Artist Alex Mello wrote, directed and stars in Outside the Aquarium, a romantic, funny and thoughtful 25-minute short about the experiences of a Black gay artist living in Germany.
Jonas (Mello) is a painter who is getting ready for a major new exhibition. At the start of the film, we meet him in a state of romantic bliss. He’s deeply in love with Lukas (Julius Dombrink), his partner. During breakfast, Lukas tells Jonas about a strange recurring nightmare that stems from his anxiety over being fetishized by the white gay community over his racial features.
Jonas can relate – maybe more than Lukas even knows. The film unexpectedly flashes back to a time before the pair met, when Jonas was still searching for love in addition to professional success. Following him through the course of one evening, we get to feel what it’s like to walk in his shoes – meeting his self-centered, casually-racist agent and joining him for an exceedingly uncomfortable hook-up with a demented bottom who views interracial sex like the ultimate taboo.
We then get to witness the moment when Jonas and Lukas first met, which gives the beginning of the film and their loving relationship a whole new – and much deeper – perspective.
Directed with heart and inventive visual flair, Outside the Aquarium marks Mello as a unique and playful artist worth keeping an eye on.
Watch the trailer for Outside the Aquarium below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
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