Category: Cross-Cultural Romance

A Brooklyn barber embarks on a hot and sweaty journey of self-discovery in ‘Barrio Boy’

Set during a hot and sultry New York City summer, Barrio Boy stars Dennis Garcia as Quique (pronounced KEE-kay), a Nuyorican barber living in a rapidly changing Brooklyn neighborhood who embarks on an erotically-charged odyssey of self-discovery.

A chance encounter on a basketball court sparks an instant attraction between Quique and Kevin (James Physick), a handsome Irish stranger who is passing through town to settle his late father’s affairs.

As a friendship blossoms between the two young men, so do suspicions about the nature of their relationship – especially to the jealous eye of Cuz (Keet Davis), Quique’s childhood friend turned local bully.

Quique’s quest for love and self-acceptance is further realized as he navigates his way through complex and often messy layers of sexuality, family, friends, race and class.

The truth will prevail in this thoughtful gay drama from Emmy-winning writer-director Dennis Shinners. He marks his feature-length debut here after a series of successful short films, including the 2013 short Barrio Boy which served as the inspiration for this film.

Watch the trailer for Barrio Boy below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo!

Short Film Spotlight: Chasin’

An 8-minute Australian short from director Lee Matthews and screenwriter Ben Chuah, Chasin’ observes an impromptu meeting between a Gen-X daddy and a Gen-Z twink.

On a hot summer night, the pair meet up in a public park after flirting on Scruff. The differences between them are immediately apparent.

But after the two jump the fence of a nearby recreation center and the older man injures his ankle, the pair of would-be lovers share in a moment of vulnerability and unexpected connection.

Suddenly it seems like this may be more than just a casual hook-up.

Featuring charming performances from lead actors Dushan Philips and Jay De Leon, Chasin’ offers up a sexy and kind-hearted meet-cute that may mark the start of a lasting relationship.

Check out the poster for Chasin’ below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the gorgeous and enthralling road-movie romance ‘The Man with the Answers’

The Man with the Answers first introduces us to Victor (Vasilis Magouliotis), a hunky, twenty-something ex-diving champion now working in a furniture factory and living with his sick grandmother in a seaside town in Greece.

Distraught after her death, he decides to dust off her old car and travel to Germany to visit his estranged mother. On the ferry to Italy, he meets the dreamy Matthias (Anton Weil) – a talkative, inquisitive young German who is on his way home.

Matthias persuades Victor to take him along for the journey. As the pair drive north, Victor’s uptight, repressive personality clashes with the more free-spirited Matthias. But they soon find common emotional ground as their summer road trip takes unexpected – and increasingly romantic – turns.

When their journey finally comes to an end, they’re confronted with the question of whether either has found the answers he’s looking for… and whether or not they can be found in one another.

Featuring terrific performances from sexy lead actors Magouliotis and Weil, The Man with the Answers tells a tender story of self-discovery, family and burgeoning love in all its many forms.

Watch the trailer for The Man with the Answers below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

A sex worker gets into a tricky relationship with an older man in the Belgian drama ‘All Yours’

Prolific actor Nahuel P̩rez Biscayart (Glue, Persian Lessons, BPM) stars in All Yours as Lucas, a young and penniless Argentine escort who moves to a small Belgian town with the help of Henry (Jean-Michel Balthazar), a lonely Рand much older Рgay bakery owner who dreams of saving him from a life of prostitution.

Henry fell completely head over heels for Lucas when he first spotted him as a web cam model. He bought Lucas a plane ticket hoping that he would not only help out in the bakery, but share his bed.

With very different ideas about living together, the two men find their personalities and expectations clashing. Things get even more tense when the predominately straight Lucas starts falling for Audrey (Monia Chokri), a single mother who also works for Henry.

A complicated love triangle soon develops in this tender, award-winning character study from acclaimed writer-director David Lambert.

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

A man attempts a turbulent journey out of the closet in the moving drama ‘El Houb (The Love)’

Having spent decades hiding his sexuality from his family, Moroccan-Dutch businessman Karim (Fahd Larhzaoui) decides to come clean after his father catches him in bed with a man.

Caught up in a panic over the thought of coming out to his traditional Muslim parents (Slimane Dazi and Lubna Azabal), he barricades himself in their closet… literally.

As he feverishly revisits his childhood memories, negotiates a budding romance with a new Ghanaian boyfriend (Emmanuel Boafo) and wages a long-delayed battle royale to uproot his family’s conservative attitudes, a series of darkly hilarious and unflinchingly frank conversations begin – and the family is finally forced to confront the truths that have so long been avoided.

Loosely based on the theater work and actual experiences of lead actor and co-screenwriter Fahd Larhzaoui, El Houb (The Love) cascades through time. Director Shariff Nasr manages to straddle a line between uproarious comedy and heartbreaking drama while examining family dynamics, cultural taboos and hard-won self-acceptance.

Watch the trailer for El Houb (The Love) below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

François Ozon’s underseen masterpiece ‘Frantz’ is now available on Dekkoo

Set in Germany and France in the immediate aftermath of World War I, Frantz recalls the mourning period that follows great national tragedies as seen through the eyes of Anna, played by Paula Beer in a breakthrough performance.

A bereft young German woman whose fiancé, Frantz, was killed during trench warfare, she’s surprised to find Adrien, a French veteran played by Pierre Niney, laying flowers at her late lover’s grave.

Adrien’s presence is met with resistance by the small community still reeling from Germany’s defeat, yet Anna gradually gets closer to the handsome and melancholy young man, as she learns of his deep friendship with Frantz, conjured up in evocative flashbacks.

What follows is a surprising exploration of how these characters wrestle with their conflicting feelings – survivor’s guilt, anger at one’s losses, the overriding desire for happiness despite everything that has come before, and the longing for sexual, romantic and familial attachments.

Stylishly shot in black and white, prolific director Francois Ozon drew his inspiration for the film from a post-WWI play by Maurice Rostand that also inspired the 1932 Ernst Lubitsch film Broken Lullaby.

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

Two young men share a fleeting connection in the gay romance ‘Boy Meets Boy’

Harry (Matthew J. Morrison) has been partying for two days when he meets Johannes (Alexis Koutsoulis) on the dance floor of a club in Berlin.

With only fifteen hours left until Harry’s flight back to London, Johannes offers to help him print his boarding pass. This mundane task leads to a day together, wandering the city.

The contrasts in their lives and values force them to confront their own truths and be completely honest – leading to a strong, romantic connection that is under an unusual time crunch.

Winner of the Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, director Dani Sanchez-Lopez’s Boy Meets Boy is about a brief encounter and a fleeting moment of happiness and possible love.

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