Dekkoo Dispatch – Page 7 – Discover great gay stories.

DEKKOO DISPATCH 028 – ‘VITO’

Title – ‘Vito‘

Director – Jeffrey Schwartz

Release Date – 2011

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Today we at Dekkoo are paying tribute to Vito Russo: activist, author, academic, film fanatic, and most importantly a friend and father-figure to every LGBTQ member of our community. Jeffrey Schwartz’s 2011 film ‘Vito‘ is a stirring tribute to this legendary trailblazer of queer cinema and HIV/AIDS activism.

Growing up and browsing the shelves at Blockbuster I’d always walk by a tattered old looking DVD entitled ‘The Celluloid Closet’. Once I finally had made my way through most of the sexy films I’d been dying to rent I finally checked it out one night. The amount of queer stories that had to be hidden underneath various guises through time was sobering of what I had been accustomed to given my young age. ‘The Celluloid Closet’ was based on Vito Russo’s novel of the same name published in 1981 with the subtitle “Homosexuality in the Movies”. It woke people up to queer tropes like the predatory lesbian and the sissy homosexual. Vito truly believed that these tropes were perpetuating the oppression of gay people and that media needed to change in order for society to change. Vito wasn’t just sitting at home writing though. He went on college tours lecturing about his work and about queer cinema in general.

After publishing ‘The Celluloid Closet’ Vito Russo went on to form the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. That’s right, Vito Russo formed GLAAD! They’re the ones that to this day keep a very close eye on everything happening in media around the world and hold them accountable for their actions. And as much as I get annoyed with how much they hit me up for cash, they’ve done some great stuff like issuing a Studio Responsibility Index that ranks the major Hollywood studios by the quantity, quality, and content of LGBTQ representation in the films they produce.

Vito also left a big imprint on HIV/AIDS activism in the 80s through his involvement in the Gay Activists Alliance & ACT UP, his creation of a gay TV series called ‘Our Time’, and his participation in the 1989 Academy Award-winning documentary ‘Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt’. He told the story of his lover Jeffrey Sevcik who passed away from his battle with AIDS. The directors of ‘Our Time’ are Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman. Besides directing masterpieces like ‘The Times of Harvey Milk’ and ‘Word is Out’ they also were the ones to lovingly direct ‘The Celluloid Closet’ after Vito had passed away from his own battle with AIDS.

I’ve left you with a very basic skeleton of what Vito Russo did with his life, but when you watch ‘Vito‘ you’ll actually see his whole body and hopefully see even deeper.

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Watch it with: A group of friends who appreciate gay heroes!

Mix it with: Beers!

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 027 – ‘PROTEUS’ AND ‘TONIGHT IT’S ME’

Title – ‘Proteus‘

Director – John Greyson, Jack Lewis

Starring – Brett Goldin, Jeroen Kranenburg, Rouxnet Brown, Tessa Jubber

Release Date – 2003

Title – ‘Tonight It’s Me‘

Director – Dominic Haxton

Starring – Neil Elliot, Caleb James, Christian Patrick, Jake Robbins

Release Date – 2014

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In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve added another one of Dominic Haxton’s brilliant short films to Dekkoo. ‘Tonight It’s Me‘ stars Jake Robbins who appears in 2 of Dominic’s other films (to be added in the future!) and is also the star in Robert Hawk’s super sexy short ‘Home From The Gym‘. In ‘Home’ Jake felt far away and objectified. Here he feels merely objectified which isn’t bad for us! But seriously, in ‘Tonight’ we actually get to know more of what makes a muscled hustler like him tick.

The films starts off with CJ (Jake Robbins) dealing with one his usual ‘johns’; A fat older man who can’t stop insulting him and making his life miserable. Later on CJ stops off at a new trick’s house, Ash, who with his effeminate manner and his openness about sexuality and gender strikes a chord within CJ and he begins to open up more than he has with others in the past. The film is a masterpiece in subtle characterization and the hot interplay between the two main characters is the icing on top.

At Dekkoo we’re really proud to bring queer classics to the platform and John Greyson’s ‘Proteus‘ is one of those. Greyson has been a pioneering voice in the realm of queer cinema ever since hitting it big with the HIV/AIDS musical ‘Zero Patience’ back in 1993. His signature style of Derek Jarman-esque experimental narratives mixed with historical context and a few musical numbers thrown in for good measure combine to create significant works of cinematic art that still makes the festival and art-house cinema rounds to this day.

