Next week’s Downtown Film Festival (launches September 8th) is shadowed by controversy with the screening of the much talked about art/sex film series called “Destricted.”

Destricted is the first short film collection of its kind, bringing together sex and art in a series of short films created by some of the world’s most visual and provocative artists and directors.  Beyond explicit in content, these films (including Richard Prince’s House Call, Gaspar Noe’s We Fuck Alone and Hoist by Matthew Barney’s a.k.a. Bjork’s husband) reveal the diverse attitudes by which we represent ourselves sexually.

Formed in 2004, the Destricted brand is the first in a continuing series. The seven films highlight controversial issues about the representation of sexuality in art; opening up for debate the question of whether art can be disguised as pornography or whether pornography can be disguised as art or something else altogether. The result is a collection of sexy, stimulating, challenging, provocative, strange and sometimes humorous scenarios that leave it up to the viewer / voyeur to decide.

The 2010 Downtown Film Festival L.A. will be held Sept. 8-12 in venues throughout Los Angeles’ historic core. More than 100 feature-length and short films – narrative, documentary and experimental – will be presented along with filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, cocktail parties, live music events and receptions. More information can be found at www.dffla.com.