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Short Film Spotlight: Two-Headed Calves

The 29-minute short Two-Headed Calves follows bride and groom Johannes and Marie (Andreas Hammer and Jennifer Sabel).

At the beginning of the film, a torrential downpour breaks out in the middle of their outdoor wedding reception… and that turns out to be the least of their problems.

The biggest issue is that Johannes has been keeping a secret from Marie for the entirety of their relationship. He’s gay. He always has been, and he always will be. But that hasn’t stopped his meddling, conservative parents from trying to fix what they perceive as a problem.

Working with an unorthodox personal conversion therapist, Johannes momentarily believes he has overcome his own sexuality and can bring happiness to every disapproving person in his life – even if it comes at the cost of his own.

But when everything that can go wrong does go wrong during the wedding, it seems like a sign that he needs to start being open and honest – especially with his new bride.

Using a found footage aesthetic, German director Benjamin Kramme crafts a painfully funny family comedy that also brilliantly skewers the entire notion of conversion therapy.

Watch the trailer for Two-Headed Calves below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘The Harvesters’ explores sexuality, masculinity, and religion in a conservative farming community

The Harvesters follows Janno (Brent Vermeulen), a South African teen from a very particular type of family. His parents are deeply invested in religion, white Afrikaner solidarity and their farm. A sensitive boy, Janno’s interests lie elsewhere.

When his parents decide to bring a troubled, but charismatic kid named Pieter (Alex van Dyk) into the household, a struggle for dominance soon ensues.

As Pieter slyly draws various family members under his spell, Janno begins to sense that he’s being replaced as the favored son. The boys soon start a dangerous fight for power, heritage and parental love that will change both of their lives forever.

A stirring, subtly homoerotic take on the myth of Cain and Abel, The Harvesters explores repressed sexuality, religion and masculinity in the deep South African countryside. The feature-length debut of Greek-African filmmaker Etienne Kallosis, the film offers up tense and pitiless drama about the intersection of familial and cultural dynamics.

Watch the trailer for The Harvesters below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Casa de Bonecas

Supple young bodies fuse and ooze in the delirious audiovisual freak-out Casa de Bonecas.

Kind of like a mix of John Waters and David Lynch, this experimental – and experiential – 15-minute short from Brazilian writer-director George Pedrosa doesn’t tell a story so much as establish a deeply weird vibe.

This mind-melting film follows three scantly-clad queer performance artists as they descend into a trippy rabbit hole of madness – a dark, wet place where the grotesque and the sensual merge and anyone who enters is seduced by the pink secretions that lie within.

There is plenty of gross-out imagery in store as the film gleefully sashays through various genres – musical, comedy, sci-fi and horror, just to name a few – and our heroes transform into beautiful creatures who dance, devour and arouse.

A cross between your worst nightmares and your wildest wet dreams, Casa de Bonecas is thoroughly bonkers in the best possible way.

Watch a brief clip from Casa de Bonecas below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

John Benjamin Hickey stars in beloved filmmaker Eytan Fox’s cross-cultural romance ‘Sublet’

Tony Award-winning theatre veteran John Benjamin Hickey stars in Sublet as Michael, a travel columnist for The New York Times who reluctantly goes on a trip to Tel Aviv to write an article after suffering a tragedy.

Leaving behind some unresolved relationship troubles with his husband, Michael just wants to do his research and fly back home as soon as possible. But when he sublets an apartment from Tomer, an incredibly attractive young film student played by newcomer Niv Nissim, he suddenly finds himself drawn into the life of the city.

The intense bond he forms with this casually seductive younger man ends up transforming both their lives in unexpected ways.

The newest feature from acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox, the writer-director behind Walk on Water and Yossi and Jagger, Sublet is sexy, charming, thought-provoking and ultimately life-affirming.

Watch the trailer for Sublet below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Get seduced by the erotic, mystical queer allegory and stoner comedy ‘A Dim Valley’

Young actors Whitmer Thomas and Zach Weintraub star in A Dim Valley as ecology grad students Albert and Ian.

The pair are spending the summer collecting samples with their curmudgeonly advisor played by ‘Midnight Mass’ and ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ star Robert Longstreet. At his woodsy cabin along the Appalachian Trail, close quarters foster comical friction and unexpected bonds between the two young men.

When three mysterious, enigmatic female backpackers (played by Rachel McKeon, Feathers Wise and Rosalie Lowe) crash into their lives, they push the men to open up to one another… and their true feelings and desires soon begin to deepen.

A clever new indie gem from writer-director Brandon Colvin, A Dim Valley is partly a queer allegory, partly a hilarious stoner comedy and partly a transcendental meditation on mysticism and love.