‘Proteus‘ was written and co-directed with Jack Lewis and concerns two men who were SPOILER ALERT! executed for sodomy in 1735 in South Africa. Normally I hate spoilers, but this is a historical film and it’s important to understand a little bit about history in order to grasp the subtle nuances throughout the film. Furthering the issue at the time was that they were a bi-racial couple.

Claas Blank and Rijkhaart Jacobsz are the two men at the heart of this story. Both of them are prisoners on Robben Island (an island on the west coast of Cape Town where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years of his prison term). Claas is a Khoi, a native of southwestern Africa and Rijkhaart is from the Netherlands whose government had control over the so-called ‘Cape Dutch’ area until 1795 when the British stepped in. A botanist named Virgil realizes that Claas has a deep knowledge of the South African flora and puts him in charge of the prison garden. Rijkhaart becomes one of his helpers and then eventually his lover. At first their relationship is joked about and ignored, but eventually simmering tensions between some of the other prisoners and the guards becomes too much to ignore.

Greyson combines this intimate historical drama with fun quirks such as incorporating modern technology like typewriters complete with busybody secretaries that give us historical context for courtroom scenes. The scenes towards the end of the film are of course saddening, but this is the 18th century and it would be dishonest to present a ‘happily-ever-after’ scenario.

If you like this film stay tuned because there will definitely be more classic queer gems like this one to grace Dekkoo in the future!

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Watch ’em with: A friend or two who like historical dramas.

Mix it with: A white wine.

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 026 – ‘Animals’

Title – ‘Animals‘

Director – Marçal Forés

Starring – Oriol Pla, Augustus Prew, Dimitri Leonidas, Roser Tapias

Release Date – 2012

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Happy Outfest! I hope everyone who’s in sunny Los Angeles is having lots of fun and watching lots of sexy cinema at the film festival. If you’re not in LA then you should join in on the fun by watching the Outfest award-winning film ‘Animals‘ on Dekkoo which took home the Artistic Achievement prize back in 2013. I’m really psyched this film finally has arrived because it’s one of my all time favorites!! This is the first feature film of Marçal Forés who also directed ‘Everlasting Love‘ and while the two films are actually very different thematically, they’re very similar in regards to gorgeous cinematography (by Eduard Grau – ‘A Single Man’), exciting musical choices, and extremely attractive men. The soundtrack to the film in on vinyl and it’s one of my most played records. Soooo good!

When I was growing up there was always lots of talk about having an imaginary friend. I was always sort of jealous when I’d watch movies and all these kids that were my age had this intense connection to something that I couldn’t really fathom. I wanted to be crazy too!! While I didn’t have an imaginary friend I certainly had a favorite teddy bear. I slept with it every night all the way through high school in fact (there were one or two replacements along the way). But right when I went to college he went in the closet and I don’t really miss him. In the film ‘Animals‘ though a teddy bear named Deerhoof is both Pol’s imaginary best friend and sole companion.

Deerhoof can walk and talk (in English bizarrely enough!) and talks to Pol about life, music, and comic books. Early on in the film we see Deerhoof grabbed by a dog and we get our first glimpse of how attached Pol is to his best friend and companion. But its not only the dogs that want to steal away Deerhoof, but also Pol’s brother who you can tell used to have a closer relationship before he joined the police force. Now he just acts as a demanding parental figure that wants Pol to get rid of Deerhoof and face reality. Luckily Pol has a few friends at school like Laia (who has a major crush on him) and Mark.

Complicating Pol’s serene yet angsty life of comic books and cool Spanish punk music is Ikari, the new incredibly sexy boy in school. Pol can’t keep his eyes off him and eventually Ikari lets him inside a world that well… I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but the film definitely takes a turn! I feel like I’ve been making this movie seem normal minus the teddy bear, BUT IT’S NOT! Most people compare it to ‘Donnie Darko’ and I can’t really argue against that. It’s very surreal, goes unexpected places, and is quite serene and thought-provoking by the end. I had the privilege of being able to talk to the director right after watching it for the first time and I immediately asked him how much of an influence the short film ‘BUGCRUSH’ (which happens to be my favorite short film of alllll time) had on it and he smiled knowingly and said, ‘Quite a bit’. So if you’ve seen that then you know a little bit of the tone of the film at least.

