Trixie Films

Motherhood: a subject so deeply ingrained in our society, we take it for granted as part of the natural order. It's assumed all women want children, that motherhood is not only a biological imperative but the defining measure of womanhood. Titled after one of the myths it challenges, this film draws upon a heady mix of culture, science, and history–revealing the rich and diverse lives of people who said no to children, and the forces that have marginalized them in society.

It has launched both purity balls and porn franchises, defines a young woman's morality-but has no medical definition. Enter the magical world of virginity, where a white wedding dress can restore a woman's innocence and replacement hymens can be purchased online. Filmmaker Therese Shechter uses her own path out of virginity to explore why our sex-crazed society cherishes this so-called precious gift. Along the way, we meet sex educators, virginity auctioneers, abstinence advocates, and young men and women who bare their tales of doing it-or not doing it. "How To Lose Your Virginity" uncovers the myths and misogyny surrounding a rite of passage that many obsesses about but few truly understand.

The Burn to Shine series is about time. Portraits of bands playing in doomed houses, and the ritual of demolition set to music. These films always had in them a giant underlined subtext of temporality. This newest release, the Atlanta edition, is different in one major way. It is now being released almost a full decade after being filmed. The implied time capsule of the earlier films becomes explicit in this one, allowing us to view well known bands like Mastadon, Deerhunter, The Black Lips, and the Coathangers, in their infancy. Like finding an undeveloped roll of baby pictures, Burn to Shine 6: Atlanta takes us to a place that we forgot even existed.