Category: Award Winner

The landmark documentary ‘Before Stonewall’ is now available on Dekkoo

In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city’s LGBTQ+ community. With this outpouring of courage and unity, the gay liberation movement had begun.

Made in 1984 and released to great acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in 1985, during the harrowing early years of the AIDS crisis, the landmark documentary Before Stonewall pried open the closet door – shining a spotlight on the experiences of queer Americans throughout the 20th century and setting free dramatic untold stories of survival, love, persecution and resistance.

Revealing and often humorous, this celebrated film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today’s gay rights movement, from the events that led to the fevered 1969 riots to many other milestones in the brave fight for acceptance.

Experience the fascinating and unforgettable, decade-by-decade history of gay life in America through eye-opening historical footage and amazing interviews with those who lived – and fought – through an often brutal closeted history.

Watch the trailer for Before Stonewall. The documentary is now available on Dekkoo.

‘Queendom’ follows a talented queer artist who literally risks her life on the streets of Moscow

Both inspiring and nail-biting, the new documentary Queendom shines a much-deserved spotlight on Gena Marvin, a young queer artist from a small town in Russia who dazzles in the otherworldly costumes she crafts from tape and found materials.

As Putin’s government increasingly encroaches on the rights of LGBTQ+ communities, Gena takes to the streets of Moscow, staging provocative performances that challenge the status quo.

All she wants to do change people’s perception of beauty and queerness and bring attention to the harassment of the LGBTQ+ community. But her artistic activism comes at a price as political tensions in Russia escalate, jeopardizing her own personal freedom.

An Oscar-shortlisted doc from director Agniia Galdanova, Queendom is not so much a portrait as it is a direct cinematic extension of Gena’s inner universe, delving into her extravagant subconscious creations and her search for free expression while illustrating how unleashing one’s inner world can create ripples of positive change.

Watch the trailer for Queendom below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A young gay couple faces paternity issues in the touching Thai family drama ‘Fathers’

Fathers follows Phoon and Yuke (Utt Uttsada Panichkul and Nat Sakdatorn), a young, happily partnered gay couple from Thailand who live in a sleek modern apartment that has all the trappings that come with success.

The pair even have an adorable seven-year old son named Butr (Arituch Pipattangkul), whom Phoon adopted at birth from an orphanage after he was abandoned by his mother. The trio are now waiting for the Thai Government to pass a law to allow same-sex marriage so that they can put their whole family on a more legal and secure footing.

Things get more complicated, however, when Butr starts school and is bullied for having two dads. When a social worker from the Children’s Rights Protection Organization gets involved, she begins questioning the idea of Butr growing up in a family without a feminine presence, and even tracks down his biological mother… who suddenly wishes to be a part of his life.

A sobering and deeply sincere drama from Thai director Palatpol Mingpornpichit, Fathers tells an emotional story about gay parenting in Southeast Asia, covering a complicated situation from every possible angle.

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

Gregg Araki’s New Queer Cinema classic ‘The Living End’ is now available on Dekkoo!

One of the most electrifying films of the New Queer Cinema movement, The Living End left viewers stunned when it premiered at the now-infamous 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Brazenly transgressive, it may be even more shocking by today’s standards. Credited as ‘An Irresponsible Movie by Gregg Araki,’ the film’s take-no-prisoners story follows two HIV-positive men with nothing to lose.

Luke (Mike Dytri), a mischievous and reckless drifter, and Jon (Craig Gilmore), an initially uptight film critic, meet, unconventionally, after Luke has a run-in with a trio of gay-bashers.

A passionate affair – and a whole lot of trouble – soon ensue as the pair embark on a nihilistic road trip – fueled by whiskey, a gun and Luke’s motto of ‘fuck everything.’

Though it was referred to, at the time, as ‘the gay Thelma & Louise,’ The Living End has far more in common with the groundbreaking work of Andy Warhol, John Waters, Derek Jarman and Jean-Luc Godard, iconoclast filmmakers who are all paid some level homage throughout the film.

On a budget of just $20,000, Gregg Araki crafted this ultra-violent Gen-X classic as a primal scream in the face of the mounting AIDS crisis and its accompanying cultural stigma.

More than thirty years later, The Living End has lost none of it’s power or political charge. Now audiences new and old can experience it once again, in all it’s digitally-remastered glory, on Dekkoo. Check out the original trailer below.

Short Film Spotlight: A Boy’s Dream

A Boy’s Dream is a beautiful, thoughtful, and stylish 30-minute relationship drama from up-and-coming Danish filmmaker Ludvig Christian Poulsen.

Elias has always dreamed of having children and starting a family. In contrast, his boyfriend Christian values their current free-spirited lifestyle – arguing that adopting children will cut into their time and resources to travel, make it difficult to purchase expensive designer furniture, and potentially interfere with their desire for one another.

Elias has managed to suppress his feelings for a long time. Once he takes a new job as a psychologist at a boarding school, however, the dam finally breaks. He realizes that he must come to terms with the fact that he and Christian may never be able to compromise on their separate visions of the future.

