Category: Adolescence

Short Film Spotlight: Genetica

A moving 15-minute short from Israeli filmmaker Chen Shahuda, Genetica follows Hemi, a 15-year-old boy who is taking swimming lessons… despite having zero interest in learning how to swim.

In spite of this, he is encouraged to continue with the lessons by his macho conservative father. Returning home one day, he stumbles upon a small dance studio and his finds that his interest is suddenly piqued.

After meeting Dani, a flirtatious a Russian dancer, between classes, the direction in which his heart is pulling him becomes all to clear.

When Hemi’s father discovers, however, that his son has been stealing money for dance classes, his newfound passion is quickly called into question.

Genetica is a bittersweet drama about following your heart, no matter what obstacles may present themselves.

Watch the trailer for Genetica below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Lilies Not for Me’ is a stylish queer period piece from the producers of ‘Call Me by Your Name’

Fionn O’Shea stars in Lilies Not for Me as Owen James, a young gay novelist in 1920s England, as he recalls the love affair he shared with a handsome doctor, who was convinced that their mutual ‘condition’ could be cured.

Writer-director Will Seefried’s lushly romantic debut feature shines an unflinching light on a dark and mostly unknown period of gay history.

Evoking a handsome Merchant Ivory-esque production with a dash of gothic flair and featuring exceptional supporting performances from Erin Kellyman, Robert Aramayo and Louis Hoffmann, Lilies Not for Me is an intricately constructed, lyrical and heartbreaking film about two young men wrestling with their sexuality.

The film, produced by the team behind Call Me by Your Name, offers a stark and effective reminder that, despite the many attempts throughout history to change queer people at their very core, passion and love have always persevered.

Watch the trailer for Lilies Not for Me below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The gay boxing drama ‘Punch’ tells a hard-hitting story about love, loyalty and liberation

Up-and-coming New Zealand actor Jordan Oosterhof stars in the gay sports drama Punch as Jim, a seventeen-year-old boxer from a small town. Something of a golden boy, Jim is preparing for a fight that will elevate him to an early professional status.

All bets are on his climb to success. But his father, Stan, a demanding coach and a notorious alcoholic played by Tim Roth, is treated like a joke. He has given everything to see his son gain professional status and escape the brutality of his small world.

As Jim begins to rethink why he is fighting in the first place, his life tangles with Whetu, a razor-tongued, gay Maori boy played by Conan Hayes, who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach.

Along with his dog, Whetu cobbles together a fragile glamour and dreams of leaving town to become a musician. As Jim stumbles towards discovering what it really means to be a gay man, he is forced to see that strength has little to do with heroism.

Gorgeously crafted, powerfully acted and deeply romantic, Punch tells a hard-hitting story about love, loyalty and liberation.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Shiba San and Meow Chan

Shiba San and Meow Chan, a 30-minute Taiwanese short film from director Chung-Chieh Chiang, revolves around two brothers, both stars of a hit children’s show – in which they perform as a dog and a cat, respectively.

Their show, having swept through the nation capturing the eyes and hearts of kids, has brought them great fame and media attention. Though radiant on stage, both actors have something else on their minds.

Shiba San has been secretly in love with a married man while Meow Chan misses his remarried mother and finds himself desperately searching for reasons why she left him.

Their journey will lead the two stray siblings to confront their emptiness that comes with very public success.

Mixing cuteness and melancholy, Shiba San and Meow Chan is a touching story of two brothers coming of age under intense scrutiny.

Watch the trailer for Shiba San and Meow Chan below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Under the Crescent Moon

From the outset of Under the Crescent Moon, it’s clear that there is something going on between high school besties Abdul and Jerryl.

Constantly flirting and finding excuses to playfully touch one another, the two young men are inching ever closer to finally admitting their true feelings.

The problem lies in the societal and religious expectations that surround them. Abdul, who comes from a conservative Muslim family, feels deeply that his love for Jerryl is a direct affront to Allah – and his strict father, who has taken ominous notice of the boys’ affection, would likely agree.

An emotional 15-minute short film from the Philippines, Under the Crescent Moon tells a tender and ultimately heartbreaking coming-of-age story about young love.

Watch a quick trailer for Under the Crescent Moon below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Khalil Ben Gharbia and Julien De Saint Jean star in the emotional queer prison drama ‘The Lost Boys’

In a youth correctional facility in France, Joe (Peter von Kant star Khalil Ben Gharbia) is preparing for his return to society, uncertain as to what life will look like on the other side of the barbed-wire fence.

When William (Lie with Me star Julien De Saint Jean), an alluring new arrival, moves into the cell next door, Joe’s desire for freedom quickly gives way to a desire of another kind.

The debut feature from director Zeno Graton, The Lost Boys charts the twists and turns of passion between these two young men who thought their lives had been put on hold.

Critically acclaimed and gorgeously crafted, the film offers a vision of love both tender and uncompromising, guaranteed to break and mend hearts in equal measure.

Watch the trailer for The Lost Boys below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Two young lovers make their long-distance relationship work in the sweet and sexy series ‘Gameboys’

A wildly popular Boys Love series from the Philippines, Gameboys tells the engrossing story of gamers turned lovers Cairo and Gavreel (Kokoy De Santos and Elijah Canlas).

The two young lovers have a few blissful weeks to spend together at Gavreel’s house before Cairo is set to return to his own province.

What begins as a romantic holiday for the young couple soon turns into an unexpected test of their relationship. Cairo is faced with the reality of his imminent departure while Gavreel is compelled to make a life-changing decision.

After defying distance – and even the pandemic – will the two boys be able to prove that their love to one another is strong enough to withstand fate and circumstance?

Watch the trailer for Gameboys below and catch up on all the swoon-worthy action now on Dekkoo. The first eight episodes are currently available.