Category: Adolescence

A troubled teen finds love in the emotional Canadian indie ‘Beneath the Skin’

Writer and co-director Aaron Ellis also stars in the sensitive gay indie Beneath the Skin as Joshua, a young man who is forced to move to Canada to live with his estranged father after his living situation falls apart.

Once there, Joshua meets Jay (Justin Liles), a local tattoo artist who fled the violent actions of his parents back home in Alabama.

Both young men, abandoned and lonely in their own way, find themselves falling for one another… until a pair of high school brats intrude on the boys’ growing relationship.

Originally released in 2015, this quiet, sensual romance is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Though it’s not a very well-known film, it won numerous awards at film festivals when it originally screened. It’s worth checking out if only for the two leads, who share a magical chemistry in the film – and will leave you both swooning and reaching for the tissues.

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

Two Hawaiian schoolboys fall in love in the heartwarming new romance ‘My Partner’

Two high school boys from seemingly different worlds fall in love in My Partner, a charming and colorful new gay romance from Hawaii.

Directed by Kanaka Maoli filmmaker Keli’i Grace and based on an original story by Lance D. Collins, the film explores the relationship between Edmar (played by Jayron Munoz), a high-achieving Filipino student, and Pili (played by Kaipo Dudoit), a Native Hawaiian student-athlete.

As they navigate budding young love and self-growth in Hawaii, their journey reflects the complexities of the area’s evolving cultural landscape.

Sexy, heartwarming and deeply romantic, My Partner breaks some new ground, offering up a unique take on love and identity and marking the first time that the wildly popular ‘Boys Love’ subgenre has been portrayed through a modern Hawaiian story.

Check out the poster for My Partner below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

An Australian teen discovers his sexuality in the tender coming-of-age drama ‘Sunflower’

Set in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Sunflower follows Leo (Liam Mollica), a seventeen-year-old who leads a seemingly typical life.

While he’s hanging out with his friends, bickering with his Italian family at the dinner table, going to school or making out with his new girlfriend Monique (Olivia Fildes), he’s also guarding a secret he’s been too afraid to confront – a hidden truth buried deep within.

As Leo grapples with his inner turmoil, he finds himself unexpectedly drawn to his best friend Boof (Luke J. Morgan) and a quiet, introverted boy at school named Tom (Daniel Halmarick). These newfound feelings force Leo to confront his true desires and bring him closer to accepting his identity.

Everything changes after a high school gathering when rumors about Leo’s sexuality begin to circulate – shattering his once stable world. Faced with the fear of rejection from those closest to him, Leo must navigate the uncertain waters of acceptance and love.

A masterfully-crafted feature-length debut from Australian writer-director Gabriel Carrubba, Sunflower is a vibrant, sexy and deeply affecting portrait of one young man who finds hope – and himself – in the face of adversity.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Far From Water

Prolific Brooklyn-based director Josh Cox adds to his growing collection of well-crafted queer indie shorts with the evocative 5-minute film Far From Water.

Jarid Dominguez and Lucas Nealon star in the film as two unnamed male friends who are enjoying a trip to the beach together.

From the very beginning, as soon as the pair start playfully stripping off their clothes to go swimming, the sexual tension is palpable.

When they end up sharing a furtive, short-lived make-out session in the dunes, it shakes their relationship to the core and forces them to examine what the future may have in store for them.

With minimal dialog and only a sliver of a running time, Cox is able to pack a whole lot of emotion into this observational coming-of-age tale. The characters may not say a whole lot, but the way they behave with one another – both before and after their romantic encounter – manages to speak volumes.

Watch a brief teaser for Far From Water below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Mormon lovers R.J. and Chris reunite in the bittersweet second entry of ‘The Falls Trilogy’

The second entry in the romantic trilogy from writer-director Jon Garcia, The Falls: Testament of Love reunites lead actors Benjamin Farmer and Nick Ferrucci as former Mormon missionaries and doomed lovers R.J. and Chris.

Picking up five years after the events of The Falls, we learn that the young men’s lives have taken radically different paths. Just as they are beginning to put the past behind them and establish their adult lives, the death of a mutual friend brings them unexpectedly back together.

As old feelings of affection and regret are rekindled, R.J. and Chris must once again confront their seemingly impossible love. Will their reunion prove that the two are fated to be together… or will reality come crashing down on them once again?

Farmer and Ferrucci deliver remarkably natural performances once again in this bittersweet romantic drama that has a lot to say about religion, familial obligations, sexual repression and first love.

Watch the trailer for The Falls: Testament of Love below. The film, along with the original in the trilogy, are now streaming on Dekkoo. The third entry, The Falls: Covenant of Grace, will be available later this month.

Short Film Spotlight: Sacrament

Set in the 1950s, Sacrament stars Abel Benitez and Rin Iverson as Belford and Winston, two young men on a camping trip outside their rural, religious hometown.

As the story begins to unfold it becomes abundantly clear that two men are attracted to one another, something which is forbidden by their conservative community.

What soon follows is a dark night of the soul for Belford, as he enters into a terrifying, anxiety-induced nightmare and tries to reconcile his religious faith with what his heart truly desires.

Gorgeously shot in black and white, this provocative 9-minute short from writer-director Jack Hessler uses horror imagery and religious allegory to convey complicated feelings about sacrifice, religious intolerance and repressed desires.

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