Watch the trailer for A Dim Valley below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Hotter Up Close

Screenwriter and star Christopher Matias Aguila delivers a heartwarming and hysterically funny lead performance in the delightful 15-minute comedy Hotter Up Close.

He plays Chris, a barista who is nursing his wounds after a recent break-up and feeling some apprehension on the eve of his 30th birthday. His self-esteem takes a nose dive after an awkward encounter with Aiden, a hunky coffee shop customer and distant Facebook friend played by Francisco San Martin.

But when Aiden invites Chris and his plucky best friend Dana (played by a scene-stealing Liz Jenkins) to a gay pool party, he gets an unexpected opportunity to show off his new swimming trunks and, just possibly, win over the man of his dreams. He’ll just need to learn to accept the fact that sometimes ‘awkward’ can be ‘cute.’

Packed with quotable dialog and hilarious supporting performances, Hotter Up Close is a winning short rom-com that we only wish was longer. We’ll just have to wait to see what Aguila and director Leland Montgomery have in store for us next.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Hotter Up Close below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Director Marco Berger explores toxic masculinity and homoerotic tension in ‘Horseplay’

During a scorching Argentine holiday, a group of male friends get together at a luxury villa. They drink, party hard, make videos together… and begin to test one another’s boundaries. A rare mix of homophobia and horseplay come together to create a wildly homoerotic atmosphere.

A twisted triangle of friends – a repressed gay man, a secret bisexual boy and a complete homophobe – will push the simmering tensions to their breaking point.

Prolific writer-director Marco Berger, the award-winning filmmaker behind Taekwondo, Hawaii, Young Hunter and The Blonde One, expertly amplifies the homoerotic undercurrents of male friendships – exploring his characters’ toned physiques as much as their inner thoughts.

While the surface of Horseplay has a wealth of eye-candy, the film also offers an intelligent and challenging critique of masculinity in its most toxic and dangerous form.

Watch the very NSFW trailer for Horseplay below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Two lovers face a difficult decision in the romantic drama ‘A Place to Be’

Writer-director Tadeo Garcia followed up his 2004 debut feature On the Downlow with A Place to Be, a powerful love story set against the backdrop of the U.S. immigration system.

Both Abel (Nelson A. Rodriguez), who works in Chicago in social services, and Diego (Andrew L. Saenz), an auto mechanic, have waited a long time to fall in love with the right person.

After several chance meetings, the two hook up and quickly fall for one another. But Diego has been hiding a secret: he’s an undocumented immigrant and his repeated attempts to attain citizenship have led nowhere.

When word reaches him that his mother is dying, Diego must decide whether or not to risk a trip back to Mexico, knowing he will jeopardize his chances of returning to America… and building a future with Abel. Can their love survive this dangerous decision?

Emotional and poignant, A Place to Be tells a moving story about the power of love during uncertain times.

Check out the poster for A Place to Be below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Watch new episodes of ‘Danny Will Die Alone’ every Thursday starting November 14th!

The brand new season of Danny Will Die Alone debuts on Dekkoo November 14th with new episodes coming every Thursday!

Lead actor and creator Jack Tracy takes us on a journey through Danny’s disastrous dating life as he attempts to find love online while embarking on adventures in openness, polyamory, sex drive compatibility, feminization and, naturally, fisting!

With a longer format this season, Danny is able to explore the many different quirks of online dating much deeper than before, with comedy just as outrageous and biting as ever.

Will Danny finally find love? Based on his track record, it’s unlikely! But in Season 2, you’re guaranteed to have plenty of laughs – both ‘with’ and ‘at’ Danny – along the way.

Check out the trailer for the new season on Dekkoo or watch it below and drop into Dekkoo for new episodes every Thursday, starting November 14th.

Release schedule:
Thursday, November 14: “Melvin”
Thursday, November 21: “On The Side”
Thursday, November 28: “Three Outlets”
Thursday, December 5: “Fist-Giving”
Thursday, December 12: “Manpussy”
Thursday, December 19: “LGBTQP”

Short Film Spotlight: After

An 18-minute tearjerker from writer-director Christian Walsh, After follows a couple whose once perfect relationship is turned upside-down as they deal with the loss of their daughter in opposite and conflicting ways.

The film begins in 1998, using home videos that introduce us to loving partners Riley and Calvin (Adrian Anchondo and Dylan Wayne Lawrence). Their already happy life is made greater by the arrival of their adopted daughter.

When we jump forward in time, we realize that the pair have suffered a tragic loss – and that their different ways of grieving have caused a tension between them that never existed before.

Both men understand that they will have to find some way to move forward, but it’s not clear whether or not they’ll be able to do it together.

Profoundly emotional, After shows how the sadness of grief is a testament to how much you loved and an opportunity to appreciate the people in your life even more.

Watch a short teaser clip from After below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.