Take a trip with Pol, Deerhoof, and the rest of the gang in the genre-bending and very queer film ‘Animals‘. On Dekkoo now!

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Watch it with: With a few of your ‘cool’ friends.

Mix it with: Being stoned sativa-style works for this one.

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 025 – ‘The Country Teacher’

Title – ‘The Country Teacher‘

Director – Bohdan Sláma

Starring – Pavel Liška, Zuzana Bydžovská, Ladislav Šedivý, Marek Daniel

Release Date – 2008

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It’s Wednesday!! Only 2 more workdays until 4th of July weekend! I don’t know what your plans are, but I’m venturing into the desert and drinking Tiki drinks poolside for 4 days straight. Heaven… Did everyone see the exciting news about ‘Screwed’ being picked up by Dekkoo out of Frameline?? I’ve seen it and it’s an incredibly sexy Finnish tale of first lust with a great sense of humor about it. I talked to a few people who saw it at the sold-out screening at Frameline and they said it was a super high energy screening. Get psyched!

As a city-living boy for most of my life I’ve always romanticized the life lived in the countryside. When I saw ‘The Country Teacher‘ at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival back in 2008 it completely fed into that romanticism and I was swept away by the golden fields of hay and the ancient practice of drawing of water from wells. Of course we’re also talking about a movie from the Czech Republic so in addition to the romantic stuff we’re also talking about insane Eastern European drunks that harass people and beat each other up. Although come to think of it that seems sorta romantic as well…

Anyways let’s talk about the characters at the heart of this emotional drama. Petr is a teacher that decides to move to the countryside from the busy city for unspecified reasons. After arriving and settling in (his landlord/boss gives him 6 months before he can’t stand the small town anymore and runs away) he falls asleep on a bed of hay and wakes up to find Marie standing over him, the woman who owns the farm he’s wandered into. She’s kind to him and invites him out to socialize with some of the villagers. He comes to realize that Marie is falling in love with him, but he’s too awkward to admit what we here at Dekkoo realize right away… he’s gay. He really likes her and feels affection for her, but he’s much more interested in her teenage son and offers his teaching skills to become more ingrained in his life.

I don’t want to go into much more detail because Petr goes through quite a journey in the film and it’s very emotional. By the end of the film you’ll absolutely fall in love with Marie who is so unbelievably kind and I fear that there aren’t many of her sort left in the world. ‘The Country Teacher‘ is a striking picture that combines the best of European art-house cinema and Queer self-discovery cinema into one wondrous picture that will leave you swooning.

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Watch it with: By yourself or someone else that won’t talk much. It’s very meditative.

Mix it with: Coffee.

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 024 – ‘I’M FINE’ IS BACK!

Title – ‘I’m Fine‘

Director – Brandon Kirby

Starring – Perry Powell, Lee Doud, Shaughn Buchholz, Ulysses Morazan

Release Date – 2017

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The wait is finally over! Episodes 5-8 of Dekkoo’s Original Series ‘I’m Fine‘ are online for your immediate on-the-go entertainment. Nate, Jeff, Andy, Brian, and yes even the legendary love-of-Nate’s-life Joey are back in action!

After binging the last 4 episodes of Season 1 I had soooo many questions for director Brandon Kirby. Below are a few of them for your enjoyment:

FD: So at the end of episode 4 Jeff reveals his more-than-friends feelings for Nate which to me was what I was most excited about with the release of episodes 5-8. Has that situation ever happened to you?

BK: Since moving to LA, I’ve played the Jeff role in that scenario numerous times, admitting my feelings to friends of mine, and once I was in the Nate position. With that friend, we actually ended up trying to be romantic with each other, but ultimately decided we are DEFINITELY only meant to be very close friends.

FD: Was there any inspiration for that hilarious party scene in Episode 5?

BK: The whole situation with the grandma’s painting, that actually happened to me a couple years ago at a house party in Hollywood on New Year’s Eve. I was drunk, waiting in line for the bathroom and bumped into a painting on the wall. The host called me out for it. The version of that happening in Ep5 is obviously dramatized.

