SECS Fest 2026: VELVET VISION: THE STORY OF JAMES BIDGOOD

SECS Fest is November 6-8, 2026. The festival will showcase 45 short films and 2 feature films from around the globe, including the world premiere of a newly restored archival film. The festival will be presented in-person at the Beacon Cinema. 

VELVET VISION: THE STORY OF JAMES BIDGOOD AND THE MAKING OF PINK NARCISSUS

Bart Everly (United States, 2025) - 98 min.

Velvet Vision is the story of photographer/director James Bidgood, whose 1960s beefcake photographs depicting elaborate fantasy scenarios drenched in lush color transcended the genre. On its 1971 release, his film Pink Narcissus was initially credited to “Anonymous,” shrouding it in mystery. Falsely attributed to Kenneth Anger and Andy Warhol, among others, it wasn’t until almost twenty years later that the film was revealed to be Jim’s work. Velvet Vision follows Jim’s efforts as he prepares to shoot his first photograph after a forty-year hiatus, while also exploring his past as a window dresser, drag artist, and costume designer. A true pioneer of underground gay culture, Jim’s struggles tell the story of an outsider pursuing artistic goals to overcome societal ostracism, whose fantasy life became a mechanism to keep him tethered to reality.