Writer-director Isabella Walsh shows the bittersweet demise of one relationship and the blossoming of a brand-new love her short film Hold My Hand.
Billy (Jordi Rea) is a nerdy-cute young straight guy who pops into the ‘Maid of Ink’ tattoo parlor with his girlfriend Meredith (Morgan McKenzie Moore). Once there, he quickly and quietly becomes enamored of Oscar (Ryan Farrell), the a confident young tattoo artist. Despite his “deathly fear of needles” he returns later, requesting a tattoo – any tattoo – in order to spend some quality alone-time with Oscar and figure out what’s really going on with these sudden urges.
Jumping back and forth in time, using fragmented story-telling to her advantage, Walsh manages to keep the tension running high in Hold My Hand. The film almost plays out like a mystery, showing us hints of trouble in Billy and Meredith’s relationship before we have the full picture of what has pulled them in different directions.
Walsh is also able to make the act of getting a tattoo highly erotic. With simple shots of wrist-holding and knees nearly touching, the sexual tension between Billy and Oscar becomes palpable without ever getting graphic.
Hold My Hand is now available on Dekkoo.
Discover great gay stories. 