Category: Adolescence

Short Film Spotlight: Jesse

Jesse (Mercedes Torres) is s mixed-race transgender teen, arrives from Switzerland for a cross-country road trip with her estranged father Marcus (Stephen Hill).

As Marcus struggles to understand his daughter, and Jesse finds her deep desire to be understood, accepted and loved by him growing. This leads the two to strike up an unusual and weighty agreement, one with serious repercussions for their relationship and their trip.

Written and directed by Swiss filmmaker Vinz Feller, Jesse won the Bronze Award for Best LGBTQ Short at the Independent Shorts Awards. The film was also chosen as an Official Selection at both the LA Queer Film Fest and OutFest Los Angeles.

Watch the trailer for Jesse below. The full 15-minute short film is available now on Dekkoo.

Coming Soon To Dekkoo: Self Reflection in the Passenger’s Seat; “As I Sat in His Car”

Growing up queer in suburbia is the focus of the brutally honest short film “As I Sat in His Car”. Director Kalil Hadad reflects upon his own life and experiences to craft an intimate autobiographical piece of art.

As the protagonist of the film sits in another man’s car in the midst of a late night hook up, he begins to reflect upon his life and the significant moments that led him here.

He thinks back on his relationships with his parents, noticing other men for the first time, and the prejudices that have forever been a part of his life.

Hadad pulls from several different mediums to fully articulate his story including video, still photo collage, and even utilizing some “making of” footage. Hadad effortlessly illustrates the isolation and unknowing of coming to terms with your sexualtiy in a small town. The film shows how the lines between love and lust can blur especially amongst queer people and what such desires can do to relationships.

You can find “As I Sat in His Car”, (streaming August 25), along with another of Kalil Hadad’s short films “Farm Boy”, streaming on Dekkoo.

Former school friends reignite their attraction in the Hong Kong drama I Miss You When I See You

Jamie (Bryant Ji-Lok Mak) is on his way to visit his uncle in Melbourne. First, he stops by Sydney to see an old school friend.

Kevin (Jun Li) lives in a group home due to crippling depression. It’s been over a decade since they last saw each other back in Hong Kong, but the two reconnect as if no time has passed. Though they part quickly, Jamie gives Kevin an invitation to visit him in Hong Kong.

Soon back in his homeland, Kevin’s presence causes a rift between Jamie and his suspicious girlfriend Elaine (Candy Cheung). Through it all, the true reason for Jamie and Kevin’s estrangement hangs over them, a reason further elucidated in a series of flashbacks to their confusing, treacherous school years.

As the two troubled friends circle each other, and Kevin catches the eye of one of the teen male students at his tutoring job, they must make a choice between following their heart or conforming to the norms of heterosexual society.

Using a stark digital cinematographic style, writer-director Simon Chung’s I Miss You When I See You navigates a tense landscape of modern masculinity.

Watch the trailer for I Miss You When I See You below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Kuntergrau: Season 3 is Now Available

In the German series Kuntergrau, coming out is part of the past while sex and love is mundane. A group of five gay friends between seventeen and twenty-four years old deal with everyday problems and experience the meaning of love, sex, and friendship.

The show focuses on Leopold (Marcel Meyer) who does not want to identify himself through his sexuality and Noah (Daniel Printz), whose BDSM fetish challenges his ex-boyfriend, Jan (Fabian Freistühler), to the point where their relationship begins to break. Along with them are the promiscuous Marcel (Moustafa Tarraf), who works as a banker and is learning to live day-by-day as HIV positive. Last but not least, Lukas (Daniel Kosic) moves from the country to the big city to get away from his controlling parents… somewhat unsuccessfully.

The lives of these five men soon become intertwined and what results is a story that encapsulates what it means to be a young gay man in a big city.

Season 3 of Kuntergrau is now available on Dekkoo! Catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 as well!

https://www.dekkoo.com/kuntergrau

Now Available: The Goddess of Fortune

Arturo (Stefano Accorsi) and Alessandro (Edoardo Leo) have been a couple for over fifteen years. Even though their passion and love have formed a close and important affection, their relationship has been in crisis for a long time.

The sudden arrival of two children, left in their care for a few days by Annamaria (Jasmine Trinca), Alessandro’s best friend, could give an unexpected turn to their tired routine.

The solution will be a crazy departure for them both. But on the other hand, love is a state of pleasant madness.

