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A polyamourous gay trio head West in the inventive new indie Kill the Monsters

Kill the Monsters tells the story of Frankie, Patrick and Sutton, a trio of polyamorous gay lovers. When one of the triad falls mysteriously ill, they decide to embark on a grand adventurer, heading West across the country in search of holistic treatment. As their travels progress, the highs and lows of their journey mirror key points in U.S. history – from sex in their luxurious New York City apartment, to a road trip that results in a civil war and possible breakup, and, lastly, to an all-out poker war involving scheming, sophisticated, and calculating German and Russian lesbians.

The directorial debut from Ryan Lonergan, who also stars in the film alongside Jack Ball and Garrett McKechnie, Kill the Monsters offers up a bold and unique cinematic vision on a tiny budget. Featuring stunning black-and-white photography, wickedly funny dialogue and lots of sexual politics, the film is a historically-minded, absurdist delight.

The Los Angeles Times called Kill the Monsters “A joyous one-off; a bold, snappy, head-spinningly clever tale of three gay New Yorkers in a polyamorous relationship who cross America in search of physical and emotional healing only to find themselves at war — with each other as well as with an international array of lesbian neighbors in their Santa Monica condo complex.” They went on to say, “If it all sounds weirdly, grandly quirky that’s because it is. But in a good way, thanks to director-editor Ryan Lonergan’s fast-paced, fast-talking, allegorical script that purports to parallel American history from 1776 to 2017 but can just as enjoyably be taken at face value.”

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

Pride Month Spotlight: Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine

On the night of October 6, 1998, two men lured Matthew Shepard, a gay freshman at the University of Wyoming, from a bar in Laramie, WY. He was kidnapped and driven to a field where he was tortured and tethered to a fence and left to die. Never regaining consciousness, Matthew succumbed to the severe injuries from the attack and died on October 12, 1998.

The murder of Matthew Shepard was a devastating tragedy that made countless headlines around the world. As people denounced the hatred and senseless violence that caused Matthew’s death, a much-needed dialogue about hate crimes and intolerance against the LGBT community began and continues to this day.

Matthew’s tragic story brought the reality of inequality and vicious, irrational contempt into the public consciousness and set the stage for the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2009.

The documentary Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine follows director Michele Josue, a close friend of Matt’s, as she travels to pivotal locations in Shepard’s life, interviewing other friends and family members, and gaining insight into the beautiful life and devastating loss of Matthew Shepard.

While we’ve come a long way, LGBT inequality and hate crimes are still very real today, and parts of Matt’s story are unfortunately still very much a part of young people’s realities. Though framed through a very personal lens, Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine tells a universal story that highlights the responsibility we have now to make sure young people around the world are not at risk of falling victim to the same story ending Matt was.

Watch the trailer for Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

My Brother’s Shoes adds a queer twist to the body-swap comedy subgenre

Written and directed by Adam Reeves, My Brother’s Shoes is a zany fish-out-of-water comedy that borders on fantasy and reality.

Dallas, portrayed by country singer Peter Stringfellow, is a successful executive with a beautiful wife (Gretta Sosine) and a lovely home. He has dreams of having a family and leading a rich, conservative life. Austin (Jacob Ellis) is his younger gay brother who is always in trouble financially and romantically. He has dreams of winning first place in the local drag queen contest and then using the money to start a new life.

Each brother thinks the other “has it so good” and wishes that they could experience what the other one’s life is really like. By a strange twist of fate, they switch places. The world around them sees no difference but Dallas and Austin realize they have been switched. Now Austin must handle the office for Dallas as Dallas spends the day getting ready for the upcoming drag contest with the help of Austin’s sidekick, Jackie. The hilarity reaches new heights as evening comes and Austin goes home to Dallas’s wife Katelyn, who is ready to start making a family with him. Dallas goes to the theater to perform on stage in drag and win for Austin! How far will they go?

