SAN FRANCISCO — NakedSword is marking the 10th anniversary of "I Want Your Love," the provocative independent film produced by the company and written and directed by Travis Mathews. The romantic drama is available for free this weekend as part of the streaming platform's ongoing "Weekends at NakedSword" series.
"After years of treading water in freewheeling San Francisco, a young gay man (Jesse Metzger) prepares to move back to his roots in the Midwest," read the film's synopsis. "During his last weekend in town his friends, roommates and ex-lovers throw him a party that brings his already bittersweet feelings about leaving into sharper focus. Torn between his creative dreams and the reality of earning a living, he's made to take responsibility by redefining what it means to be an artist, a gay man and an adult."
The film also contains "some risqué sex scenes," noted a rep, "yet received mainstream attention and was a critical success, as well as a commercial hit on NakedSword."
"I Want Your Love" screened at Lincoln Center in New York and toured the film festival circuit, including stops at Outfest Los Angeles, Frameline San Francisco and the Toronto LGBT Film Festival, and was even banned in Australia, leading actor and filmmaker James Franco to advocate on the film's behalf.
"I can't believe it's been a decade since we made 'I Want Your Love,'" Falcon/NakedSword President Tim Valenti said. "I remember it being a huge risk for an adult company to invest so much money in producing an independent feature film. I'm very happy that we did it and that it paid off. It really has become a gay cult classic and is still talked about today in the context of groundbreaking gay cinema."
"To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, we are streaming it free for the first time ever for those who haven't seen it or who want to see it again," he added.
View "I Want Your Love" for free through Sunday here and follow NakedSword on Twitter.
