SAN FRANCISCO — Kink.com has come to the rescue of filmmaker Leo Herrera’s "The Fathers Project" by distributing the most recent episode of the experimental LGBT docuseries for free.
The series explores how the gay community might have evolved if HIV and AIDS had never existed. His alternative history includes the 2020 election of gay activist Vito Russo and the leather community as a political force in American life. The installment that received Kink's support opens with famed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's social media moxy surpassing the Kardashians.
In an op-ed, Herrera cites “increased censorship on social media” for interfering with his ability to film, broadcast and promote new episodes. “Every step in producing ‘Fathers’ has been a battle,” he notes, as he frequently ran afoul of restrictive, often punitive and arbitrarily enforced community guidelines from various social media platforms. So he turned to Kink.com for help.
The imprimatur provided by the BDSM powerhouse allowed Herrera the ability to film at actual leather events around the country that rarely permit outside documentation.
"In an episode that opens with Robert Mapplethorpe’s Instagram, shooting [at leather events] was a no-brainer," said Herrera. "Faced with the choice of releasing only a heavily censored clip, I decided to do what ‘Daddy Robert’ would have done and say, 'Fuck it.' Kink.com stepped in to distribute the uncensored episode for free, giving the project full artistic freedom."
Kink.com VP Matt Slusarenko relished the opportunity to support Herrera’s vision. “Queer spaces online are disappearing, and even the online spaces we have are becoming more restrictive, more closeted," he said. "Gay acceptance may have gone mainstream, but gay sexuality remains as difficult and controversial a topic for corporate America as it ever was. And on social media, topics like sex work, BDSM and fetish are relentlessly censored, which means that activism, fundraising, awareness, health and education related to those topics are censored as well. That's why it was so important for Kink to find a way to support this episode of ‘Fathers' Project,’ and make sure it could be seen by the community.”
View an edited version of the episode on Vimeo; otherwise, Kink has established a dedicated landing page for members to view full, uncensored episode here.
Visit Kink on Twitter. Herrera can be found on Twitter here.
