What makes this film different is instead of hard facts and figures or suggestions for future policy, it explores the impact of fire on human life. Still from the documentary film "Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency" directed by Beth Stephens (left) and Annie Sprinkle (Courtesy of E.A.R.T.H. Lab SF) In the past two decades, California has been burning hot. Cal Fire's lists of the largest, deadliest and most destructive fires in the state’s history are now dominated by

In the heart of Long Beach’s Retro Row, the historic Art Theatre at 2025 E. Fourth St. hosted the inaugural Long Beach Film Festival the weekend of Aug. 29-30, following a launch party aboard the Queen Mary on Aug. 28. Posters of four feature films screened during the inaugural Long Beach Film Festival, Aug. 29-30, 2026. The festival was founded by local filmmakers to support independent cinema, connect artists with audiences and strengthen Long Beach as a destination for fil

Before piercing became a sterile, clinical business, Fakir Musafar celebrated it as a spiritual experience associated with sex, bondage, pain, pleasure, sickness and healing. Self-portrait "A Perfect Gentleman, 1959" by Fakir Musafar. Image courtesy of Fakir Musafar Estate. In 2026, it isn't uncommon to see bodies adorned with piercings and tattoos on people we interact with every day. Blue collar, white collar, business owners, food servers, lawyers, even cops can be found w