Category: Adolescence

Take a trip back to the ’80s with the hilarious high school drag comedy ‘First Period’

Featuring an impressive ensemble – which includes many sketch and improv ringers who got their start at The Groundlings in Los Angeles – First Period is a hilarious, candy-colored drag tribute to 1980s teen comedies… and the films of John Hughes in particular.

Cassie Glen (Brandon Alexander III), a new girl at school, arrives with the goal of finding a hunky boyfriend and finally becoming popular. Running afoul of the school’s top-tier mean girls, she decides to befriend Maggie (Dudley Beene), a social outcast and sometimes literal coat rack.

Together, these two new besties become convinced that the best way to reach their goal of becoming popular is to enter – and win – the annual talent show and steal the bitchy girls’ himbo boyfriends along the way.

Writer-director Charlie Vaughn did his ‘80s movie homework, tipping a hat to iconic flicks like Pretty in Pink and lesser-known cult favorites like Teen Witch while adding a dash of Romy and Michelle for good measure. The result is campy, funny and often surprisingly poignant as it delivers the tried and true message that being yourself is always the best course of action.

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

A man attempts a turbulent journey out of the closet in the moving drama ‘El Houb (The Love)’

Having spent decades hiding his sexuality from his family, Moroccan-Dutch businessman Karim (Fahd Larhzaoui) decides to come clean after his father catches him in bed with a man.

Caught up in a panic over the thought of coming out to his traditional Muslim parents (Slimane Dazi and Lubna Azabal), he barricades himself in their closet… literally.

As he feverishly revisits his childhood memories, negotiates a budding romance with a new Ghanaian boyfriend (Emmanuel Boafo) and wages a long-delayed battle royale to uproot his family’s conservative attitudes, a series of darkly hilarious and unflinchingly frank conversations begin – and the family is finally forced to confront the truths that have so long been avoided.

Loosely based on the theater work and actual experiences of lead actor and co-screenwriter Fahd Larhzaoui, El Houb (The Love) cascades through time. Director Shariff Nasr manages to straddle a line between uproarious comedy and heartbreaking drama while examining family dynamics, cultural taboos and hard-won self-acceptance.

Watch the trailer for El Houb (The Love) below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

‘Teenage Kicks’ navigates a sweat-soaked journey through the minefield of adolescence

In the final moments of his 17th year, Mik’s world will come crashing down.

His plans to run away and escape the hold of his migrant family have been brutally undone by the accidental death of his older brother. Only Mik knows the events that led to this tragedy – and as far as he can see there is only one person to blame: himself.

He’s suddenly torn between his desire to head north and start a new life with his best friend and secret crush Dan and the sense of obligation he has to his broken family. Can he fill the shoes of his adored sibling or is he somehow inherently toxic and destined to bring ruin upon everyone he loves?

Featuring exceptionally brave performances from lead actors Miles Szanto and Daniel Webber, Teenage Kicks is a bold and unflinching coming-of-age drama.

Directed by award-winning Australian filmmaker Craig Boreham, the film takes viewers on a sweat-soaked journey through the minefield of adolescence as Mik searches for a way through his guilt – and explosive sexual awakening – to find the man he’s meant to be.

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

Five filmmakers explore male sexuality and longing in the collection ‘Furious Desires’

The concept of desire is explored to the fullest in Furious Desires, a collection of five international short films exploring male sexuality and longing.

In Brazilian filmmaker Fabio Leal’s The Daytime Doorman, a man pushes past boundaries with someone who works in his apartment building. Also from Brazil, Ricky Mastro’s film Xavier and Miguel follows a teen who is ready to tell the world about the secret feelings he has for his best friend.

The Other Side, from Mexican director Rodrigo Alvarez Flores, chronicles the romance between two young men who will not let the border come between their love. Mexican filmmaker Denisse Quintero’s The Tiger’s Fight is centered around a homoerotic harvest ritual where village men are expected fight one another.

Finally, from Italian director Simone Bozzelli, Loris is Fine follows a naïve 20-year-old whose need for affection drives him to make some life-altering choices.

With all of the shorts combined together, this stylish and diverse collection runs a total of 91 minutes… and will surely leave you with some desires of your own.

Check out these select stills from each of the five featured short films below. Furious Desires is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The Tiger’s Fight
Xavier and Miguel
The Daytime Doorman
The Other Side
Loris is Fine

A sex-worker embarks on an unusual odyssey in the surreal erotic drama ‘Strapped’

The strikingly handsome Benjamin Bonenfant stars in the sexually-charged 2010 indie film Strapped as an unnamed hustler on an unusual odyssey.

Stunningly photographed by writer-director Joseph Graham, the film follows the young man during a routine trick that soon leads him through a series of life-changing encounters.

This amicable and sexually efficient rent boy begins to look at himself differently when he finds himself lost in a maze-like apartment building. On his journey through the building, he meets up with a variety of different clients. Sex is the commonality, but out of that commodity comes raw, unguarded emotions for all involved.

Witty, sexy, surreal and ultimately touching, Strapped offers up an unforgettable look into one young man’s moving journey toward understanding himself and the world around him.

Watch the trailer for Strapped below. Though it’s long been difficult to find, Strapped is now finally available to stream on Dekkoo! We also have an interview with director Joseph Graham where he discusses this provocative film, plus a making-of documentary available now.

Short Film Spotlight: I Get So Sad Sometimes

The debut short film from Filipino writer-director Trishtan Perez, I Get So Sad Sometimes is a sexually-charged drama about the isolation of youth.

Starring newcomers JC Santiago, Karl Louie Caminade and Russ Ligtas, the film follows a lonely high school boy who, unbeknownst to his family, is secretly spending a lot of time on the internet chatting with a mature man whose face he hasn’t seen.

Cleverly shot in a claustrophobic aspect ratio to capture the lead character’s sense of being boxed in, this provocative film offers up a keen observation of this modern generation’s ethos – expressed through an intimate and contemporary visual language focusing on the immediacy of online interaction and instant gratification.

One could also read the film as a stern warning of the dangers of the internet and social media as a surrogate to real life bonds.

Check out the poster for I Get So Sad Sometimes below. The full 20-minute short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Nico Greetham co-stars in the charming ’90s-set theater kid comedy ‘Dramarama’

It’s the end of the summer of 1994 and Gene (Nick Pugliese) is preparing for his high school drama friends’ final murder mystery slumber party!

The theatrical hostess, Rose (Anna Grace Barlow), will fly off to start college the next morning, followed by the earnest Claire (Megan Suri), charismatic Oscar (‘Love, Victor’ and ‘American Horror Story’ heartthrob Nico Greetham) and sarcastic Ally (Danielle Kay).

Before they head off to begin their separate lives, however, Gene wants to come out of the closet – but he’s terrified of what his sheltered Christian friends might think… especially Oscar.

The feature-length debut of prolific short film director and producer Jonathan Wysocki, Dramarama is like a perfect mix of The Breakfast Club and The Big Chill. Featuring winning performances from the pitch-perfect ensemble cast, the film offers up a nostalgic and deeply funny coming-of-age tale and a poignant love letter to drama nerds, late bloomers and the intense friendships that mark our youth.

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