FD: Speaking of dramatized… from money-hungry party hosts, to shady pool boy escorts, to awkward brunch guests you’ve painted a slightly depressing view of LA. At the end of the day do you have a positive view of gay life in Los Angeles or are we all doomed?

BK: Ha! I mean, we might all be doomed for other reasons. But in terms of Los Angeles and West Hollywood specifically, I do love living here but it took me a while – years, actually – to fully come around to it. So, in that time in between, I found a lot of the flaws and a lot of the things in the gay community that, y’know, aren’t the best. But of course any skewering I’m doing here comes from a place of love.

FD: You’ve teased a lot of new characters in the second half of Season 1. Which of them are you most excited to explore?

BK: I’m excited to explore Jeff’s roommate Louis, who we haven’t met before, and their new mutual friend Zachary, who plays an especially important role in Season 2.

FD: Well then you should totally dish on what’s going to happen in Season 2!

BK: Let’s just say the storylines go beyond just exploring why Nate is clinging to being “fine” but to his circle of friends, as well. We dive a bit deeper into everyone’s individual existential crises. And yes, it’s still a comedy!

FD: Well I’m super psyched for it. I’ll leave you alone after you tell me your top 3 films on Dekkoo.

BK: ‘Edge of Seventeen‘, ‘Concrete Night‘, & ‘Parting Glances‘

WATCH IT NOWWWW!

DEKKOO DISPATCH 023 – ‘EDGE OF SEVENTEEN’ AND ‘GO-GO REJECT’

Title – ‘Edge of Seventeen‘

Director – David Moreton

Starring – Chris Stafford, Lea DeLaria, Tina Holmes, Andersen Gabrych

Release Date – 1998

Title – ‘Go-Go Reject‘

Director – Michael J. Saul

Starring – Heath Daniels, Josh Babich, Korken Alexander

Release Date – 2010

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Hi everyone! We’re halfway through Pride Month now and I’m definitely not ready for it to be over yet. Tomorrow kicks off Frameline’s LGBTQ Film Festival in San Francisco which is always a great time. Let us know if you see any awesome films there you think should be added to Dekkoo!

Last week was a little on the dark side, so this week I’m lightening it up with two super cute ones! Start your movie night with a bit of glitter with ‘Go-Go Reject‘. Daniel is a your average queen that hangs out at go-go bars with friends and dreams of leaving his day job at Yogurt World. One day Daniel realizes he needs to fulfill his dreams of becoming a dancer. More specifically Daniel wants to be exactly like Jennifer Beals in ‘Flashdance’ minus the steel mill of course. Sadly Daniel isn’t exactly the hottest guy ever and can’t quite convince club owners to hire him so he takes matters into his own hands. The best thing about this short film is the unbridled enthusiasm of the main character played by Heath Daniels (who also stars in several other films by Michael J. Saul such as ‘Adults Only‘ which he also wrote!) and the really hot skinny guy he dances with at the end (call me!).

We’re traveling to the 80s gentlemen! Hold on to your mascara! Boom! The year is 1984 and it’s summer vacation. Eric Hunter is about to start his first day of work at a theme park in Sandusky, Ohio with his best friend Maggie. They both share a love of Toni Basil (Hey Mickey!), Eurythmics and making fun of their lame high school classmates, but right when Maggie seems to be having feelings for Eric that go beyond friendship Eric meets co-worker Rod. He’s older, sexy as hell, and is out and proud about being gay. Thus begins a sexual awakening for Eric that takes place over a year of his life, but only 103 minutes for us.

‘Edge of Seventeen‘ was written by Todd Stephens (‘Another Gay Movie’, ‘Another Gay Sequel‘) and was actually based on his life as a teen in Sandusky. Originally slated to direct the pic, the duty fell to his friend David Moreton (‘Testosterone’) at the last minute who took the reigns on this touching and ground breaking feature. The movie was filmed in 1998, but you’ll swear it was filmed in the 80s due to the awesome music (supposedly 80s music was unpopular to license at that point in the 90s so the filmmakers were able to get it for cheap), rad costuming (polyester everywhere!), and muted color grainy cinematography (filmed in 16mm and then blown up to 35mm). On Dekkoo we’re presenting the brand-new HD Restoration which looks gorgeous!

