THE SUNDANCE KID

Director Ira Sachs And Actor Zachary Booth On Keep The Lights On‘s Tumultuous Gay Romance

Over the next week, Evan Mulvihill will be reporting on the best gay-interest screenings, parties and panels at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (PS: Check in on our sister site, GayCities, if you’re there!)

When we first heard about Keep The Lights On, we thought it bore a certain resemblance to Weekend, last year’s critically acclaimed (but small release) gay romance.  While that comparison works on a superficial level—both are explicit, important films that put a gay relationship front and center, romantically, sexually, and emotionally—Lights is definitely a bigger beast. Weekend follows just 48 hours of a gay relationship, beginning at a one-night stand and turning into a budding attachment that allows one man to come to terms with his semi-closeted sexuality.

The romantic journey in Lights takes place over 10 years, and features an on-again, off-again relationship that bears significant similarity to director Ira Sachs’ longtime partnership with literary agent Bill Clegg. While Sachs is slow to acknowledge the autobiographical nature of the story, it’s no secret that Clegg himself was a chronic crack addict (he revealed as much in his memoir, Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man). With such deeply personal subject matter, it’s brave of Sachs to give the gay community this film. We hope the straight community will appreciate it, too.

We chatted with Sachs and actor Zachary Booth about the film, it’s revealing sex scenes and other topics in the video interview above.

 

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