Sex on Tape
A surefire hit of Sydney Film Festival, The Complete History of My Sexual Failures
is also a brilliant comedy. Ruth Hessey talks to filmmaker Chris Waitt
Thinking about filming his sex life
Getting caught with your pants down is not much fun. British documentary filmmaker Chris Waitt admits: "I came out of it much worse than I thought I would."
In his hysterically funny, utterly horrifying confessional, The Complete History of My Sexual Failures, Waitt lets it all hang out. From 400 hours of "very boring, self-indulgent, unwatchable" footage, he has crafted a compelling exposé of male impotence, emotional detachment, and mental breakdown - from bedroom to bathroom and beyond. "I tried to be honest," he tells Time Out, "and I'm shocked by the things I said and did."
Not as shocked as audiences. In fact the plug was pulled on Waitt's effort several times. "I had loads of doubts, and no one wanted to talk to me. I gave up three times."
What had Waitts done to make himself so repugnant when he set out to make a film about why every girlfriend had dumped him?
The jury is still out on what cured him enough to find a happy ending for the film - the encounter with a dominatrix, the overdose of Viagra and beer, or the love of a good (married) woman. With his knack for mishandling a situation, Waitts didn't get round to showing his girlfriend the film until the screening in Sundance.
"I kept putting it off," he admits, "and she did go into shock. She kept pulling her hood down. I thought she was going to dump me... and then she turned round at the end, and kissed me."
The Complete History of My Sexual Failures Screening Sun 8 June, 9.20pm at State & Tue 10 June, 8.45pm at GU9.