Category: Cross-Cultural Romance

Andrea Riseborough and Demi Moore star in the wild queer pastiche ‘Please Baby Please’

Andrea Riseborough, Harry Melling and Demi Moore star in this neon-lit fantasia about newlyweds who find themselves on diverging sexual journeys.

A wildly inventive and wickedly funny 1950s pastiche from acclaimed filmmaker Amanda Kramer, Please Baby Please follows Arthur and Suze, two seemingly straight arrows who live an outwardly traditional lifestyle as the Lower East Side’s most bohemian Eisenhower-era couple.

The pair find their cage rattled when they witness a murder and become the new targets of a gang of sadistic, leather-clad greasers known as ‘The Young Gents.’ Their initial thrust of fear soon evolves, arousing previously unsuspected emotions and feelings of sexuality in both of the young lovers.

This sudden exposure to flamboyant masculinity unlocks the realization that Suze is an aspiring leather daddy who mistook herself for a housewife. Meanwhile, the perpetually sensitive Arthur’s obsessive gender trouble goes sideways when ‘Young Gent’ Teddy sparks his dormant queer desires.

Please Baby Please presents a full spectrum of underground fetishism and seductive musical asides, along with delicious cameos from Karl Glusman and Cole Escola. Visionary filmmaker Amanda Kramer pegs the hetero hell-scape of the 1950s in a witty, syncopated riff that plays like a high camp emission from your wildest dreams – bathed in silk, sweat and bisexual lighting!

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

An alluring stranger comes between three witchy siblings in the supernatural thriller ‘Cheat’

Originally produced by the Filipino network Hue TV, the new ‘Boys’ Love’ film Cheat is a campy psychological thriller with supernatural undercurrents.

A tale of stolen innocence, the film follows Vee (Daryll Rodriguez), an alluring and mysterious young man who comes from an unusually sheltered upbringing. When he befriends Dong, Jennifer and Jay (Migo de Vera, Allora Alcantara and Victor Relosa), a family of three siblings, along with their mother (Tuesday Vargas), who dabbles in witchcraft, his strange charms set off a series of events that will inflict devastating consequences.

As all three siblings begin to fall in love with the unusual stranger, jealously, lust and betrayal rear their ugly heads and Vee’s mere presence in the family’s life threatens to tear them apart.

With edgy supernatural soap opera vibes in the vein of ‘Supernatural’ or ‘Charmed,’ Cheat delves into the maelstrom of intimate relationships within a tightly knit family. It’s also got style and sex appeal to spare.

Watch the trailer for Cheat below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

A married man discovers a sensual gay paradise in the erotic drama ‘Behind the Trees’

The third feature film from Thiago Cazado, the versatile Brazilian writer, director and performer behind About Us and Cousins, Behind the Trees is a mesmeric erotic drama about a macho married man who discovers a hidden paradise of sexual freedom.

Leo Carius stars as Paulo, the married man in question. He’s in a toxic relationship with his wife Jessica, played by Maria Guedes. After the pair have a serious argument, Paulo decides to go cycling to blow off some steam. He ends up getting lost in a remote region of the woods known as ‘The Forest of Whispers,’ a secret place where men meet up for anonymous sexual release.

Unhappy in his marriage, Paulo begins to frequent the forest, having no idea how much his life is about to change – especially after he meets Luigi, a young, carefree and sexually confident fellow cruiser played by writer-director Cazado. After the two men share hot encounter, Paulo quickly realizes that nothing will ever be the same again.

Having starred in all of his feature films to date, Cazado has shown a wide range as both a director and a performer.

Tender and provocative, thoughtful and sexually brazen, Behind the Trees is a deeply intimate addition to his growing collection of boundary-pushing stories and characters.

Watch the trailer for Behind the Trees below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Director Frank Brittain’s 1970 queer Australian curio ‘The Set’ is now available on Dekkoo!

Though it’s now something of an obscure queer curio, the Australian drama The Set shocked and thrilled audiences during its initial release in 1970 with its uncommonly frank depictions of male nudity and gay sex.

Aiming for more than just titillation, the film challenged traditional notions of sexuality and gender while depicting a progressive Australia where same-sex relationships were considered equal.

Reeling from his girlfriend’s sexual past, aspiring artist Paul (Sean McEuan) runs off to Sydney in the hopes of attending school, but soon finds himself drawn into the sensual and seductive world of the local art scene.

Swimming through this utopia of flamboyant men, camp queens and fierce sissies, Paul quickly begins exploring his own sexuality.

Commissioned to work for a top stage director, he succumbs to the charms of the handsome Tony (Rod Mullinar) – who just happens to be going out with Paul’s cousin. Although love finds a way through this thorny predicament, things soon turn unexpectedly violent for the young aspiring artist.

Although a box office success in Australia at the time of its release, The Set was largely panned by critics and had fallen into obscurity for nearly 50 years. It’s now been digitally restored and is ready to shock and thrill a whole new generation of fans!

Watch this vintage trailer for The Set below. The full restored film is now available on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss Australian filmmaker Craig Boreham’s sizzling new gay romance ‘Lonesome’

From Craig Boreham, the acclaimed Australian filmmaker behind Teenage Kicks, comes a sexually-charged new romance about a young cowboy who falls in love with the big city… and the man he meets there.

Lonesome follows Casey (Josh Lavery), a handsome young country boy who is running away from a small-town scandal. While trying to rebuild his life amid the hustle and bustle of Sydney, Australia, he meets Tib (Daniel Gabriel), a street-smart city boy struggling with his own scars of isolation.

While palpable desire and undeniable chemistry define their early interactions, the young men soon find something that’s been missing in their connection with one another – and that sudden rush of intimacy both excites and terrifies them.

Featuring exceptional performances by lead actors Lavery and Gabriel, Lonesome is a gorgeous and thoughtful gay drama, exploring casual sexuality, affection, loneliness and the distinct feeling of isolation in a world that has, technically, never been more connected.

Boreham has created a powder-keg of a would-be romance that doubles as a sensuous portrait of reconciliation and redemption.

Watch the trailer for Lonesome below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo. You can also watch Craig Boreham’s Teenage Kicks, which is available now.

Two men’s marriage plans cause a media firestorm in the romantic drama ‘Mysterious Ways’

From Paul Oremland, the New Zealand-based filmmaker behind 100 Men, Surveillance 24/7 and Like It Is, Mysterious Ways tells the powerful and courageous story of two men who become torn between their faith, their families and their love for one another.

Anglican priest Peter (played by British actor Richard Short, from The Tragedy of Macbeth and the Canadian TV series ‘Mary Kills People’) and boyfriend Jason (played by newcomer Nick Afoa) want to get married.

For Anglicans, this is not allowed – and homosexuality itself is still taboo in Samoan culture. Samoan-Kiwi Jason has to deal with his family’s strict cultural beliefs while Peter clashes with the Anglican Church hierarchy.

When news of their marriage plans make headlines, it scandalizes the devout local community and unleashes a media storm that pushes the couple’s relationship to the limit.

A searing critique of the church’s attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community, Mysterious Ways is an impassioned and moving drama.

In the words of director Oremland, “Most religions still see being gay as sinful. This does huge harm to millions of people in terms of self-esteem, family rejection and legitimizing hatred. A love story where God is on our side is a powerful statement that is needed now more than ever.”

Watch the trailer for Mysterious Ways 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.