Category: Adolescence

‘The Schoolmaster Games’ is a wildly original and deeply homoerotic high school melodrama

Based on a novel by Swedish author Kristofer Folkhammar and inspired by both American high school movies and gay porn, the unusual genre hybrid The Schoolmaster Games brings to life a vibrant alternate reality where sexuality is freely expressed, but manipulative power games are always at play just beneath the surface.

Desires are running wild at Saint Sebastian, a high school populated entirely by gay men. At this school, everyone is completely free to express their sexuality however they choose.

At the start of the year, much-desired heartthrob Charles (Christian Arnold) enters into a secret sexual power game orchestrated by the strict schoolmaster (Johan Ehn) – who is tortured by memories of his own repression during a time before the erotic acceptance that currently prevails at the school.

When the competition for the prestigious “Winter Procession” tightens, friendships crack and their whole utopian existence begins to fall apart piece by piece.

From Swedish director Ylva Forner, The Schoolmaster Games is a colorful, original and thrillingly homoerotic high school melodrama like no film ever before.

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

Visionary director João Pedro Rodrigues returns with the stylish genre-hybrid ‘Will-O’-the-Wisp’

From visionary queer auteur João Pedro Rodrigues, the acclaimed Portuguese director behind the The Ornothologist and the provocative gay classic O Fantasma, comes a bold and wildly unpredictable new musical fantasia.

Beginning in the year 2069, Will-O’-the-Wisp follows Portugal’s fictional King Alfredo, who, on his deathbed, starts to recall the social activism and erotic exploits of his youth in the early years of the 21st century.

As a fresh-faced, curly-haired young prince played by Mauro Costa, Alfredo shocked his riotously wealthy royal family by deciding to become a volunteer firefighter –in part to serve his community, but also as an excuse to be surrounded by a bevy of hot, beefy fellow firemen.

When he meets Alfonso (André Cabral), an alluring young instructor, new possibilities open and the pair become deeply immersed in their desire for one another.

This sexually-frank new film – a heady mix of historical tableau, musical comedy, queer romance and post-colonial provocation – maintains a joyous energy while examining heavy themes. Rodrigues manages to confront the inherited ills of our modern day while also indulging in delightfully bawdy humor and plenty of song-and-dance flights of fancy.

Watch the trailer for Will-O’-the-Wisp below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A personal video sparks a media firestorm in the acclaimed Singaporean drama ‘#LookatMe’

When twin brothers Sean and Ricky are invited to attend church with Sean’s girlfriend, they are treated to an Evangelical rock concert capped by a searing anti-gay sermon.

Incensed by what he’s seen, Sean, a Youtuber, decides to drop an outrageous video lampooning the megachurch’s pastor, but soon finds himself widely condemned – and even prosecuted – for flouting Singapore’s strict laws on public expression.

As Sean descends into near-madness in prison, Ricky gains prominence as an LGBTQ+ activist. Both find themselves at the heart of a culture war that spills out from social media into the real world.

Featuring an impressive lead performance by Yao (sometimes credited as Thomas Pang), an up-and-coming Singaporean actor who plays both brothers, #LookatMe blends together a wide variety of moods and genres, veering from deadly serious to colorfully camp without ever losing sight of its humanity.

Banned from screening in Singapore during a particularly ironic moment of life imitating art, director Ken Kwek’s acclaimed film tells a morally essential fable about social media celebrity, cancel culture and the erosion of basic human rights.

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

Take a trip back to 1996 with the sexy surfside drama ‘Bromance’

From writer-director Lucas Santa Ana and co-writer Diego Mina, sexy surfside drama Bromance follows four close friends who go on a camping trip together in a remote part of Argentina… and find some of their barely-concealed sexual tensions quickly bubbling to the surface.

Once in virtual seclusion by the beach, Julietta (Luana Pascual), the only girl of the group, quickly recognizes that the boys (Javier De Pietro, Agustín Pardella and Marcos Ribas) seem to have a closer relationship than what she would consider ‘normal’ (it’s only ’96, after all). The line between friendship and love fade further for two of the boys in particular as their desire becomes too much to bear.

When what started as a simple getaway quickly becomes tinged with sex, romance and conflict, everyone is forced to confront who they really are for the very first time.

Starring some very hot lead actors – including De Pietro, the scrumptious star of Marco Berger’s films Absent, Young Hunter and Sexual Tension: Volatile – Bromance uses a distinct time period and a clever found-footage aesthetic to deliver a thoughtful and supremely sexy meditation on young, burgeoning gay love.

