SAVE THE RIO!
In most cities there are few venues where Bike Smut can present. Often we find ourselves in a backyard, or underground art gallery, which is fine for an intimate show, but when there's hundreds of people who want to watch it together... that's when we need a proper cinema!
We don't envy the difficulty of running a modern theater. Most filmmakers are not exactly easy to deal with and have an unrealistic expectation of their upcoming success.
From our perspective it's hard enough convincing people that we are actually a real event. Once you get beyond the spam filters and gatekeepers you still have to negotiate the taboo of having a night of profound exploration of how we move and fuck.
This challenges so much about who we are. Its rare to have spaces that can properly ride the line between risk taking in their programming and keeping their own doors open. The Rio here in Vancouver is on the bubble. They continually have interesting, provocative, independent art. But they are feeling the pinch. In a culture that can't see tomorrow because of the money they could make today, these places are always on the edge of capitalism's knife.
Thankfully The Rio is not just waiting for the axe to fall, they are actually doing something about it. The #SaveTheRio campaign has raised millions and is close to achieving its goal of making it so that they can buy the venue and have a little more breathing room in the future.
The deadline for this is August 1st so in addition to the community, nonprofit bike shops Bike Smut donates to while in Vancouver we are also splitting the proceeds with The Rio. We've had our last couple shows here and we can't imagine anywhere else we would go in Vancouver.