A queer twist on the body-swap comedy subgenre, My Brother’s Shoes is a feel-good crowd-pleaser. Watch the trailer below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Pride Month Spotlight: Spa Night

Writer-director Andrew Ahn’s remarkably assured feature-length debut is a portrait of forbidden sexual awakening set in the nocturnal world of spas and karaoke bars in Los Angeles’ Koreatown.

David Cho (Joe Seo, who won the Special Jury Award at Sundance for his breakthrough performance), a timid 18-year-old living with his financially-struggling immigrant parents, chances upon a secret spot for cruising when he takes a part-time job at an allmale spa, and begins to realize hidden inner desires that threaten his life as a dutiful son and student.

Effervescent and atmospheric, this one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story makes the steamy spa a liminal place between dream and reality, and desire and disillusionment.

“Spa Night is an intensely personal film,” said Ahn. “I knew very early in the screenwriting process that I had to draw from my own life experiences in order to find the honesty I wanted to show on screen. As the son of Korean-American immigrants, I have felt the conflict between my parents’ expectations and my own personal desires. In Spa Night, I wanted to explore what it means to be a part of a Korean-American family. As Spa Night progressed into production, the film became even more personal for me. We shot on location in Koreatown, Los Angeles — at restaurants I have eaten at, spas I have visited, and streets I have walked down. As I directed scenes, I saw my family in this fictional family I had created.”

“My main character David speaks in a mix of Korean and English to his parents, the same mix I use when I speak to my parents. With Spa Night, I want to open up American independent cinema to include stories about immigrant communities told in languages other than English. It is important that our cinema culture reflect the diversity of the American experience. By telling this story, I am attempting to validate the immigrant experience and acknowledge my parents’ sacrifice to leave their home country and start a new life in America. Spa Night is my way of fulfilling my parents’ hopes and dreams.”

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

Visit the fabulous, colorful world of Lucha Libre trailblazer Cassandro the Exotico

This stirring feature portrait of Lucha Libre star Cassandro in his waning years in the ring is less a swan song than a meteor shower rendered in Technicolor.

Famed as much for his flamboyant drag and sky-high pompadour as for his show-stopping kicks and flips, Cassandro’s trailblazing ascent as one the industry’s first openly gay wrestlers has resonated internationally for a quarter century.

Director Marie Losier captures the moving, at times humorous, and always colorful dualities of this legendary figure with her talent for forging intimacy with a subject while celebrating his individuality broadly.

Cassandro, a prize-winning fighter who reinvented a staunchly macho sport, exudes resilience of all kinds—from the physical power to leave his opponents knocked out to an ability to revisit past trauma and cope with the scars of a body pushed to its limits. Cassandro’s story—of an underdog and a queer icon, simultaneously fragile and mighty—is ever more evocative as it unfolds on both sides of the Mexican-American border.

Losier’s signature 16mm filming melds tender encounters and larger-than-life fight scenes into a stylish whole that reflects the vivid textures and hues of a dazzling life in sport.

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

Pride Month Spotlight: Coby

In a small town deep in the American Midwest, Suzanna begins a gender transition and becomes a boy: Coby.

Coby’s transformation deeply impacts the lives of everyone who love him – and each member of this tight-knit family must confront their own preconceived notions of gender and sexuality.

Combining excerpts from Coby’s video dairy with candid, heartfelt interviews from his closet friends and family – director Christian Sonderegger’s debut feature is an intimate and sensitive look at timely subject.

Ultimately, Coby’s journey morphs into the transformation of a whole family compelled by love to modify their own perspectives.

Coby weaves together interviews with Coby himself, his girlfriend, parents, and brother – along with his transition timeline YouTube videos. This documentary offers up a deeply compelling real-life portrait of what it looks, sounds, and feels like to go through the transition process.

