JACKPOT: A Film By Adam Baran from Adam Baran on Vimeo.
Set in 1994, "Jackpot" is a short film that recreates the experiences of a young gay man who tries to find porn in a pre-Internet world. The boy hears about a stash of gay porn hidden across town and sets out to retrieve it, despite the danger of homophobic bullies standing in his way.
"Jackpot" is the brainchild of filmmaker Adam Baran and won the title of Best Short Film at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. He is hoping that the success of the short film will lead to a feature-length production that will resonate beyond just the experiences of gay people.
"The film was shot in my hometown, in my bedroom, and in a parking lot where I was bullied myself," Baran told The Huffington Post. "The message that the character learns, at the end, is the message I wish I could go back and tell myself at that age -- sometimes it's better to stay and fight even if you don't win. It's hard to keep running away from the problem, even if you do need to keep yourself safe. It's also about how our erotic materials help gay men understand who they are -- even if sometimes it leads them to form the wrong impressions about what sex is actually going to be like."
Baran is also working on a gay-themed video for indie band Holopaw, starring the current Tumblr porn icon A Bearded Boy.
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