‘Edge of Seventeen‘ is one of those films where I could go on a very long rant about interesting facts. I’ll just talk about the case for brevity’s sake!

Chris Stafford who plays the main character, Eric actually left the world of acting shortly after starring in ‘Edge’ and became a lawyer. I was browsing the deep reaches of the internet one day and actually saw his speech from the University of Miami at his graduation where he was the class valedictorian!
You might find the girl who plays Maggie familiar. She plays the older sister character in the popular gay film ‘Shelter’.
Lea DeLaria who plays the lovable boss Angie is now super famous for her role in ‘Orange is the New Black’.
Andersen Gabrych (Rod) has a cameo role in every single Todd Stephens film. My favorite one is in ‘Another Gay Movie‘ where he gets puked on!

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Watch ’em with: A large group of fun queens!

Mix it with: One of those blue drinks.

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 022 – ‘EASTERN BOYS’ AND ‘JOHNNY’

Title – ‘Eastern Boys‘

Director – Robin Campillo

Starring – Oliver Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov, Danil Vorobyev, Edea Darcque

Release Date – February 27, 2015

Title – ‘Johnny‘

Director – Micah Stuart

Starring – Tony Abatemarco, Luca Alexander, Brandon Crowder, Nikita Kochnev

Release Date – July 10, 2016

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Welcome to the new Dekkoo Blog everyone! It’s your new one stop shop for everything in the world of gay cinema. I encourage you to add Dekkoo.blog to your blog feed (or click the follow button below) and let us know if you have any suggestions to make it better.

This week we’ve got two dark and sexy films (both with hustlers) that we think you should watch ASAP!

First up is ‘Johnny‘. While there have been a glut of films that have dealt with an older man finding himself through a younger prostitute, I found that ‘Johnny‘ did it with an amount of grace and sexiness that few have come close to.

One night a random John (Sam) picks up the sexy Johnny for a hot time at a sleezy motel. What neither of them expects is the human connection that forms and the secrets that both reveal over the course of their encounter. Personally my favorite part of this short is the intense sex that occurs between the two characters. It’s rare to see such a hot inter-generational encounter in a short film like this. Even rarer to see poppers being brought into the fray. Woo!

After ‘Johnny’ you’re ready to go deeper into the world of hustlers with ‘Eastern Boys‘. This film is directed by Robin Campillo who was the writer of the Palme D’or winner, ‘The Class’. His new film ‘120 Beats Per Minute’ was just in the official selection at Cannes and is hyped as one of the best French films dealing with the ACT UP movement. The film follows a lonely gay man named Daniel. He seems well-off, but is lacking love and friendship in his life. The beginning of the film starts off showing the train urchins at the Gare du Nord station in Paris. It’s hard to tell where they’re from, but you can assume it’s somewhere in Eastern Europe. They had to leave to escape the poverty and now they’re looking for a way to make money. In walks Daniel looking for some company and he finds Marek. A rendez-vous is scheduled and when someone knocks on Daniel’s doors it’s not Marek, but a child claiming to be Marek.

I really don’t want to give too much more away. One of the best things about this movie is its wonderful balance of tension, romance, and action. I’ll tell you that I’ve never had a film make me sweat as much as this film does in the first 30 minutes. It’s nerve wracking!! ‘Eastern Boys‘ brilliantly tackles the fears and desires of both older gay men and young homeless immigrants all in just over two hours.

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Watch ’em with: You and maybe one other person whose hand you can grab onto during parts of ‘Eastern Boys‘.

Mix it with: Red Wine.

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 021 – ‘OUT IN THE DARK’ AND ‘VICTORY DAY’

Title – ‘Out In The Dark‘

Director – Michael Mayer

Starring – Nicholas Jacob, Michael Aloni, Jameel Khouri, Alon Pdut

Release Date – September 27, 2013

Title – ‘Victory Day‘

Director – Alina Rudnitskaya

Release Date – 2014

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Happy #Covfefe day everyone! Today I want to feature two films that highlight the struggle of Non-U.S. attitudes towards LGBTQ rights and the people that have the bravery to stand up for love.

