Created over 20 years ago, HUMP! has been the film festival for creators to make DIY adult films that celebrate sex-positivity and diversity. Founded by Dan Savage, who is a sex-advice columnist, a podcaster, and an author, the idea to create HUMP! originated as a collaboration with friends and co-workers at the alternative news publication, The Stranger.

“So the festival started 20 years ago in Seattle,” said Allie Huska, HUMP!’s digital engagement strategist and community outreach manager. “It was founded by Dan Savage, who’s like one of our great sex educators of our time. It was kind of started as a joke by Dan and some of his friends and collaborators, and coworkers at The Stranger. They thought, can we put an ad in The Stranger, like a paper ad, and get people to submit dirty films and get them to come out and watch them, potentially with the community members, because Seattle’s big, but it’s not that big, you know. And to their surprise, they had a really great outpouring. They got great videos. Back then, there was no time limit on it. So you were getting like 15-minute amateur porn films like shot on people’s phones, or if we even had phones at that time, probably just their camcorders.”

Huska works on the festival’s social media, digital marketing, collaborations with influencers, and is HUMP!’s filmmaker coordinator. She works with filmmakers directly to provide guidance and log their films as they come in.

Anyone can make and send films to the festival, as submissions come from all over the world, representing singles and couples from all over the sexual spectrum. The festival’s guidelines include that the films must be under 5 minutes in length, but according to their website, they prefer movies that run between 2-3 minutes long because they can add as many submissions as possible to the festival. You can read about the complete guidelines here.

“But those are the hard boundaries, no poop, no animals, no minors, nothing over five minutes hard limit, and that’s about it,” says Huska. “From there we’re pretty open.”

When someone buys tickets to HUMP! they contribute to the festival’s mission to make sure that there’s a space for ethical adult content. Films that are approved get paid a portion of all ticket sales and if they elect to have their films be a part of the festival streaming service, they also receive a portion of revenue made from the streaming service.

Films entered are also eligible for $10,000 in cash prizes in categories including Best Sex, Best Kink, Best Humor, Most Creative, and Best in Show, in which all HUMP! audiences get to vote for their favorite films and award filmmakers.

According to Huska, when attending HUMP! the collection of films showcases filmmakers’ artistic expression from all walks of life.

“And it’s become more of a like a platform for showing like the most creative artistic vulnerable out of the box porn that we can think of, and maybe a little bit less about like, let’s collect a bunch of home videos and show those to the audience and so we really try to strike a balance even today though of really platforming everyday people, platforming vulnerability and like real connection real couples and balancing that with some of the creativity and production value you get from more professional creators.”

The festival has toured all over North America, including making stops in Colorado with screenings in Denver and Fort Collins in 2025. People who buy a ticket will receive a program with the films scheduled for the screening, which recently included trigger warnings to inform the audience about each film’s content. Huska says that the festival always wants to push the boundaries of creating content that is shocking and edgy but also wants to give the audience the power to determine which film is right for them.

“And that’s always been the goal of HUMP!,” said Huska. “But just each year, we want to get better and better at it. So this year, we put in the trigger warnings, [and] I find them helpful. I find them helpful just as the person working the events, it’s nice to see the audience member have the autonomy to see what they want to see and leave when they want to leave.”

HUMP! currently has stops scheduled until mid-December in cities including San Diego, Detroit, Austin, Washington, DC, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Regarding what the festival has planned in the future, Huska explains they are continuing to focus on bringing the festival to more audiences.

“We want to keep seeing what cities we can grow into,” said Huska. “We’re working on kind of just streamlining the overall experience so that it can continue to grow.”

For those interested in submitting films to HUMP!, the deadline is Dec. 5. Click this link for more details.