkle and Stephens’s collaborative actions with fellow ecosexuals as well as a glimpse into their lives in Boulder Creek, California, the film then shifts to August, 2020, when an unprecedented series of lightning strikes and subsequent forest fires exploded across the area. Fortunately, the town and several surrounding houses were spared destruction—a close call many of Boulder Creek’s residents attribute to the magic of Albert, a stunning white peacock who serves as the town mascot.
Feeling a bit of survivor’s guilt and charged to do something substantive, the artists produced the Playing with Fire symposium at UC Santa Cruz, bringing together friends, scholars, artists, activists, and fire fighters—Brandon Smith among them—to discuss the essential nature of fire in the ecosystem, as well as the benefits, even to the point of intimacy, of its proper management. Circling back to art and performance, the film gives an overview of the work and fire practices of artists such as Melissa Nelson, Julie Weitz, Antigoni & Huntrezz, Cassils, Madison Young, Barbara Carrellas, and Guillermo Gómez-Peña.
The Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency tour kicks off with a presentation this weekend at REDCAT in Los Angeles. The screening will be preceded by an Ecosex 101 Primer—a performative introduction by Sprinkle and Stephens—and followed by a conversation with the filmmakers, moderated by Amelia Jones.
See info and links below.
PLAYING WITH FIRE: AN ECOSEXUAL EMERGENCY
Directed by Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle
Saturday, September 26, at 8 pm
REDCAT
631 West 2nd Street, downtown Los Angeles
redcat.org/playing-fire-ecosexual-emergency
Tuesday, September 29, at 6:30 pm
Music Box Theatre
3733 North Southport, Chicago
musicboxtheatre.com/playing-with-fire-an-ecosexual-emergency
Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 11, at 4 pm
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue New York City
anthologyfilmarchives.org/filmscreenings
Sunday, October 25, at 1 pm
Roxie Theater
3125 16th Street, San Francisco
roxie.com/playing-with-fire-an-ecosexual-emergency
Saturday, November 7, noon to 8 pm
A DAY OF ECOSEX
Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH)
701 Front Street, Santa Cruz
santacruzmah.org/day-of-ecosex
Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency (2025), from top: Annie Sprinkle (left) and Beth Stephens, photo by Barbara Carrellas; Albert; Stephens and Sprinkle, photo by Sprinkle; Dragonfly Diva, Stephens, and Sprinkle; Sprinkle and Stephens (foreground left); Stephens and Sprinkle; Brandon Smth; Cassils; Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency poster; Melissa Nelson; Barbara Carrellas, photo by Sprinkle; Azul Water Witch (second from left), Sprinkle (third from left), Guillermo Gómez-Peña (standing center), Stephens (fourth from right), Monica Canilao (third from right), Madison Young (second from right), photo by Lydia Daniller.
All photos courtesy of E.A.R.T.H. Lab SF.
