At the Sundance Film Festival, Olivia Wilde and her co-stars in 'I Want Your Sex' discussed the push for more realistic portrayals of sex in movies, reflecting Gen Z's preferences. The film, directed by Gregg Araki, explores themes of sexual experimentation through a sub/dom relationship. Wilde emphasized authenticity as key to addressing criticisms of inauthentic content.
The Sundance Film Festival premiered 'I Want Your Sex' on January 24, 2026, a film directed by Gregg Araki that stars Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman in a sub/dom narrative. The story follows a contemporary artist who corrupts her young assistant and becomes his sexual dominant, serving as an irreverent commentary on Gen Z's attitudes toward sexuality.
During interviews at the premiere, Wilde addressed a UCLA study finding that 48.4% of Gen Z believe there is too much sex in TV and movies. "I think Gen Z is pretty smart… the way that sex has been portrayed in film for a long time hasn’t been particularly realistic," she said. Wilde interpreted the statistic positively, noting a movement toward authenticity: "We don’t want to see inauthenticity anymore. We want to see real relationships, and we want to have something that feels more genuine."
Co-star Mason Gooding echoed this, stating, "It’s about authenticity and seeing something authentic about how they see it on screen. The portrayal of [sex scenes] before was hot and heavy… Sex, more times than not in real life, has awkward relatability and tension."
Chase Sui Wonders hopes the film provides "exposure therapy to Gen Z about sexual experience and inspires them to go out there." Araki revealed it was his first project with an intimacy coordinator, Yehuda Duenyas, who has worked on HBO’s 'Westworld' and Zack Snyder’s 'Rebel Moon.' Duenyas explained, "When actors have a really good structure for how to create these scenes, they can go so much further in their roles… We create a lot of comfort and boundaries."
Wilde praised the process: "We had an amazing intimacy coordinator… There’s a way to do it where the whole thing can feel like a dance. And that playfulness should make everyone have fun." The film uses sex as a metaphor for life's experiments, encouraging openness to new experiences.