Watch the trailer for A Boy’s Dream below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Based on Makoto Takayama’s novel, ‘Egoist’ is a sexy and heartfelt drama about love and family

Kosuke (Ryôhei Suzuki), a fashion magazine editor in his mid-thirties, revels in the blessings of his comfortable lifestyle. When he hires Ryuta (Hio Miyazawa), a personal trainer, in order to get into shape, he ends up getting far more than he bargained for.

The two young men begin falling in love, but when Kosuke discovers that Ryuta has been secretly working as an escort to provide for himself and his mother, the two men strike a financial agreement.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kosuke and Ryuta’s mother grow closer and must confront a new future together.

Sensual, beautifully rendered, and featuring rich and nuanced performances from the three lead actors, Egoist is a haunting romantic drama infused with warmth and energy.

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

‘The Sons of Tennessee Williams’ charts the evolution of the Mardi Gras drag scene

Paying homage to monumental queer documentaries like The Queen and Paris is Burning, director Tim Wolff’s film The Sons of Tennessee Williams interweaves archival footage with contemporary interviews to chart the evolution of drag and politics in the gay Mardi Gras scene.

Having come of age in New Orleans in the 1940s and ’50s, gay krewe members reminisce fondly of being inspired by the opulence of the Mardi Gras festivities, a hotbed for decadence and dress-up.

Seven years before the first rock was thrown at Stonewall, the gay krewes began throwing lavish balls as a sendup of their straight society counterparts and have since become a powerful force in city politics.

Members, many of them now in their seventies and eighties, discuss the importance of creating safe spaces at a time of police crackdowns in gay clubs, gaining a seat at the political table, the toll of AIDS and Hurricane Katrina on the community, and the importance of passing on the torch to a younger generation.

With oversized wigs and lavish costumes, these unlikely political activists strut their stuff with style, grace, and an eye toward the future.

Watch the trailer for The Sons of Tennessee Williams below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Visionary filmmaker João Pedro Rodrigues takes a wild, metaphysical trip with ‘The Ornithologist’

Fernando (Paul Hamy), a strapping young ornithologist, is on an epic journey, searching for endangered black storks along a remote river in Northern Portugal.

Suddenly, he finds himself swept away by the rapids. Rescued by a mysterious pair of Chinese pilgrims, he is soon plunged into a dark, eerie forest while trying desperately to get himself back on track.

As he encounters unexpected and uncanny obstacles – along with a variety of people who put him to the test – Fernando is driven to extreme, transformative actions. Gradually he becomes a different man: inspired, multifaceted and finally enlightened.

From acclaimed Portuguese filmmaker Jọo Pedro Rodrigues, the director behind the sexually explicit queer classic O Fantasma, The Ornithologist is a mind-bending arthouse delight Рa metaphysical gay adventure film packed with delicious homoeroticism and absurdist humor.

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

A religious man faces intense urges in the acclaimed Polish drama ‘In the Name of’

Released to great acclaim in 2013, In the Name of is a powerful, sensitive and complex religious drama about a lonely, but devout Polish priest who is struggling with his sexuality.

The story follows Father Adam (Andrzej Chyra), an attractive man who joined the priesthood at a young age – mainly in an effort to outrun his desires. Having been transferred from Warsaw to the countryside, he is tasked with running a home for troubled boys.

Initially, Father Adam commands great respect as he supervises the boys in work, study and sport. His sexual urges are ignited, however, when the young wife of one of his assistants makes an unsuccessful pass. Though he’s not interested in women, there is one youth in particular that has caught his eye: the strangely quiet, long-haired Lukasz (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz).

His faith and commitment to celibacy prevents him from acting on his urges until a playful game in a wheat field with ignites his passion and compels him to act on his physical desires. When rumors begin to spread about his sexuality, his future at the school and his relationship with Lukasz are threatened.

Winner of the coveted Teddy Award at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, In the Name of is an impassioned, eloquent and, at times, humorous queer melodrama from director Malgorzata Szumowska about a man of faith consumed with forbidden love and longing.

Watch the trailer for In the Name of below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A star-studded new documentary explores the life of legendary fashion icon Antonio Lopez

The riveting documentary Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco doubles as a time capsule of Paris and New York City between 1969 and 1973 – as viewed through the eyes of Antonio Lopez, the dominant fashion illustrator of the time.

A native of Puerto Rico who was raised in The Bronx, Antonio was a seductive arbiter of style and glamour. Beginning in the 1960s, he brought elements of the urban street to a postwar fashion world desperate for change and diversity.

Counted among Antonio’s discoveries – and muses of the period – were iconic beauties such as Grace Jones, Jessica Lange and Jerry Hall, as well as Warhol Superstars Donna Jordan, Jane Forth and Patti D’Arbanville.

Antonio’s inner circle was also comprised of his romantic and creative partner, Juan Ramos, makeup artist Corey Tippin, photographer Bill Cunningham, and rival designers Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint-Laurent.

All these characters and more come together in this acclaimed film from director James Crump, creating a vivid portrait of Lopez and the revolutionary fashion world he helped create.

Watch the trailer for Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.