Miami, FL (July 13, 2023) ——The groundbreaking adult film “Deep Throat” which brought porn to mainstream audiences returns to Miami where it was shot just over 50 years ago. The son and daughter of writer/director Gerard Damiano Sr., Gerard Jr. and Christar Damiano will present the film at Exxxotica Miami on Saturday July 15, at 8:10pm at The Miami Airport Convention Center 711 NW 72nd Ave, Miami, FL 33126, followed by a panel discussion on the history, cultural impact, and controversy surrounding the film.

Locations in North Miami and Coconut Grove are featured throughout the “Deep Throat”. The iconic opening scene in which the film’s star Linda Lovelace drives along Biscayne Blvd. was shot during Super Bowl VI which pitted the “Surprise” Miami Dolphins against the Dallas Cowboys. Director Damiano would comment “It was a perfect day to shoot the exteriors because the streets were deserted. Everyone was home watching the game!”

Gerard Jr. and Christar have just completed a World Tour screening their 4K restoration (which is considered to be the definitive version of “Deep Throat),” to commemorate its 50^th Anniversary. Although generally the film was very well received, the tour was not without controversy. According to Gerard Jr., “Some theaters have been reluctant to show it for fear of pushback based on comments that Linda made years later while being coached by anti-porn feminists. Her story is a very complicated one. There is no doubt that she suffered greatly at the hands of her husband. People assume that he beat her because she didn’t want to perform in the film, but the truth of what actually happened on the set of ‘Deep Throat’ is very different.”

In 1972 the siblings traveled to Miami together with their family for the filming of the movie. Christar says “Miami has changed a lot, as has the world. There was no ‘adult industry’ back then. Now we are returning to Miami for EXXXOTICA, which is literally a convention for an industry that ‘Deep Throat’ helped to create.”

The Damianos will participate in a talkback following the screening, where they will share their stories of being on location during the filming of “Deep Throat,” the events leading up to the making of the film and the effect that it had on their family. They will be joined by Anthony Battista, the Philly stockbroker turned film distributor, who was indicted in 1974 during the movie’s landmark obscenity trials. He appeared as a defendant alongside Damiano Sr., stars Linda Lovelace and Harry Reems, and members of the Peraino crime family. Anthony’s daughter Kristin Battista-Frazee is the author of “The Pornographer’s Daughter,” in which she recounts her family’s literal trials and tribulations.

During Exxxotica which begins on Friday July 14^th and runs through Sunday the 16^th, The Deep Throat crew will be located at booth 123, where they will be selling limited edition Deep Throat merchandise. They will be assisted by special guest, adult star Joslyn Jane, who will also be available to meet and greet fans.

For more information about Exxxotica go to www.exxxoticaexpo.com and for more information about the screening go to https://www.exxxoticaexpo.com/seminars/deep-throat-at-50-history-impact-controversy-special-movie-screening-with-qa/

The special screening of Deep Throat will be held in Seminar Room B of the Convention Center.

The Exxxotica “Deep Throat” after party will be a porn star studded at The Pink Pussycat Pink Pussycat Cabaret 7565 W 20th Avenue, Hialeah FL 33014 on Sunday night beginning at 10pm and all those with an Exxxotica badge get free entrance.

You may follow “Deep Throat” on Twitter at twitter.com/deepthroatfilm on Instagram at instagram.com/deepthroatmovie/ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/deepthroatfilm

For more information about Damiano Films visit damianofilms.com.

For information on how you may #VoteThroat and help “Deep Throat” join the ranks of American classic cinema in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, visit: VoteThroat.org

About “Deep Throat”

The Zeitgeist of 1972, “Deep Throat” brought adult films into the mainstream and kick-started the Sexual Revolution. Its success was unprecedented, breaking box office records in its very first week of exhibition. Lauded as one of the first hardcore films to feature a plot, character development, and production values, it pushed the limits of what could be shown on screen and made an international celebrity of its star, Linda Lovelace. Busted by police, picketed, and banned, the ongoing prosecution only added to the film’s popularity. It would help to create the Adult Film Industry and an audience hungry for feature length films with adult content. Celebrities, dignitaries, couples and women joined the usual “raincoat crowd,” waiting in lines that wrapped around the block just to see it. The immense popularity of “Deep Throat” made it a symbol of the new sexual freedom and therefore a target. President Richard Nixon attacked the film in an effort to draw attention away from his own wrongdoing. “Citizens for Decent Literature,” used their crusade against pornography to galvanize the burgeoning “Conservative Christian” movement. Joining forces with the Republican Party, they made their cause not just a “moral” one, but a political one as well.

The newly organized “Anti-Porn Feminists” also staged protests and sought to ban the film. For a time, even Linda Lovelace joined their cause, making comments on the talk show circuit, which cast a shadow over the production. It would be years before she rejected the feminists, claiming that they had used her and returned to porn, posing for Leg Show magazine, before her untimely death in 2002. The Federal Government went after male lead Harry Reems. Fearing they could be next, A–list Hollywood stars formed the “Harry Reems Defense Fund,” a cause célèbre. He was eventually acquitted of all crimes, but the persecution took a tremendous toll on him. Legal battles were fought all the way to the Supreme Court. Finally, it was not the film itself, but the very definition of “obscenity” that was on trial. “Deep Throat” became emblematic of the Free Speech Movement and all the while its popularity grew.

The film’s title was used to conceal the identity of informant W. Mark Felt who helped Woodward and Bernstein to break the Watergate story. When the President was finally brought to justice, Damiano quipped “Nixon tried to take down ‘Deep Throat’, but in the end it was ‘Deep Throat’ who took down Nixon.” A half century later the film enjoys a cult status, having found its way into every aspect of popular culture. Referenced in countless films, documentaries, and TV shows, it has inspired songs, plays, and musicals. The term “Deep Throat” became a household word and can be found in Webster’s dictionary. “Deep Throat” is still considered to be the most profitable film of all time.

About Gerard Jr and Christar Damiano

Visual Artist and Filmmaker Gerard Damiano Jr. and Sound Healer & Performance Artist Christar Damiano are the only children of director Gerard Damiano Sr. They grew up in Queens, New York, in a house that always seemed to have film in the refrigerator.

They were raised to believe that the human body was “a thing of beauty” and never something to be ashamed of. They often accompanied their father to the film set (although they were never exposed to hardcore sex), and were on location in Miami with their family during the filming of “Deep Throat”. Reacting to their father’s arrest and subsequent prosecution, their mother reassured them that “People don’t understand him because he’s ahead of his time.” Gerard and Christar believe that their father’s time has finally come. They have dedicated themselves to preserving his legacy and continuing his fight for Freedom of Expression without censorship through their company Damiano Films.