Charles Lum

It is the story of an average, popular American teenager named Wendy Wu who discovers that in order to win the coveted crown she must first learn the way of the warrior. Wendy Wu has a one track mind, and that track leads directly to the title of homecoming queen -- no unscheduled stops, and no unnecessary detours. When a mysterious Chinese monk named Shen arrives to mold Wendy into a fearless kung fu warrior, however, her royal aspirations suddenly jump the track as she desperately attempts to juggle her boyfriend, her homework, and of course, the fierce competition to become homecoming queen. Now, as Wendy begins to train her mind, body, and spirit in the ancient tradition of the martial arts and her inner warrior gradually begins to emerge, the girl who once obsessed over popularity finally begins to put that popularity into perspective as she gradually realizes what truly matters in life.

In the 1970s, the golden age of gay pornography in New York City, a promising chorus boy is injured and told he will never dance again. Distraught and unimpressed with the "art" films playing seedy Times Square theaters, he gets his friends and lovers together and they start making their own hardcore movies. Against all odds the films are wildly successful until drugs, AIDS and cheap video technology bring it all crashing down

“Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders" peels back the layers of controversy surrounding the making of the 1980 thriller, "Cruising." Directed by William Friedkin, the film triggered fierce protests from the LGBTQ+ community for its portrayal of a serial killer targeting gay men in New York's leather bars. Friedkin drew inspiration from the brutal murder of Variety reporter Addison Verrill, blurring the boundaries between cinematic fiction and real-life tragedy.

The Tongan Ninja is dispatched to the island nation of New Zealand in order to help a brother of his master with his floundering Chinese restaurant. But the mysterious Mister Big stands in the eatery's way as he sends numerous villains such as Knife Man, Gun Man, and the super-sexy Action Fighter who may know a lot about the hero.

GOOD FOR NOTHING is an adventurous romp set in the sweeping Old West from Mike Wallis in his directorial debut. Inspired by the Spaghetti Westerns and celebrating the Western genre with an interesting twist, the film follows an odd romance and the resulting emotional confusion of an outlaw who reluctantly develops strong feelings for a woman he has kidnapped.

On February 17, 2020, Charles Lum woke up seeing double. A week later his doctor called with news that a “mass” in his brain was HIV related lymphoma. DEATH RACE is a video diary which documents Charles Lum's catastrophic health struggle during the coronavirus crisis.

A world-weary gay man remembers lost lovers as he swims from the Christopher Street Piers in New York City to Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Did you think that a blowjob in a shower can’t be artsy? Tone down the colors, add some grain, play a voicemail, and you get Call Me –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ a post-porn short film. A young erotomaniac leads a hard life (and not just that)… One satisfied, two more waiting. Oh, the rush of modern times. No wonder people burn out!

PARK explores the ambiguity in an anonymous sexual encounter. In public, the ubiquity and/or invisibility of video cameras now mix observation with voyeurism, performance and entrapment. In PARK, as audience, we become complicit in a forbidden desire. The viewer, as camera, both instigates and records this event; a literal video seduction. Are we witnessing a performance or a crime? This variability of interpretation illustrates the impossibility of determining what actually transmits between minds or bodies in either vicarious or physical encounter. PARK addresses complexities of HIV with an open, conspicuous stare. By generating the affect of surveillance while refusing narrative conclusion, it questions the boundaries of both knowledge and privacy

A dialogue about sex, responsibility and HIV, after the (f) act. A confrontational work that analyzes media, intimacy and AIDS in triple critique, aims at the deconstruction of the documentary interview by creating a triangle between two differing individual video perspectives and the audience.

The Fair theater in Jackson Heights, Queens is one of the oldest continually running gay establishments in New York City. A loyal patron of the Fair tells the history of this gay porno theater and how it has managed to stay open while all the other gay porno theaters in New York City shut down. The narrator recalls the sexual encounters he had there over the last 35 years.

A tribute to Charles Lum’s life told through his work as a film maker. Featuring Super-8 films Charlie shot as a teenager in the 1970s up to the last film he made about his battle with AIDS related lymphoma. Charlie AKA Clublum was a much-loved and valued member of our queer and film community, whose films defied the taboos and stigmas of sex, sex in public places and sex with HIV. His films embody a quirky earnestness and a wacky and wicked sense of humor and always the utter delight and pleasure of another body.

Voice-over narration describes Tom's Gift, a sex shop in rural America closed by municipal ordinance.

Scott is still sleeping with his ex-boyfriend and floundering through life when his mother calls to tell him his older sister Maggie is in the hospital with a brain tumor. Scott rushes to be by her side. As she lies unconscious he remembers the times their lives intersected. She was a party girl, a popular girl, she got around. Scott imagines what Maggie would say but ultimately realizes that you can never truly know anyone and decides to take a chance on love and life.

In the 1970s, the golden age of gay pornography in New York City, a promising chorus boy is injured and told he will never dance again. Distraught and unimpressed with the "art" films playing seedy Times Square theaters, he gets his friends and lovers together and they start making their own hardcore movies. Against all odds the films are wildly successful until drugs, AIDS and cheap video technology bring it all crashing down

An afternoon visit to a small city Sex Shoppe yields excitement, surprise and comic relief.

An afternoon visit to a small city Sex Shoppe yields excitement, surprise and comic relief.

The rise and fall of homegrown gay porn studio Palm Drive Video. An exploration of how a devoted couple helped battle a devastating health crisis by promoting kinky sex.