Written and directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Steam: The Turkish Bath and His Secret Life, The Goddess of Fortune is a touching drama about finding family in an unlikely way.

Watch the trailer for The Goddess of Fortune below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: It’s Just in My Head

Andreas and Alessandro (Claudio Segaluscio and Carmine Fabbricatore) are two friends who have known each other since childhood.

Now that they have grown up, they study at universities in different cities, but they always spend the summer together in the place where they were born: a seaside resort that regularly fills up with tourists every year.

The two men have opposing characteristics. Andreas is taciturn and diffident, while Alessandro is expansive and optimistic. Andreas is lonely and without many sexual experiences. Alessandro has a life full of friends – and is already engaged to a girl.

With Summer now coming to an end, both Andreas and Alessandro will soon return to the city to resume their college lives. But before leaving, Andreas decides to give Alessandro a gift. He leaves an envelope full of printed selfies in his friend’s mailbox, some of which are dedicated on the back, hoping that Alessandro will finally be able to notice the love that Andreas always has tried to hide.

A touching 17-minute short film from Italian writer-director Marius Gabriel Stancu, It’s Just in My Head is now available on Dekkoo. Watch the trailer below.

Short Film Spotlight: Brothers

Winner of ten different jury and audience awards at various film festivals, the new short film Brothers follows a Muslim Arab boy who realizes he is different. Fortunately, he has an older brother who stands by him and encourages him to always be himself, even in the face of bias and adversity.

Written and directed by Mike Mosallam, the acclaimed filmmaker behind the series All-American Muslim and the recent gay romantic comedy hit Breaking Fast, this short film aims to shed light on LGBTQ+ oppression in a familial, religious space that has yet to be portrayed on screen.

Watch the official teaser trailer for Brothers below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 6/18/21

When Annamaria, a longtime friend of Alessandro and Arturo, ask the couple to take care of her children, the relationship between the two men reaches a point of no return. ‘The Goddess of Fortune’ is available to stream on Dekkoo!

‘Brothers’ follows a Muslim Arab boy who realizes he is different, and is fortunate to have an older brother who stands by him and encourages him to be himself, in the face of bias and adversity. ‘Brothers’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!

In the wake of the Birmingham protests against LGBTQ+ relationship education in primary schools, a team of queer community reporters of colour challenge homophobia and call out racism in LGBTQ+ spaces. Watch ‘Pride & Protest’ now on Dekkoo!

Desperate for connection and longing for a fresh way to find it, Bruce decides to explore his trusted dating app with a unique search for a new mate. Watch ‘Huckleberry’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: The Dekkoo-original series ‘Here Comes Your Man’.

A Filipino teen gets dangerously close to two half-American brothers in 2 Cool 2 Be 4Gotten

Felix Salonga (Khalil Ramos) is a friendless teenager from a poor background. His life is pretty much devoted to becoming the top of his class, thereby elevating his status.

Meanwhile, the handsome yet mysterious Magnus and Maxim Snyder (Ethan Salvador and Jameson Blake), half-American brothers, want nothing more than to escape from their life the Philippines and live in the USA.

As Felix develops a relationship with the brothers, he unearths desires within him that lead to unexpected and dangerous consequences.

Fresh, daring and playful 2 Cool 2 Be 4Gotten marks the promising directorial debut of Filipino director Petersen Vargas, an exciting new voice in Pinoy cinema.

Watch the trailer for 2 Cool 2 Be 4Gotten below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Twin brothers Alexandre and Victor Carrilare star in the French road movie Give Me Your Hand

18-year-old brothers Antoine and Quentin (played by real-life twins Alexandre and Victor Carrilare) live with their father and work as bakers in a bucolic French village.

When their estranged mother dies in Spain, they set off to attend the funeral, without telling their father. The journey turns out to be more difficult than either had anticipated and a rift threatens to split the brothers apart.

Soon, Antoine and Quentin must struggle to accept each other as individuals, and to find their places in an uncertain world.

Inspired by road movies of the ’70s, Give Me Your Hand earned rave reviews when it was released internationally in 2008. TimeOut New York said it was “richly atmospheric.” Shadows on the Wall called it “a fascinating exploration of identity.” And LondonView called it “a beautifully made, thought-provoking and ultimately moving film.”

Watch the trailer for Give Me Your Hand below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.