In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Single mother Diana struggles to provide for her child and pay for her college education. When she meets two dancers from a nearby gentlemen's club, Diana's convinced there's fast money to be made stripping.
Alberta, a mousy young woman with the survival skills of a snail, loses cash that isn't hers, so she runs from her small town to Seattle where her old babysitter, Celene, lives - a dominatrix with a classy apartment and a life plan. She lets Alberta stay. Alberta gets a job as a checker at a supermarket and becomes fascinated with Celene's work.
Eva, an upper-class housewife, frustratedly leaves her arrogant husband and decides to enter the call girl business. She lets Yvonne, a prostitute, teach her the basics and both set out for prey together, until Eva starts an affair with Chris, who turns out to be a call boy, as well. Consequently, she moves into his penthouse, large enough for both to offer their services separately.
Gudrun has modeled her amateur German terrorist group after the 1970s Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Gang). She attempts to imitate her heroes by kidnapping the son of a wealthy industrialist and hopes to negotiate leftist demands from the father. When Gudrun’s not spouting leftist verses (including during a hilariously brilliant fuck session), she’s trying to convince her all-male gang to abandon their heterosexuality, which she believes is the result of mass delusion.
A group of Los Angeles cops decide to take off some of the pressures of their jobs by engaging in various forms of after-hours debauchery.
After breaking into a house he believes is empty, thief Olivier is caught by the owner, Ariane, who turns out to be a dominatrix. Improbably falling for her, Olivier returns periodically, and an impulsive romance blossoms despite Ariane's profession. Soon Olivier becomes more familiar with her work, even joining in on occasion. However, when he discovers that Ariane has a son, he attempts to "fix" her, hoping to give her a better life.
Jack is an internet gambler living in NYC. After the death of his roommate, he becomes fixated on Scarlet - a cam girl from San Francisco. His obsession reaches a boiling point when fantasy materializes in reality and Jack sees Scarlet on a rainy NYC Chinatown street.
By all outwardly appearances, Joe Goodman is a successful man: a lovely wife, a beautiful daughter, a successful gallery. But inside Joe lurks a void filled only through love affair with Wendy, a seductive dominatrix.
When Sam learns his mother cannot afford to send him to another school after he is kicked out, he and his friends start their own escort service for mature women to pay for his tuition.
Confined to a claustrophobic hotel room, the heir to a hotel empire and the dominatrix who has primed him for success become locked in a battle of wits and wills as he tries to end his relationship with her.
Dom is the story of Jade, a young woman torn between her search for spirituality and her dark life as a dominatrix. Her powerful spoken word poetry ignites the interest of a young rockstar and when her world is shattered by death and violence, Jade must choose between control and giving herself up to love.
Ben works in a morgue. Ben's wife left him and he is into various kinds of alternative sexuality. Teresa dies of an ecstasy overdose on the dance floor. When she is brought to the morgue, she is resurrected -how shall I say?- in Ben's arms (that part based on a true story). From this starting point, the film revolves around the interactions between them and Boris (orgy fan), Abdel (no sentimental life), Ducon (wants to kill himself), Nico (dying of AIDS), etc... A social study of the 90s with heavy references to sex and deat
A woman suffering from multiple personality disorder tries to piece back together her life.
Maria, an unfortunate young woman, kills her rapist father in self-defense, and is later tried, sentenced, and shipped off to a woman's penitentiary where she and her fellow inmates are subjected to psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of a psychotic lesbian warden.
After the death of his father, a 16-year-old boy struggles with anger and instability, distancing himself from his mother. His search for escape leads him to a lonely dominatrix living nearby, a woman accustomed to giving and controlling pain. Drawn to her world, he seeks both solace and love, while she finds herself pulled into a bond that neither expected but both need.
"My Normal" is the story of Natalie, a young lesbian from the Lower East Side, who's struggling to find a balance between her dreams of becoming a film maker and her lifestyle as a dominatrix. Her exotic looks and unconventional techniques make her one of the most desirable mistresses in the NYC underground. After befriending her weed dealer and igniting a steamy love affair with her new girl, Natalie gets an internship on a real movie set. But if everything she ever wanted is becoming a reality, why is her life falling apart? When it seems that all is lost, Natalie realizes that the only way to turn her dreams into reality is to use her unique talents as a dominatrix to get exactly what she wants.
During World War II, an American major is captured by the Germans and thrown into a POW camp run by a sadistic Nazi officer, whose main pleasures are whipping the local female population and torturing prisoners. The major organizes an escape attempt using the camp's nubile female doctor as a hostage.
Emily has just been dumped by her girlfriend, kicked out of her apartment, and fired from her job. Her best friend hooks her up with a new gig: personal assistant to a dominatrix. But when Emily falls for her new boss -- and her new boss's boyfriend -- she must decide what risks are worth taking for love. 2 in the Bush is an unconventional romantic comedy about dungeons, a fish named Archimedes, and the many forms that love takes.
A look a the lives of two sex workers in Tokyo: Rei, who works as an S&M dominatrix, and Ayumi, in the more straightforward profession of call girl. In addition to their working life, the film also looks at their private lives. Rei is acting in an amateur theatre company along with the receptionist from Ayumi's escort service, while Ayumi is living with her student-boyfriend as he struggles to finally get accepted to college.