A look at the unusual process used in the making of the film Shortbus (2006) featuring interviews, behind the scenes footage and clips from the feature film. Director John Cameron Mitchell starts with the concept of using real sex in a film with a positive message. The cast of unknowns is selected from homemade audition tapes and then a callback audition workshop. More acting workshops are used to develop the characters and script. The project overcomes a number of obstacles and the rest of the film's development is followed up until its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
A group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic/sexual milieu converge at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality, and loosely inspired by various underground NYC gatherings that took place in the early 2000s. Here, gay couple Jamie and James meet Ceth, a young ex-model and aspiring singer.
N.Y. corporate Jane discovers her boyfriend John in bed with another woman, leaves building enraged and jumps into cab. Her driver is Nick. Jane and her friend Vickie have a plan - to make John jealous, they'll give Nick a false corporate identity and pass him off as Jane's new boyfriend.