Sir Ian McKellen makes 14-year-old boy’s dream come true by starring in his film, which will explore 1,000 years of LGBTQ+ history

Jacob Franklin, a 14-year-old boy from Windsor, Berkshire, is due to make his directorial debut with a film starring Sir Ian McKellen.

Dragged Through Time, which explores 1,000 years of LGBTQ+ history, as well as what it is like to be part of these communities today, draws on his experiences as an openly gay young person, and will be screened for the first time at Windsor and Eton Pride on 26 July.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Jacob said Sir Ian was “very easy to work with” and that he described his project as “a really inspiring thing to look at”.

Exploring LGBTQ+ history was “really important” to him, said Jacob, adding: “While we have great films and TV shows now that focus on the present, I really think it’s an important thing to focus on the past.”

Dragged Through Time goes as far back as ancient Greece, he said. “It was quite an accepting place back then.

“Most of the Greek gods, while they may be fictional, had male lovers.”

Sir Ian plays the role of Great Uncle Peter, a semi-closeted older relative of the film’s main protagonist.

In a video shared on Facebook, Sir Ian spoke about why he joined the project.

“I often look back to myself at his age and regret,” Sir Ian said. “I wasn’t close enough to my parents to talk to them about what I knew of myself, that I was gay. The idea that at 14, I could have plucked up the courage to have a conversation with them about something so personal…

“So I never told either of my parents that their only son was gay. So to see him and this situation makes me think, ‘Oh perhaps I could have done this if I’d been a bit braver or the world had been a bit different.'”