Rhode Island International Film Festival 2009

MY SON THE PORGNOGRAPHER is a love story between a father and a son. Art, a graying, somewhat old-fashioned Victoria, British Columbia filmmaker, struggles with his conservative moral values regarding sex when he visits Mohawked and tattooed Kole who works as a writer, cameraman and, worse still in Art's eyes, actor in the pornography business in Prague. Appalled about the sexual abuse Kole experienced as a child and believing that Kole's current lifestyle is directly linked to that sad past, Art hopes to get Kole out of an existence that, in Art's eyes, is negative and soul-destroying. Against the backdrop of the beautiful city of Prague, Art and Kole strive to reconcile their relationship and their perceptions of a difficult past. Thrown into the realm of hard-core pornography, Art finds a surprising humanity among the denizens of this world even as he continues to urge Kole to leave it. The two men challenge each other and argue their beliefs. Kole, who never graduated from high school but has been invited to join Mensa, is more than a good match for his father's arguments as the two face off. As the story unfolds, Art convinces Kole to return to Canada to confront the past in the hope that Kole will begin healing his troubled life. In Ottawa, Art hires a private detective to track the abuser. When the detective picks up leads on the trail of the abuser, Art discovers how close to violence he himself can come. Meanwhile, Kole is troubled both by Art's urgings to report the abuse to the police and his own past troubles with the police. Where does trust lie?Conflict and anger mark this sometimes painful and yet surprisingly humourous film. Art goes places he thought he would never go and ultimately it is Kole who teaches Art a life lesson.Set in Prague, Czech Republic, Victoria, British Columbia and Ottawa, Ontario, MY SON THE PORNOGRAPHER follows the journey of two men as they reflect on the stresses and strains that tear families apart, parental responsibility, moral values, guilt and life choices. Ultimately it is the story of love between a father and a son. (360 words)