The short documentary ‘Victory Day‘ is a really touching look inside the lives of 6 LGBTQ couples living in Russia – a country that has time and time again refused to accept LGBTQ people as normal citizens. While homosexual sex was decriminalized in 1993, there are still no laws on the books that prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ citizens, meaning you can still be fired from a job or kicked out of your apartment. It’s also illegal to expose children to anything other than heterosexual relationships in books, movies, textbooks, etc. Since that law passed in 2013 (here we call it the ‘gay propaganda law’) there have been numerous arrests and censoring of Hollywood movies like the new ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

The short film goes into depth with the 6 couples about how they got together, their struggles with family, friends, and co-workers, and their views on the current political climate. The beginning of the short is definitely a bit chilling with the juxtaposition of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations consisting of tanks and soldiers with discussions of how long the couples have been dating, but overall it’s an uplifting journey because of the bravery of all 6 couples. If you’re curious about how normal LGBTQ people live their lives in Russia this is the doc for you.

Now we shift from Russia to Israel, a country that is unique in the Middle East for being very accepting of LGBTQ people. While you can’t marry inside the country you can be married somewhere else and then Israel will recognize that marriage. You can also adopt and anti-discrimination policies have been passed. However ‘Out in the Dark‘ decides to focus on the interplay of sexuality and politics between Israel and Palestine. The movie has a great combination of sexiness, political intrigue, and thrilling action.

The movie focuses on a cute, young Palestinian named Nimer. He studies Psychology and travels to Tel Aviv for his studies. His friend Mustafa introduces him one night to a ridiculously sexy Israeli lawyer named Roy. The differences between them are numerous – wealth, privilege, and citizenship to name just a few. But as in all the great romance movies they fall in love despite everything. Unfortunately things get complicated once
Mustafa gets caught by his Palestinian friends for being queer which then suggests Nimer might be queer as well. One of the most intriguing/disturbing facts about this film is it’s portrayal of how crossing over a simple border can completely change how society views you. You can be celebrated in Israel, but killed in Palestine.

However all seriousness aside, ‘Out in the Dark‘ is a stunner of a film. It played at almost every single LGBTQ film festival and has gotten rave reviews. It’s packed full of romance and action and it’s just an awesome film. Watch it tonight!

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Watch ’em with: Your friends who have no clue what’s happening outside of Rupaul’s Drag Race.

Mix it with: Russian Vodka.

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 020 – ‘WE ARE ANIMALS’ AND ‘ANOTHER GAY MOVIE’

Title – ‘We Are Animals‘

Director – Dominic Haxton

Starring – Daniel Landroche, Clint Napier, Drew Droege, George Alvarez

Release Date – June 28, 2013

Title – ‘Another Gay Movie‘

Director – Todd Stephens

Starring – Michael Carbonaro, Jonathan Chase, Jonah Blechman, Mitch Morris

Release Date – May 3, 2007

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Heya Dekkoo-ers! Hope you’ve all been having a good week. Mine started off great via a Facebook Live stream of the annual Naval Academy freshman graduation ceremony where they attempt to climb a greased up monument shirtless. You can’t take your eyes off the struggle!

This week I want to continue the sexy vibes with two visually inventive and wild films starting with ‘We Are Animals‘.

The short film by director Dominic Haxton (we’ll be introducing you to many of his great short works in the next weeks) takes place in a dystopian future society where HIV positive citizens have been quarantined from the rest of society and given pills that keep their libidos in check. The main character has reluctantly joined with the oppressive government not so dissimilar to the Jews that helped out in the concentration camps, but once he meets a sexy member of the opposition his allegiance starts to shift.

I really love how this short film is able to set-up so much mood and world-building in such a short amount of time. Of course it really helps that the two main characters have such an sexy and radical rapport that deals with sexual confidence, the oppressed conquering the oppressor, and releasing the inner animal. A little ultra-violence also goes a long way too! Oh and a Drew Droege cameo is always hawt.

