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Two college seniors get close in the colorful romance Good Enough: A Modern Musical

Featuring a completely original soundtrack, a diverse case and dazzling dance numbers, Good Enough: A Modern Musical is, as the title suggests, a sensational modern pop musical that deals with some of the most relevant issues of the day.

Written and directed by Mike Spears, the colorful new gay romance centers around college seniors Jamal and Trevor (Jay Towns and Trey Mendlik). Two young guys from very different backgrounds, they believe that they have their whole lives planned out.

When the pair end up having an unexpected encounter and begin to fall for one another, their cautiously developing love threatens to jeopardize their best laid plans and the expectations of their families and friends.

Watch the trailer for Good Enough: A Modern Musical below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Mar

Mar follows Xavier and Eduardo (Lourenço Seruya and João Santos Silva), two lovers who decide to spend their summer vacation in a small town on the coast of Portugal. While planning their trip, they never expected to be be faced with a dark mystery that leads to seduction and betrayal.

The pair aim to visit a childhood friend named Cristovao (Diogo Tavares) – unaware that he’s harboring an explosive secret known only to his enigmatic mother (Sylvie Rocha). When that secret is later revealed, sexual tensions begin to rise and someone’s fate is unexpectedly sealed.

From writer-director William Vitoria, Mar is a tense, gorgeously shot 25-minute short inspired by old-school erotic thrillers.

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

Tainted Souls is a gritty and intense Italian crime drama

The complex lives of a group of seemingly different tenants in a cheap Roman apartment building come crashing together in Tainted Souls, an inventive and unsettling Italian crime drama.

Mauro (Maurizio Tesei) has manic ambitions that always seem to outpace his limited means. This causes great strife with his wife Simona (Giulia Bevilacqua). Looking to make something of himself, he gets involved in the business of local crime lord Carmine (Nuccio Siano), which may lead to his downfall.

Meanwhile, former bodybuilder Marcello (Vinicio Marchioni) is married to Chiara (Anna Foglietta), but having a secret affair with Walter (Vincenzo Salemme), a professor and author who also serves as the narrator of the story.

Between the walls of this rundown apartment complex just outside of Rome, all of these disparate lives converge into each other. Will anyone be left standing at the end of this intense character drama… or will a few wayward souls bring everyone down with them?

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

Dekkoo In Depth: Ross interviews Historical Homos creators Donal Brophy and Emrhys Cooper

In this edition of Dekkoo In Depth, host Ross Weisman sits down to chat with Donal Brophy and Emrhys Cooper, two of the minds behind the brand-new Dekkoo-original podcast series Historical Homos.

From executive producer Zachary Quinto, Historical Homos is a proudly a no-fucks-given guide to LGBTQ+ history, introduces audiences to some of the gayest stories never told – including gay couples in Greek mythology, transgender spies of the Enlightenment, bisexual literary legends and much, much more!

The first episode of Historical Homos drops on June 9th with new episodes coming each week throughout the month of June. Learn all about the history of the show – and gay history in general – in the video below.

Short Film Spotlight: Lightning Bugs in a Jar

From co-directors Sara Wolkowitz and Robert Ian Simpson, the 19-minute short film Lightning Bugs in a Jar opens with a child’s car seat flying through the air – never a good sign. Rest assured, no babies are put in harm’s way during the film, but there’s certainly some lingering childhood trauma.

When a mother and son with a caustic history reunite to pack-up their old house, sparks fly as long-buried secrets are revealed… and it might fall upon the shoulders of the son’s boyfriend to help heal old wounds.

Thoughtfully written, packed with both humor and emotion and beautifully performed by lead actors Ethan Slater, Devin McDuffee and Betsy Aidem, Lightning Bugs in a Jar perfectly captures what it feels like to play referee for two people in a volatile relationship.

In other words, it will tear you apart like an old car seat thrown from a second-story window.

Watch a short trailer for Lightning Bugs in a Jar below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

New Series: Give Me Back the Night

Set during the middle of the pandemic in 2021, Give Me Back the Night is a smart, sexy, funny and fast paced new series from Columbia – exploring a new relationship which opens up some old wounds.

Leonardo (Juan Manuel Velez Casas), a creative young man who dabbles in sewing and illustration, is just trying to survive his day job – working in a supermarket surrounded by pandemic-related chaos. When he learns that his biological mother, thought to be dead, is very much alive and wants to reconnect with him, it completely upends his day-to-day life.

Meanwhile, Felix (Sergio Quevedo Barreto) is a photographer with rough and tumble good looks who has his eyes firmly planted on the stars. He has recently run away from a disapproving home. When he meets Leonardo on the street and the two young men form an unlikely connection, they’re budding relationship finally allows them to explore their suppressed desires and freedoms.

Together, they begin to face the issues that keep them up at night. They soon learn that they must reckon with their pasts and repair their fractured family ties in order to move forward and grow together.

Watch the trailer for Give Me Back the Night below. The full six-episode first season is streaming now on Dekkoo!

Three friends come together for a revelatory weekend in the heartfelt dark comedy Miles from Nowhere

A new feature-length film from creative partners Jono Mitchell and Madison Hatfield, the prolific pair behind acclaimed, Dekkoo-favorite short films like Max, Making a Scene and Jenna Gets an Abortion, Miles from Nowhere is a moving comedy-drama about life, death and everything in between.

Miles (Seth Dunlap) is a young man coming to terms with a recent terminal cancer diagnosis. Looking to reconnect with Sammy and Victor (Shane Howell and Cristian Gonzalez), two formerly close friends with whom he’s grown distant, he sets up a weekend trip to his family’s remote cabin.

During their retreat, he aims to tell his pals about his diagnosis, make up for lost time and confront some of his past mistakes. When Sammy and Victor reveal a secret of their own, Miles learns that he may not know his friends as well as he thinks.

Bitingly funny, but equally and poignant, Miles from Nowhere examines the shifting nature of relationships, the price of silence and secrets, and the confusion – not clarity – that can overcome a person faced with the reality of their own death.

Watch the trailer for Miles from Nowhere below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A swimmer’s relationship with his coach causes family problems – and an arranged marriage – in the coming-of-age drama Beyto

Beyto (Burak Ates) is a young man whose family are Turkish immigrants living in Switzerland. A dutiful student and an attractive and popular rising star at his local swimming club, he strives to make them proud, but his family’s stringent views about homosexuality means he has to keep a whole portion of his life and his identity secret.

Just as Beyto begins to discover first love with his coach, Mike (Dimitri Stapfer), his parents get word from friends who spotted him at Gay Pride Parade and become desperate to shut down any rumors that he’s gay.

Shocked and ashamed by Beyto’s budding relationship with another man, his parents lure their son to their home village in Anatolia and start arranging his wedding to Seher (Ecem Aydin), a female friend from his childhood. Suddenly, Beyto finds himself at the center of an unbearable love triangle.

A subtle, sensuous and moving love story, Beyto examines the drama of family tradition and integration, expressing the dilemmas of its characters while never losing sight of their humanity and love for one another.

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

Cicada is a feast for the eyes as well as the heart

Co-written by Matthew Fifer and Sheldon D. Brown, who also star in the film, the must-see new indie comedy-drama Cicada examines inter-racial relationships, bisexual identity and sexual abuse while also exploring the intricacies of falling in love and how that can go hand-in-hand with uncovering uncomfortable truths about one’s self along the way.

Fifer, who also co-directs with Kieran Mulcare, stars as Ben a young bisexual man who, after a string of unsuccessful encounrers with women, decides it’s time to go “back on the dick.” He soon develops an intense relationship with Sam (Brown), a man of color struggling with deep wounds. As their summer romance progresses and their intimacy grows, Ben’s past begins crawling to the surface – putting the pair’s still-burgeoning love affair in jeopardy.

Co-starring Cobie Smulders, David Burtka and SNL breakout star Bowen Yang, Cicada is easily one of the most acclaimed gay films of the past several years. Vogue said that it “will stay with you long after the credits roll.” And The Jam Report called it “one of the most beautifully-crafted pieces of queer cinema of recent times.” We firmly agree with both assessments.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Good Night

When Aram (Yianni Katsifas), a young Armenian man who only recently came out of the closet, goes out on a first date with the much more confident and experienced Jason (Robert Walker Jeffery), he must decide how far he’s willing to go in order to make sure they both have a good time.

When they go back to Aram’s place, his nervousness and uncertainty about what he wants leads to some majorly awkward – and boldly sexually-explicit – tension in bed. Taking place almost in real time, Good Night is a deeply unabashed 10-minute short about a sexual encounter that never quite gels.

Gorgeously shot in crisp black and white and featuring committed performances from lead actors Katsifas and Jeffrey, the film captures how uncomfortable it can be to hook up with someone when you’re not totally on the same page – especially when the whole experience is new to you.

Good Night is now available on Dekkoo.