Category: Adolescence

Acclaimed Danish director Christian Tafdrup’s breakthrough film ‘Awakening’ is now available on Dekkoo

Danish actor and director Christian Tafdrup made a big splash on the international film scene last year with the shockingly violent thriller Speak No Evil.

Back in 2008, he took a similar aim at taboo subject matter with the 39-minute drama Awakening, which has recently been restored by the cult distribution label Altered Innocence.

Awakening stars “True Blood” alum Allan Hyde as Carsten, a sixteen-year-old boy who is taking a trip to meet his girlfriend’s parents at their summer house.

Throughout the weekend, Carsten becomes increasingly bonded with his girlfriend’s father, played by Lars Brygmann. It seems these two men share the same secret – and their time together, which involves a furtive kiss, puts their carefully-constructed relationships in major jeopardy.

Though it may sound racy, Tafdrup handles the developing friendship between two closeted men of differing ages with a great deal of sensitivity and heartfelt honesty.

Watch a clip from Awakening below. The full short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Cruisers

This charming and ultimately bittersweet six-minute film, packs a lot of guarded emotion into its short running time.

Cruisers stars Christopher Matias Aguila and writer-director Leland Montgomery as Paul and John, two young men, strangers to one another, who are attempting to share a casual hook-up.

Whenever they’re about to embrace, however, something manages to stop them. As they wander around together through the East Bay hills, they share details about their lives both big and small, trying to establish some sort of intimacy to break the tension.

We learn that John has recently returned home for his mother’s funeral and finds himself as a bit of a crossroads. Paul, who has a boyfriend, might not be ready to take on such tricky emotions.

Well-acted and beautifully shot, Cruisers explored what happens when casual anonymous sex goes awkwardly wrong.

Watch a short teaser for Cruisers below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Adjustment

From director Mehrdad Hasani and screenwriter Farzad Ahmadi, this challenging new 16-minute drama tells a story about one child’s bravery in the face of major adversity.

Adjustment follows Shahrokh, a 9-year-old boy who isn’t afraid to play around with his gender expression, despite constant bullying from other kids and aggressive pressure from within his own deeply religious family.

Though he’s been humiliated, pushed aside and victimized, Shahrokh stands firm in his identity. He decides to come out to the people of his village. Having been through a variety or ordeals, Shahrokh shows up or school dressed in girl’s clothes.

While he has an uphill battle ahead, he finds an unlikely ally in his male teacher, learning that being yourself is always the right move – despite anyone else’s reaction.

Watch the trailer for Adjustment 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.

Queer Classics: Edge of Seventeen

A high-water mark of queer cinema in the ‘90s, the coming-out classic Edge of Seventeen was recently remastered for a new director-approved HD restoration – now available on Dekkoo.

Written by Todd Stephens, the director behind Gypsy ’83, Another Gay Movie and the acclaimed recent release Swan Song, and based on his own coming-of-age story, Edge of Seventeen is set in Sandusky, Ohio during the summer of 1984.

Chris Stafford stars as Eric, a closeted young man who has just finished his junior year of high school and takes a job serving food at the local amusement park. When he meets Rod, an attractive, slightly older co-worker played by Andersen Gabrych, he finds himself exhilarated, but somewhat terrified by his sudden attraction.

Their heated flirtation slowly brings Eric out of his shell, but his sexual awakening is complicated by his family life, his undefined relationship with his best friend Maggie (played by Tina Holmes) and, ultimately, the time period itself – it’s the Reagan era, after all.

Featuring Lea DeLaria in a scene-stealing supporting role and a pitch-perfect soundtrack that includes Bronski Beat, Flock of Seagulls, Thompson Twins and the Eurythmics, Edge of Seventeen is an unflinchingly honest and deeply touching gay romance than still resonates today.

Watch the original trailer for Edge of Seventeen below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.