With I Want Your Love, gay filmmaker Travis Mathews has broken boundaries in what can be shown in cinemas. Released uncut here in the UK as an 18 cert (but banned in Australia), the film features real, graphic gay sex scenes that are part of a proper story. He spoke to QX…
Interior, Leather Bar, which you directed with James Franco, is a documentary about shooting a sex-club scene, but I Want Your Love tells a fictional story. Intriguingly, both have raw, organic approaches to the characters…
It was important that the relationships felt real, honest and almost documentary like with I Want Your Love. I’d been filming guys in San Francisco for my In Their Room series of shorts, and I was inspired by little narratives of everyday gay life in San Francisco and the ways gay men were finding connection, sex and intimacy. I also wanted to do something that was a loosely played update to the iconic Tales Of The City, but in reverse. The recession was in full swing and more 20-somethings than ever seemed to be moving back in with their parents, returning to their hometowns to regroup and sort their shit out. Even in the best of times, I think the fear of having to move back home is something that lingers with us all, especially as you’re just getting your footing in a new city and as a young adult.
How did you cast the film?
From In Their Room, I found Jesse Metzger to be compelling and knew that he had performance chops. I tried to have all of the guys go on dates prior to shooting so they could get to know one another and develop a way of being together. And similarly to Interior, Leather Bar, a palpable sense of “we’re all in this together” really helped to create a camaraderie between the cast and crew.
How have people reacted to the explicit sex in I want Your Love?
Audiences are split. I’ve had gay men balk at the guys or the sex not being hot enough for their taste, but that misses the point entirely. I’m always striving for something that’s as close to an honest depiction of a slice of gay life that I know, and one that I rarely see in movies. And just as many guys have been moved by the natural bodies and the sex, which is not always “sexy”.
Some people have called this little more than mainstream porn.
None of this is about porn to me, but about exploring stories that people can relate to in some way, depictions that bring people in as opposed to alienating them. I made documentaries for a decade and was trained as a psychotherapist. I think that interest and experience is apparent in all of my work.
So how would you define porn?
For me, something is porn if the product is made and consumed with the sole purpose of getting someone off. I very rarely have this in mind when filming sex. I’m much more interested in the continuum of sex that exemplifies other feelings, emotions and interactions. We’ve all had sex that was hilarious and playful or fraught with complications or awkward moments. That’s much more interesting to me, as is the telling of a character or story.
Are you deliberately trying to confront stereotypes in movies?
I’m just trying to show contemporary gay life as I see it or know exists. I have zero interest in perfect bodies with stories born from West Hollywood. That’s so boring!
I Want Your Love is available on Peccadillo DVD. Search for I want Your Love on https://www.peccapics.com/