After the climactic ending to ‘Animals’ it’s time for a Gay Classic! When Todd Stephens made ‘Gypsy 83’, the follow-up to the honest and charming ‘Edge of Seventeen’, he encountered film distributors and executives saying either ‘It’s too gay!’ or ‘It’s not gay enough!’. Todd had so much difficulty with the film that he decided that he was going to
make the gayest film ever! Enter ‘Another Gay Movie‘. Todd Stephen’s answer to straight raunchy pics like ‘American Pie’ and ‘Porky’s’ turned out to be a massive hit. It turns out that gay people were dying for a film that tossed the typical gay coming-of-age plot-line out the window and embraced a more gross and wild narrative that felt like the ‘R’-Rated movies that straight people got to see all the time.

It also helps that the movie followed an adorable group of graduating high school seniors that decided they need to lose their virginity by the end of the summer. There’s Andy – your typical awkward everyman that has an obsession with sticking stuff up his butt. Jarrod – the jock of the group who claims he’s a total top and has some insecurities. Nico – the ‘leading lady’ of the group who’s always able to cheer everyone up and Griff – the nerd of the group that logically tries to get laid. Of course there are so many hilarious side-characters and cameos. A few highlights: Graham Norton as Mr. Puckov, Scott Thompson (‘The Kids in the Hall’) as Andy’s dad, Daryl Stephens as a hot go-go boy, and Richard Hatch as Richard Hatch.

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Watch ’em with: Your friends who appreciate gross humor

Mix ’em with: 420 Apple Martinis

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 019 – ‘BLOKES’ & ‘REMINGTON AND THE CURSE…’

Title – ‘Blokes‘

Director – Marialy Rivas

Starring – Alfonso David, Pedro Campos, Paula ZÃºÃ±iga, MarÃa de Los Ãngeles GarcÃa

Release Date – May 22, 2010

Title – ‘Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings‘

Director – Jade Castro

Starring – Martin Escudero, Lauren Young, Kerbie Zamora, Janice de Belen

Release Date – August 31, 2011

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Heya! Hope everyone’s week is going swell. It’s that time of the year in the film world when everyone seems to be asking, ‘Are you going to Cannes?’ I’m not, but that doesn’t stop me (nor should it stop you!) from watching some Cannes-worthy films this week and it just so happens the short film, ‘Blokes‘, was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival a few years ago!

Luchito lives in a poor apartment complex somewhere in Chile during the military dictatorship which lasted from 1973-1990. He lives with his nosy mother who keeps barging in on him while he’s trying to jerk off to thoughts of the hunky boy playing soccer in the courtyard downstairs. Luchito is a dreamer and to that end spends a lot of time staring out of his window. Finally he gets to see his crush naked with a girl, but that’s just the start of a cat and mouse game with an ending involving a really big ‘cat’.

‘Blokes‘ was based on a short essay by a famous queer Chilean author and activist named Pedro Lemebel. I can’t read Spanish, but the google translation hinted that it was written really beautifully.

Next, we’ve got a mega silly film that I couldn’t get out of my head for weeks afterwards: ‘Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings‘ is a super queer zombie/witchcraft-comedy out of the Philippines which is known for a very flamboyant gay community due to the presence of the ‘Bakla‘. Sadly, gay people are barely tolerated in certain communities and violence does occur which is one of the focal points of the film.

The story concerns Remington (a super-cute Martin Escudero) who was cursed at a young age by a Pops (Roderick Paulate) who he mocked for being gay while Pops was mourning for a dead lover. However the curse is hardly your average cut-and-dry you’ll die soon or you’ll get boils on your butt. No! It’s that Remington will become gay when he gets older! Fast-forward 10 or so years and the curse starts to take effect right at the same time a rash of strange murders begin to plague his small community.

Watch the trailer and you’ll quickly get a sense if this movie is your taste. I’d highly recommend it though. Where else can you watch a straight guy struggling with a gay curse and having mood swings between the girl he’s falling in love with and his ‘straight’ best friend while at the same time solving a murder mystery?!?

Some fun facts about the movie:

-Once Remington starts to ‘turn gay’ he starts talking in bakla slang like ‘Hi Mumsie!’ and ‘Must dash!’ and you’ll notice that those subtitles are in pink!

-There’s a cameo by Daniel Fernando who was in the classic film, ‘Macho Dancer’.

-Remington can’t control his ass in one dance scene; emoji’s and rainbows take over the frame and it’s legit one of the best parts of the film.

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Watch ’em with: Your mega-gay friends

Mix ’em with: A Mojito, or two, or ten…

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