Gregg Araki on sex, film and queer resistance: ‘All the terrible shit in the world is because of sexual repression’

Key Points:

• Gregg Araki’s new film, I Want Your Sex, explores desire, power, and kink across the straight-queer spectrum, featuring bold themes like bondage and role reversals in sexual dynamics, with a focus on queer positivity and feminist perspectives.
• The film stars Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde, whose fearless performances drive a story about a young man’s sexual awakening under the influence of a dominant female artist, blending raunchy humor with touching moments.
• Araki reworked the original script to address #MeToo sensitivities by flipping traditional gender roles, creating a male submissive and female dominant dynamic, reflecting his long-standing feminist views and responding to cultural shifts around sexuality.
• The director critiques contemporary sexual repression and puritanical attitudes in America, positioning his film as a call for sexual freedom and joy amid societal aggression and oppression, while expressing hope in younger generations’ cinematic tastes and queer representation.
• Despite challenges to LGBTQ+ visibility in mainstream cinema, Araki highlights a thriving queer film scene at festivals like Cannes and emphasizes the importance of unfiltered queer voices in art as a form of resistance and expression against ongoing political threats.