The story of the HOIST, London's first and only Gay Fetish Bar, coincides with the political struggle to decriminalize homosexual activity within the United Kingdom.

The story of the HOIST, London's first and only Gay Fetish Bar, coincides with the political struggle to decriminalize homosexual activity within the United Kingdom.

The story of the HOIST, London's first and only Gay Fetish Bar, coincides with the political struggle to decriminalize homosexual activity within the United Kingdom.

In this anthology of shorts, the phrase "Gay Agenda" is reclaimed from the religious right and transformed into a celebration of gay culture. Sit back and enjoy "The Future", "Hotel Paraíso", "Toto Forever", "Damaged Goods" and "Blow Job 2017".

Two gay men navigate a burgeoning long distance relationship with the help of video calls.

As an older gay man lies dying in a hospital room, he tries to remember all of his past lovers. Over the years, he had filmed many of his lovers as a way to capture them, but now the films are disintegrating – fading away just like his memories. Shot entirely on super8 film, this touching new film incorporates archival footage shot by Charles Lum in the 1970s and '80s (including footage from his time as an exchange student in Norway), archival footage shot by Todd Verow in the 1980s and '90s, as well as new footage by Verow. With a script based on Lum's stories and cruising diaries, and stories written by Verow, Memorabilia is a beautiful visual homage to love, as well as a testament to its creators' close friendship and mutual understanding in how to tell a story. Charles Lum never saw this film come to life, but he would no doubt have been proud of the result.

As an older gay man lies dying in a hospital room, he tries to remember all of his past lovers. Over the years, he had filmed many of his lovers as a way to capture them, but now the films are disintegrating – fading away just like his memories. Shot entirely on super8 film, this touching new film incorporates archival footage shot by Charles Lum in the 1970s and '80s (including footage from his time as an exchange student in Norway), archival footage shot by Todd Verow in the 1980s and '90s, as well as new footage by Verow. With a script based on Lum's stories and cruising diaries, and stories written by Verow, Memorabilia is a beautiful visual homage to love, as well as a testament to its creators' close friendship and mutual understanding in how to tell a story. Charles Lum never saw this film come to life, but he would no doubt have been proud of the result.

SHOW HARD: short films by Charles Lum & Todd Verow Award winning short documentary and narrative films about gay sex and cruising. including: TOM'S GIFT BEEN TOO LONG AT THE FAIR SECRET SANTA SEX PARTY! BLOW JOB 2017 DAVY & GOLIATH I HAVE MIKE PENCE'S DICK IN A PICKLE JAR. WANT TO SEE IT? A NIGHT AT THE HOIST Charles Lum, aka clublum, received his MFA in Photography from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago after 25 years scouting & managing film locations. His short videos have screened internationally in museum, art and film venues. Todd Verow attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the AFI Conservatory. He made his feature film debut with "FRISK" in 1996. (Sundance, Berlin & Toronto.) At Bangor Films, Todd has directed over 25 features and numerous shorts, establishing himself as the most prolific auteur emeritus of the New Queer Cinema. Charles & Todd have also co-directed the feature documentaries “AGE OF CONSENT” and “SEX & The Silver Gays.”

On February 17, 2020, Charles Lum woke up seeing double. A week later his doctor called with news that a “mass” in his brain was HIV related lymphoma. DEATH RACE is a video diary which documents Charles Lum's catastrophic health struggle during the coronavirus crisis.

On February 17, 2020, Charles Lum woke up seeing double. A week later his doctor called with news that a “mass” in his brain was HIV related lymphoma. DEATH RACE is a video diary which documents Charles Lum's catastrophic health struggle during the coronavirus crisis.

On February 17, 2020, Charles Lum woke up seeing double. A week later his doctor called with news that a “mass” in his brain was HIV related lymphoma. DEATH RACE is a video diary which documents Charles Lum's catastrophic health struggle during the coronavirus crisis.

A world-weary gay man remembers lost lovers as he swims from the Christopher Street Piers in New York City to Provincetown, Massachusetts.

A documentary about gay male cruising and public sex and how it has changed over the years.

Did you think that a blowjob in a shower can’t be artsy? Tone down the colors, add some grain, play a voicemail, and you get Call Me –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ a post-porn short film. A young erotomaniac leads a hard life (and not just that)… One satisfied, two more waiting. Oh, the rush of modern times. No wonder people burn out!

Did you think that a blowjob in a shower can’t be artsy? Tone down the colors, add some grain, play a voicemail, and you get Call Me –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ a post-porn short film. A young erotomaniac leads a hard life (and not just that)… One satisfied, two more waiting. Oh, the rush of modern times. No wonder people burn out!

AIDS CONFERENCE C***SUCKERS provocatively segues a spontaneous sexual encounter with the myriad activities at this huge and historic conference, culminating in a big birthday climax with a charismatic Bill Clinton. Conceived for installation and designed to gauge and engage audience attentions as well as to inform and entertain, “AIDS CONFERENCE COCKSUCKERS” commandeers a world stage to challenge the distinctions between agitprop, porn and personal narrative.

Charles' hot 'n breathy memoirs from the 2000's of a busy day's park cruising.

Charles' hot 'n breathy memoirs from the 2000's of a busy day's park cruising.

A dialogue about sex, responsibility and HIV, after the (f) act. A confrontational work that analyzes media, intimacy and AIDS in triple critique, aims at the deconstruction of the documentary interview by creating a triangle between two differing individual video perspectives and the audience.

A group of older gay men get together every month for companionship, camaraderie, and sex.