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

Don’t miss the heart-warming and inspiring romance Morgan

Morgan (Leo Minaya) comes home after a tragic accident in a bikers race leaves him paraplegic, binding him to wheelchair use for the rest of his life. He tries to stay positive, not letting the accident end his life, but deep-rooted feelings of uselessness make him wish, at times, that he has not survived.

Rolling out for beer, he meets the handsome, charismatic Dean (Jack Kesy), and the two strike up a friendship that quickly develops into a romantic connection. Morgan wants to participate in the biking race again, more so because of his competitive nature than to prove his ability. Everyone is against it, even Dean, leading to differences that begin to show between the two for the first time.

A powerful and moving story about love and overcoming even the toughest of life’s obstacles, Morgan is a deeply touching romantic drama from writer-director Michael Akers – featuring terrific performances from the two leads.

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

Now Available: My Big Gay Jewish Conversion

Is Israel really the best place in the world to be gay? And is Judaism the one mainstream religion that accepts homosexuality? Meet Simon, a gay Catholic man from the West of Ireland on a quest to find out.

Simon has never truly felt accepted by his own church, a problem that Matthew, his Jewish boyfriend from North London, has never had to face. Simon begins to wonder if the grass may be greener, and considers converting. He starts with a trip to the local Rabbi where they chat, among other things, about getting ‘snipped’, but Simon is itching to get to Judaism’s homeland: Israel. He hops on a plane and first hits the streets of Tel Aviv, ‘the gayest city on Earth’, where he meets gay people from all walks of life, including gay soldiers in the IDF. Then he heads to Jerusalem, where the story here is very different. Extreme views towards homosexuality are rife and Simon encounters this at an uncomfortably close proximity. Then, it’s crunch time. Faced with the facts, will Simon jump ship and become Jewish?

A deeply personal, cross-cultural documentary from filmmaker (and subject) Simon Atkins, My Big Gay Jewish Conversion looks at love, relationship and religion with an intelligent and introspective eye.

Watch the trailer for My Big Gay Jewish Conversion below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Siberia & Him

Brothers-in-law Sasha, a meek farmhand, and Dima, a policeman, have always had a fraught relationship. When the two set out on a trip together through the desolate, wide-open country of Siberia in an effort to reach a troubled relative, things begin to change.

Along their journey, unspoken truths are uttered and a deep intimacy is built. The pair soon become not only travel companions, but secret lovers – spending their days hiking and hunting for food and their nights in one another’s arms. Although they may be far from the peering eyes of their oppressive society, their relationship teeters on a dangerous precipice.

Selected and supported by the IFP Filmmaker Lab and destined to evoke both the breathtaking landscapes and forbidden romance of Brokeback Mountain and the tragedy of a Dostoevsky novel, writer-director Viatcheslav Kopturevskiy’s auspicious debut drama is an elliptical and much-needed examination of internalized homophobia, repression, and identity in a remote Siberian town.

Watch the trailer for Siberia & Him below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Consequences is a hard-hitting coming-of-age drama about youth in detention

Based on Slovenian filmmaker Darko Štante’s own experiences working with youth in a correctional facility, the debut feature Consequences follows a troubled teen who must adapt to the harsh hierarchy of a youth detention center and come to terms with his sense of self and developing masculinity. Centered around a powerful performance from charismatic newcomer Matej Zemljic, the film takes an unflinching look at the raw impulses of adolescence and the insecurity that lies beneath.

Troubled Andrej (Zemljic) has reached the end of adolescence and of his parents’ patience. He is summoned before a court judge for his anger, violence, and deceit. Sentenced to attend a youth detention center, the handsome and muscular teen is thrown into the correctional facility’s intimidating and testosterone-fuelled hierarchy.

Holding strong against its violent initiations, Andrej finds his anchor of approval and companionship in Željko (Timon Sturbej), the aggressive leader of the center’s gang, which he soon joins in a carefree spiral of sex, drugs, and violence. Yet Andrej’s tough posturing belies an intimate fragility. Revealing this would unravel everything around him.

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