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Now Available: Holding the Man

Based on the beloved and hugely successful memoir and stage play of the same name, Holding the Man tells the warm, funny and achingly sad story of the love affair between Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo, who met when they were teenagers at Xavier College in Melbourne in the 1970s.

Tim (Ryan Corr) was an aspiring actor. John (Craig Stott) was captain of the football team. Their romance lasted 15 years and endured a good many trials. When John died of AIDS at 33, Tim was forbidden to speak at his lover’s funeral. He set out to write a memoir about their relationship that would show the depth of tenderness they shared.

Featuring moving performances by lead actors Corr and Stott, Holding the Man also includes some legendary Australian actors in supporting roles. Guy Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Fox, Geoffrey Rush and “Succession” star Sarah Snook are all on hand to lend their talent to this powerful true story.

Deeply romantic, even in its tragic denouement, Holding the Man is keenly in touch with the lived experience of its characters, offering a loving tribute to those we lost during the AIDS crisis while celebrating a relationship that blossomed and endured in the face of prejudice and adversity.

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

Watch the trailer for ‘Ranchlands,’ the newest gay romance from director David Lewis

David Lewis – a director who made a big mark on the LGBTQ film scene in the early 2000s with his films Under One Roof, Rock Haven, Redwoods, and Longhorns – is back with the brand new feature-length romance Ranchlands.

Ranchlands is a queer drama about an urbane, yet lost young gay man who was thrown out of his family house after coming out. Returning home to his estranged Christian family to care for his ailing brother, he finds an unexpected romance with a gay ranch hand. Unfortunately, when a family secret is exposed, it begins to complicate his new love affair and his journey of healing.

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

Two U.S. soldiers fall in love in the new romantic war drama ‘Love in Country’

Set in 1968, Love in Country is a romantic war drama starring Michael Southworth and David Garber as Johnny and Ian, two gay U.S. Army point men who have fallen in love during the Vietnam War.

Their relationship becomes an open secret, inspiring various levels of acceptance, conflict and rejection within their squad. When their Captain (played by Vincent van Hinte) seemingly loses his humanity and begins risking the safety of everyone around him, the pair are tasked with leading their fellow soldiers through a dangerous mission. Soon, they’re fighting not just for their country, but to keep their love alive.

From directors Kurt Braun and Richard Gayton, Love in Country is an ambitious indie film accomplishes a lot on a small budget while aiming to honor LGBTQ+ veterans – and all Americans – who have served in the military.

Watch the trailer for Love in Country below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Multiple characters intersect in the new eight-part British anthology series ‘Patterns’

There’s something for everyone in Patterns, an exciting new British anthology series.

Like a cross between Sex Education and Black Mirror, each episode of Patterns tells a full self-contained story, but they all take place in the same universe. A minor character in one episode may reappear as the lead in another and vice-versa. It’s an ambitious format, playfully executed by director Rex Glensy and writers Daniel Mannheim and Asad Moghal.

Stories include Reverse Catfish, about a hot young rugby player who finds that people only date him for his good looks and sets about trying to change their perception. SuperBen follows an imaginative boy who gets up close and personal with his superhero crush. Delivered is about a hungry young man on an oppressive diet who becomes unusually obsessed with his pizza delivery guy. And there are many more episodes where those came from.

Catch up on all the action in this charming and refreshingly sex-positive new comedy series. The full first season of Patterns is available now on Dekkoo and a second season is currently in the works! Watch the trailer below.

Dekkoo In Depth: Ross chats with Rex Glensy and Rufus Shaljean, the director and star of the new series ‘Patterns’

Telling a brand-new, self-contained story with each episode, Patterns is a brand-new British anthology series following numerous characters through various adventures as they search for love, sex and everything in between.

Ross sat down for a virtual interview with series director Rex Glensy and actor Rufus Shaljean – discussing the pandemic, the genesis of the show, the unusual format, the creation of the stories and how everything came together.

Watch the newest installment of Dekkoo In Depth below and make sure to catch Patterns on Dekkoo. All eight episodes are now streaming!

Short Film Spotlight: Peer

Filmed in Ocean City, Maryland, writer-director Marlon Wallace’s new 19-minute short Peer tells a quick, heartfelt story about a beachside romance.

Eli Johnson stars as Harold, a timid young man who takes a late-summer vacation with his best girlfriend Maritza, played by Daniela Cruz. Harold enjoys his time on the boardwalk, but he’s never actually been to the beach before. His intense fear of drowning – and recurring nightmares – keep him far away from the ocean.

