SAN DIEGO — "Buffering," an indie film about a gay couple sucked into the world of online porn while attempting to survive the global recession, will screen at the 14th annual FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival.
Written and directed by "Shank" helmers Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin, "Buffering" centers on Aaron and Seb, a gay couple struggling to make ends meet after maxing out their credit cards and losing their jobs.
In an effort to save their home, Aaron ( Conner McKenzie) secretly begins to broadcast his sexual exploits with Seb (Alex Anthony) online for profit. Things go well up until Seb finds out.
"With each pass of the script Christian felt compelled to try and steer it back to a more dramatic film exploring the darker side of this sad and necessary-for-some reality," Flaxstone told San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. "It’s a new form of prostitution of sorts — digital virtual pornography — with the added nightmare scenario that these digital uploads stay on the net for years and years."
Despite the film's somber storyline, "Buffering" also provides plenty of comedy. "The whole world economic crisis was hitting everyone and that in-of-itself is a very serious subject, but we wanted to go more humorous with the subject," Flaxstone noted. "In the end, we think we’ve ended up with somewhere in between — a dramedy of sorts."
"Buffering" will screen June 1 at the historical Birch North Park Theatre located at 2891 University Ave. in San Diego. For more information visit FilmOutSanDiego.com.