Franklin

The dramatic feature Franklin, written by Dr. Donta Morrison and directed by Morrison and Anthony Bawn, follows the challenging personal journey of Franklin Scott (Eric Russell), a young, gay adult entertainer. He’s struggling to overcome deep issues in his family and personal life, while he does gay porn to stay afloat while he pursues his dream of becoming an actor in Hollywood films. After being thrown out of his mother Valerie’s (Tangie Ambrose) house for being gay, he lives with his Uncle Vic (Parnell Damone Marcano) while he works on getting his serious acting career started. Uncle Vic is sympathetic and accepting of him, but is running out of patience waiting for Franklin to become financially stable and independent.

At this point in his journey, Franklin meets Trevor (Rashad Todd) while on his way to a film role audition.  Trevor encourages him and offers to help him as much as he can. At the audition, Franklin is exposed to an unscrupulous producer who offers to trade sex for a role in a “casting couch” situation. Franklin refuses, leaving angry and crushed. He begins to realize that his adult film work may have spoiled his chances at a real role. Valerie approaches Uncle Vic and asks him to stop supporting Franklin so that he’ll reconsider being gay. Franklin walks in on this argument, and the resultant aggressive encounter with his mother leaves him feeling even worse. Life rolls on, and more uphill climbs and tragedies put things into perspective.

“…a young, gay adult entertainer…struggling to overcome deep issues in his family and personal life…”

Franklin works within the limitations of a low budget. The scope of the cinematography is minimal, constrained to the interiors of homes, patios, inside cars, and so on. The script has a soap opera vibe, focused on relationships and a more-than-usual amount of casual conversation. The performances by Russell, Parnell, Ambrose, and Todd center the narrative on life in L.A., where characters struggle to establish a career while grappling with self-identity issues. A powerful third-act scene between Franklin and his mother pulls the wandering threads of the film together and solidifies the narrative. This film falls into a class of high-drama, low-budget parable, which has become a genre unto itself.

With Franklin, Morrison and Bawn have created a cinematic fable about a young man grappling with all aspects of his life and trying to find a way through. Ultimately, he relies on his uncle and his found family support for validation to heal his life and light the way to a better future.