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

Logan Miller stars in the gripping gay indie family drama ‘Take Me to the River’

Writer-director Matt Sobel’s assured directorial debut Take Me to the River tells the story of an artsy, confident and proudly gay California teen who is reluctantly heading to Nebraska with his parents for a for a family reunion.

Logan Miller, the charismatic, scene-stealing young character actor from Love, Simon, Escape Room and countless indie gems, stars as Ryder, the gay teen in question. Though his parents are supportive, there is some question over how the rest of their extended family will react to his lifestyle.

After planning to come out to his conservative relatives, he agrees to hold off at his mother’s request. Nevertheless, he makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and eye-catching shades.

No one seems particularly impressed – except for a 9-year old cousin named Molly (played by Ursulla Parker), who follows him around adoringly. When they go to the barn to look for birds in the rafters and she comes back screaming and inconsolable, Ryder comes under suspicion from the rest of the family. In the process of clearing his name, he learns that some family secrets are better left in the dark.

Co-starring Robin Weigert, Richard Schiff and Josh Hamilton, Take Me to the River is a gripping, thoughtfully layered and superbly well-acted drama about clashing cultures, buried secrets and the ties that bind us.

Watch the trailer for Take Me to the River below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A shy teen is caught between his family and the boy of his dreams in ‘I Love You More’

How much would you be willing to sacrifice to finally meet up with the man of your dreams? That’s the question at the heart of the new teen drama I Love You More.

For the better part of a year, Ben (Don Shala), a shy Kosovar teen, has been involved in a romantic online entanglement with a boy named Leo. Though they haven’t met in person, they are making plans to do just that. Leo, who lives in Germany, is expecting to come for a visit in just one month.

Falling into the bittersweet throes of first love, Ben spends most of his waking hours engaged in online pillow talk while daydreaming about the day when the pair will finally be together.

An unexpected wrench is thrown into the works when his mom announces that the family will soon be moving to America and starting a new life for themselves. Though this might seem like good news, Ben is not nearly ready to move. If they leave Kosovo, he might never have the opportunity to meet Leo in person again.

Longing for love and connection, Ben puts his family’s dreams on the line and struggles to finally come forward with his truth.

The debut feature from non-binary filmmaker Erblin Nushi, who based the story on their own experiences and feelings of isolation as a queer kid in Kosovo, I Love You More is a tender, resonant and gorgeously crafted coming-of-age drama.

Watch the trailer for I Love You More below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Mikey’s Army

When you are facing a crisis, who goes to battle for you?

In a time when queer kids face unprecedented attacks and hostility from lawmakers, educators and even their own families, writer Eric Ulloa and director Andrew Keenan-Bolger set out to make a short film that puts the beauty – and even magic – of queerness at center stage.

Mikey’s Army stars Markie Aquirre as Mikey Alvarez, a 16-year-old who finds himself at a pivotal moment. He must decide whether or not to be open and honest about his sexuality.

Not quite ready to come out on his own, Mikey unwittingly conjures a trio of guides who appear in an explosion of glitter and glitz. Backed up by a drag queen, an international pop star and an action film heartthrob, he finally finds the courage and confidence he needs to be honest about his feelings.

Featuring a cast of Broadway-regulars like Claybourne Elder and Krystina Alabado – alongside ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ alum Shuga Cain – Mikey’s Army is a thoughtful and touching film that aims to remind us that our differences can be superpowers – and that we’re never alone on the battlefield.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Mikey’s Army below. The 10-minute film is now available on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss ‘Lie with Me,’ a gorgeous adaptation of French author Phillipe Besson’s celebrated novel

Adapted from a beloved novel by French author Phillipe Besson, Lie with Me tells an erotic, tender and heartbreaking tale of a lost romance that lingers.

Guillaume de Tonquédec stars as Stéphane, a celebrated author who, as a shy, bespectacled teenager (played in flashbacks by Jérémy Gillet), had fallen for Thomas (Julien De Saint Jean), a rough-and-tumble boy from their small picturesque town.

Now, after thirty years away, he returns home for a book tour and meets Lucas (Victor Belmondo), Thomas’s grown son… who is searching for answers about his deceased father.

As Stéphane is flooded with memories of his first love, the mysteries of their relationship are revealed. The film contrasts the wintry present with the sun-splashed summer when the two young men first fell in love.

With a bucolic rural European setting and parallel narratives, acclaimed director Olivier Peyon weaves a timeless tale of love found and lost that will sweep audiences away on Stéphane’s wave of nostalgia – and questions of what might have been.

Even tragic love stories have magical moments… and Lie with Me is full of them.

Watch the trailer for Lie with Me below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.