Sex. It’s a fundamental of life that holds influence over more than just sexual wellbeing. A dialogue between bodies, intimacy facilitates emotional and physical expansion, with the power to impact confidence, shape identities, and solidify a sense of self. But while discussions on wellness and self-acceptance grow, sex is left out of the equation. By enabling conversations around sex, we enable questions about its censorship – and why something so normal remains so harshly judged.

With short film I AM THAT I AM, Audrey Mascina looks to acknowledge the constraints put upon sex, directing an exploration of intimacy, and the empowerment it offers beyond the act itself. Positioning sexuality as a point of resonance between different journeys, the film narrows in on sex as a positive force, looking at the sense of freedom it brings as a catalyst for freedom from judgement, and societal restrictions.

Sex is divisive – a means of social control, subjected to distorted opinions that shift geographically. Through the lens of sexual exploration, I AM THAT I AM debates the way in which intimacy is used to strengthen the alienation imposed on those who fall outside of the norms channelled through it. In the film, Mascina follows the evolutionary journeys of real people with differing sexual identities, as experimentation guides their understanding. Through these distinct yet overlapping narratives on sex, I AM THAT I AM communicates how, by learning to embrace it – and take ownership of our place in sexual terms – we begin to overcome its divisiveness, and deconstruct the limitations it is used to enforce.