James Franco called on Australian censors to lift their ban on I Want Your Love

James Franco has appealed to Australian censors to reconsider their ban on gay drama I Want Your Love.

Travis Mathews' movie was banned last month from screening at various Australian film festivals by the Australian Classification Board, because it features explicit gay sex scenes.

In a video shown on YouTube, the Oz The Great And Powerful star said: "This is just such a disappointment to me and seems really silly. I don't know why in this day and age something like this, a film that's using sex not for titillation but to talk about being human, is being banned."

James - who collaborated with the filmmaker on Sundance entry Interior. Leather. Bar - insisted that Travis had depicted sex in a "very sophisticated way".

"Sex is such a big part of our lives. It's how we create children, it's how we connect. To keep it away from films that want to explore it as human behaviour is very short-sighted and I think very hypocritical," he continued.

"I don't think we would be having this conversation if he had made a very violent film. Travis is making this film and including sex because he wants to explore story and character and the nuances that sex contains," he said, adding: "It's just embarrassing. I hope you'll reconsider."

The film has screened in the States at Frameline36, Outfest, and at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival.