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Short Film Spotlight: Long Haul

The 21-minute short film Long Haul is a coming-of-age road drama set in the world of American long-haul trucking.

Bo (Jacob Buster) is an ultra-conservative teen who goes on a cross-country delivery job with his estranged father (Jeffrey Hanson). During the journey, the son struggles with his parents’ divorce and discovering that his father is gay.

Based on writer-director Bryan Fugal’s own life, Long Haul is a deeply personal story. “The son character is based on a combination of me and my siblings,” said the filmmaker. “And the father character is based on my biological father. I think it is a unique and very relevant story to our time.”

The screenplay for Long Haul was a semi-finalist in international screenplay competitions, including the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, Screen Craft Short Screenplay Contest, and was a finalist for the David Ross Fetzer Foundation Grant for Emerging Artists. In addition, the screenplay has been endorsed by several other noted artists and film producers, including Arthur Van Wagenen, Mac Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Bryce Fillmore and Kendall Wilcox.

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

Max, a new Dekkoo-Original Short Film, launches September 23rd

Mark your calendars, gay film fans. The brand-new Dekkoo-Original Short Film Max will be available starting September 23rd. Written by and starring Jono Mitchell and directed by Kristina Arjona, the ten-minute film follows two men, total strangers, who form a tenuous bond in a hotel room.

Jeremy (Mitchell) is very recently divorced – in fact, it just happened. After his marriage started to become casually abusive, he knew it was time to pull away. But that doesn’t make it any less painful. Coming out on the other side of signing the papers, his first step is to meet up with an alluring sex-worker who goes by the name Max (Gregory Piccirilli).

Despite Jeremy’s best efforts, he’s not able to get too much info out of Max about his real name or personal life, but the connection that they soon form becomes deep and authentic. Jeremy is in pain and Max, though he may be a hired hand, is ready to lend a comforting bare shoulder (and much more if the mood strikes).

With terrific, subtly emotional performances and skillful writing and direction that teases the larger world and lives beyond their room, Max could easily be expanded into a longer, most expansive feature. The film also brings up a lot of questions about the nature of empathy in transactional relationships.

Check out the trailer, along with some exclusive stills from the film and the poster below and make sure to watch and show your support in the comments when it becomes available on Dekkoo on 9/23!

Now Available: Two

TWO: The Story Of Roman and Nyro documents the 12-year journey of legendary songwriter Desmond Child and his lifelong partner Curtis Shaw, and the extraordinary way they met and connected with Angela Whittaker, the woman who would carry their twin sons, Roman and Nyro, into the world.

From preconception through the boys’ first 10 years, TWO is the personal and powerful story of these unique individuals whose lives become inextricably woven together in magical and unexpected ways. TWO is testament to the universal power and ultimate triumph of love – that it is love that makes a family, affirming modern families may be modern in their making, but timelessly human at their core.

Watch an extended trailer for the film below. TWO: The Story Of Roman and Nyro is now available on Dekkoo.

The controversial Russian import Outlaw makes its debut on Dekkoo

Director Ksenia Ratushnaya’s bold first feature, Outlaw shines a spotlight on modern LGBTQ life (and strife) in Russia.

Highly controversial, this provocative and visually dazzling new film from director Ksenia Ratushnaya and producer Veronika Chibis tells two parallel love stories. One is a love triangle between a gay teen named Nikita (Viktor Tarasenko), a violent jock named Alpha (Gleb Kaluzhny) and a popular girl, the eponymous Outlaw (Liza Kashintseva). The other story follows a romance between a general (Sergey Epishev) transgender dancer (Evengry Okorokov) in the Soviet 1980s.

Due to Russia’s “gay propaganda law,” introduced in 2013 and used to suppress public discourse over LGBTQ issues, the film has had a rough time reaching audiences domestically. It is, however, available now to audiences via Dekkoo.

Watch the trailer for Outlaw below.

The acclaimed short film Brother is coming soon to Dekkoo

The 2019 short film Brother (Bror) has been picked up in a deal with Dekkoo, and will be released on our platform in the original language with English subtitles.

Nico (Phillip Oros) and Khalid (Poyan Karimi) are best friends. Khalid was born in Iran, a country where having feelings for another man can lead to the death penalty. Nico was born in Sweden, a country where it’s openly accepted for a man to have a boyfriend. And yet it’s Nico who keeps holding back when Khalid tries to take their relationship to another level.

Brother was created by Isabella Carbonell a screenwriter and director based in Stockholm, Sweden. She has written/directed several shorts and music videos among them is the film Boys that was screened during the Critic’s Week in Cannes and that won the Grand Jury Award for Best Live Action Short at the AFI Film Fest in Los Angeles.

Carbonell said “We are so ridiculously happy and honored to have our film be part of this exciting platform. Brother is all about identity, intimacy and of course love. Hopefully, this love will spread even further now thanks to Dekkoo!”

“This is one of our first ever Swedish titles and we are very proud to be championing the work by the young talented director Isabella Carbonell and producer Alexandra Alegren getting their work to a wider audience,” said Ebba Eriksson of the British distributor Videoplugger (which represents the film). “The topics raised in this short are very relevant, touching on integration and homophobia.”

Check out the original Swedish poster for Brother below and keep your eyes on Dekkoo to see the film. It will be available in the coming weeks.

Now Available: The Lawyer

Life just drifts by for corporate lawyer Marius (Eimutis Kvosciauskas), until he finds an unexpected connection for the dark and handsome Ali (Dogac Yildiz), a Syrian refugee who doubles as a sex-cam worker.

After Marius’ estranged father passes away, his infatuation intensifies. He inevitably flies to Belgrade to meet Ali in person, in hopes of a romantic week with his mysterious object of desire. Although off-camera, things might not be exactly as they seem.

The newest feature from prolific Lithuanian filmmaker Romas Zabarauskas (the director behind We Will Riot, Porno Melodrama and You Can’t Escape Lithuania – all available now on Dekkoo), The Lawyer is an engrossing and heartfelt romantic drama. Reportedly, it is also the first feature film made in one of the Baltic countries about male-male love.

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

A loving couple fights for their right to marry in No Dress Code Required

From director Cristina Herrera Borquez, the powerful documentary No Dress Code Required tells a simple story about one Mexican couple’s desire to get married… and all of the roadblocks that stand in their way.

Victor and Fernando, a devoted, unassuming couple from Mexicali, Mexico, find themselves in the center of a legal firestorm over their desire to get married. Weighing all of their options, the pair opt to stay in their hometown of Mexicali and fight for their legal rights.

With the help of two committed attorneys, Victor and Fernando withstand a seemingly interminable series of bizarre hurdles and bureaucratic nitpicking with grace and dignity.

No Dress Code Required is a rallying cry for equality, a testament to the power of ordinary people to become agents of change, and above all, an unforgettable love story that touches the heart and stirs the conscience.

Watch the trailer for No Dress Code Required below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: 15 Years

Yoav (Oded Leopold), a successful architect, has everything he’s ever wanted: Dan (Udi Persi), his lover of fifteen years – a younger lawyer who adores him; and his best friend, Alma (Ruti Asarsai) – a successful artist, who is like a mother and a sister to him.

However, when Alma announces she is pregnant, it ignites Dan’s desire to become a father himself. But Dan’s parental urges have the opposite effect on Yoav, who is haunted by long buried demons.

Yoav’s tight grasp on his life begins to come apart, leading to self-destructive behavior that threatens to destroy his life with Dan, unravel his friendship with Alma, and cost him everything.

Sexy and thoughtful with great acting and gorgeous cinematography, 15 Years is a thought-provoking drama from writer-director Yuval Hadadi, making his feature-length debut.

Watch the trailer for 15 Years below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Game Face is an inspiring film about the coming out process of LGBTQ athletes

Day by day athletes are becoming more comfortable with their sexuality as sports associations begin to take proactive steps to accepting lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender players in their respective teams or clubs. Yet surprisingly, a lot of homophobia remains in the world of professional and collegiate sports—making it extremely difficult to come out before their careers end. Some are forced to stay closeted by their entourage while others have been kicked off their team; bullied into secrecy; struggle in their careers while battling with self-identity; and tragically some commit suicide.

Some people still feel uncomfortable about having LGBT athletes in sports, and this is the perfect opportunity to finally break all stereotypes. With the documentary Game Face, director Michiel Thomas sheds light on the masses by debunking the myths and misgivings of the LGBT community and athletes. The important details to remember are found in the fact that these are people who have a passion and love for their respective sport, everything else is irrelevant. This film tells different stories from various athletes in their sport, covering a wide spectrum of issues.

Featuring figures such as transgender mixed-martial-arts fighter Fallon Fox and basketball hopeful Terrence Clemens, Game Face offers up an inspiring film about the coming out process of professional and college athletes.

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

Now Available: Bridegroom

Released originally in 2013, the emotional documentary Bridegroom follows the journey of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship – a relationship that was cut tragically short by a misstep off the side of a roof.

The story of what happened after this accidental death, before marriage equality, tells of how people without the legal protections of marriage found themselves completely shut out and ostracized. The film is poignant, enraging and opened a window onto the issue of marriage equality like no speech or lecture ever could.

On May 7, 2012, the anniversary of Tom’s death, Shane made a video tribute to his greatest love entitled “It Could Happen To You.” This film, posted on YouTube, earned over 2.7 million hits and inspired over 50 thousand e-mails and comments on YouTube and Facebook. The impact of Shane’s original film, and the raw nerve it touched, told an important story that needed to be brought to the world stage.

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