When the pair are approached by Vincent and Arthur (Jared Anthony and Tommy Watson) a cute pair of local lifeguard buddies, they end up coupling off. After learning about his phobia, Vincent makes it his mission to ease Harold’s fears, teach him to swim and help him learn to enjoy all the magic a beach town has to offer. Harold, however, has to decide whether this adorable new love interest is worth all the anxiety.

With a touching script, beautiful cinematography and refreshingly naturalistic performances, Peer shows how the power of love can conquer even the deepest fears.

Watch the trailer for Peer below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Todd Flaherty wrote, directed and stars in the sharp-edged indie comedy ‘Chrissy Judy’

Reminiscent of the freewheeling spirit of Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s Frances Ha, the witty new indie comedy Chrissy Judy peels back the layers of the East Coast’s queer triumvirate – New York City, Fire Island, and Provincetown – and examines the realities gay men face in their pursuit of love and acceptance.

Wyatt Fenner and writer-director Todd Flaherty star as Chrissy and Judy, respectively. Besties by day and cabaret drag partners by night, the two longtime pals find themselves at a crossroads when one of them couples off and moves away from New York.

As the duo drifts apart, the remaining queen must reinvent himself or risk becoming an irrelevant solo act both onstage and off.

Flaherty’s previous film, the gorgeously-directed short relationship drama Let’s Meet Again at the End of the World (also available now on Dekkoo), marked him as a writer, director and actor to watch.

Brilliantly written and beautifully shot in crisp black and white, Chrissy Judy delivers on that early promise, exploring the pain of breaking up with a best friend and asking the difficult question, “What do you do when your chosen family no longer chooses you?”

Watch the trailer for Chrissy Judy below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Dylan Dylan

A gorgeously-crafted 16-minute short film from French writer-director Sylvain Coisne, Dylan Dylan is a profoundly emotional relationship drama set in the aftermath of a devastating loss.

Matthieu Dahan and Vincent Marie star as Yanis and Hugo, a married gay couple who are coping with the recent death of their four-year-old son. Though both men are in great pain, they deal with their grief in different ways.

It remains to be seen whether or not the tragedy will ultimately bring them closer together or widen the gulf that seems to be growing between them. As the pair try to regain some sense of normalcy, the outside world interferes with their grieving process in cruel and insensitive ways.

As Yanis and Hugo realize they have become the victims of a hateful, homophobic act of vandalism, they also find themselves the interest of a pair of documentarians whose motives are not entirely clear.

Dylan Dylan offers no easy answers or pat resolutions – there never are any in the face of such tragedy. Instead, the film tackles the grieving process with compassion and unflinching honesty.

Check out the poster for Dylan Dylan below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Sublime

How do you avoid losing something precious when it’s the very thing tearing you up inside?

Whether he’s writing music with his garage band buddies, having dinner with his family or sneaking off into the woods with his girlfriend, 16-year-old Manu (Martín Miller) is never quite present. He’s consumed by a secret that’s been eating him up inside.

In his dreams, Manu and his best friend Felipe (Teo Inama Chiabrando) lie in bed together, staring longingly into one another’s eyes while inching closer and closer together. Though they never kiss, the desire is clear. That desire simmers beneath the surface of writer-director Mariano Biasin’s moving new coming-of-age drama Sublime.

Featuring beautiful cinematography, an exceptional soundtrack and palpable chemistry between lead actors Miller and Inama Chiabrando, this award-winning new film follows one teen whose affection for his best friend can only stay suppressed for so long.

Watch the trailer for Sublime below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Dogfriend

An intelligent and wickedly funny 18-minute short from Germany, Dogfriend follows a kinky hook-up that gets incredibly heated… just not for the reasons you might expect.

Screenwriter Lamin Leroy Gibba also stars in the film as Malik, an attractive young man of color who is anticipating the arrival of Phillip (Til Schindler), a newer, unmistakably white and ambiguously political lover.

A classic over-thinker, Malik isn’t sure that this new relationship has legs. Phillip has a confident and casual demeanor that often conflicts with Malik’s neuroses. When Phillip finally arrives, presenting a pair of handcuffs and asking Malik to dominate him, the night takes a wildly unexpected turn.

Malik cuffs Phillip to the bed, but can’t seem to locate the key. Once the men find themselves discussing race relations, Malik starts to realize that he finally has the upper hand and Phillip, flush with white privilege, finds himself more vulnerable than ever before.

Watch a short clip from Dogfriend below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.