Documentary – Page 19 – Discover great gay stories.

Drag Heals is “part theater, part performance art and part group therapy”

Produced and directed by prolific writer/director/actor/author Charlie David, Drag Heals is a terrific new documentary series that follows men who have never worn heels or make-up but have always dreamed of letting their inner drag queen out to play.

These men, and aspiring queens, enter Canada’s first-ever drag class to explore how to create a compelling drag persona based around their own personalities and life experiences. Deeply persona and raw, these queens tackle prickly issues like gender identity, mental illness, heartbreak and feminism to better understand themselves and their queer experience in an otherwise straight world.

RuPaul brought “Drag Race” into the homes of millions and made the once-taboo art form mainstream. This newfound renaissance has inspired a new generation to explore the art of drag and challenge the constructs of gender.

While “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is a competition, Drag Heals is much more of a journey. For most of the participants, this experience is akin to a second coming out process – and the workshops end with a public performance where they each have to face down their fears of stepping into the limelight.

The show gives viewers unparalleled access to the creation of a performance that is more than just your average lip sync. The classes are structured so that the men must reveal their true selves in preparation for their public performance. In order to do it, they must be brave and vulnerable. As performance time draws near, the urgency to create a compelling piece forces them to face down their nerves and personal demons in order to deliver a quality performance for people who have shelled out money to see just that.

The full first season of Drag Heals is now available on Dekkoo! Watch the trailer below.

New This Week – 3/1/19

Shane, a gay Anishinaabe teen in Northern Ontario is struggling to support his family after his sister’s suicide. Torn between responsibilities at home and the promise of freedom calling from the city Shane must decide his true path. ‘Fire Song’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

The boyfriend of a handsome photographer tries to deal with his jealousy after finding nude photos he took of a gorgeous model. Dekkoo Films presents ‘The Jealous Sea’. Watch it now!

‘Drag Heals’ is a documentary series that follows men who have never worn heels or make-up but have always dreamed of letting their inner drag queen out. Stream the entire series now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Four friends. One swimming pool. One house. One phone call. One question – What if the love of our life came back 10 years after everything was over?

New This Week – 2/1/19

Samuel and Wilfredo, two struggling artists in the Philippines, have put everything they have into a new independent film project that they’re hoping will launch their careers. But when the Board of Censors bans their film for having gay themes, they find more even more obstacles along to road to success. ‘Uncensored Dreams’ is available now on Dekkoo!

A young musician named Ansel has an unexpected encounter with Niall, an endearing, deaf dancer. ‘Louder Than Words’ is available to stream on Dekkoo!

In what way does communication serve as a form of self-expression, and self-expression a form of communication? ‘Words’ explores how people navigate gender and identity in the open and evolving landscape of New York City.

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Coming next week: A brand new-gay film that is a magical coming-of-age tale.

New This Week – 1/25/19

Aaron, an up-and-coming young rapper, is starting to find career success. Unfortunately, his rise is tempered by a volatile music industry, his dangerously jealous older brother and his own insecurities surrounding his sexuality. Binge the first season of ‘Single Record’ now, only on Dekkoo!

Dekkoo Films presents the gay short film, ‘1992’. Martin is seventeen and spends all day recording everything with his Hi8 camera. One day Martin meets Dominique, who works as a watchman at his school.

This documentary discusses how a small Mediterranean fishing village of some 3,500 people in 1900 has now become the Gay Mecca of the Mediterranean and can serve as an example for other less tolerant countries of harmonious LGBT integration. Watch ‘The Gay History of Sitges’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: “An exploration of identity.”

Director Oliver Mason needs your help!

Oliver Mason has been making short films for many years, having started out as a runner in BBC Drama. He went on to train in script development but has found his real passion lies in directing and editing. His short films Away with Me, about spontaneous holiday romance in Nice that turns sour when there is a clash of intentions and expectations between the two men, and Miss Moneypenny, a bright and spunky 4-minute comedy about gay dating, are available now on Dekkoo. He currently has a short film in the works that needs some crowdfunding assistance.

Have We Met Before? is a short docudrama exploring how the internet has changed how gay men meet and interact with each other. Combining real documentary interviews with a freshly created cinematic narrative, Mason is hoping to create something new and engaging which is simultaneously authentic and poetic.

You can read more about the project (and contribute financially, if you’re feeling generous) here. In the meantime, skip on over to Dekkoo to enjoy two of Mason’s earlier works and get a sense of his cinematic flavor.

New This Week – 12/7/18

A young man involved in a love affair that will change his life for ever, while his lover wrestles his demons on a journey that will force him to come to terms with his sexuality, leaving lives destroyed in the wake. ‘Soft Lad’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Featuring interviews with John Waters, Rick Castro, Harmony Korine, Gus Van Sant and more, this riveting documentary celebrates the life and career of transgressive filmmaker and Queercore icon Bruce LaBruce, the man behind hardcore gay hits like L.A. Zombie, Hustler White, The Raspberry Reich and The Misandrists. ‘The Advocate for Fagdom’ is now available on Dekkoo!

Noah, a neurotic writer, spends his time idling in a New York townhouse owned by his mother Carla, where he lives alone–until his childhood friend Daniel moves in. Watch the gay short film ‘Daniel. Noah.’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: …a tribute to cinema…and the dreams and relations cinema creates.” – Variety

New This Week – 11/23/18

A German police officer with a pregnant girlfriend risks his entire future when he falls for a mysterious bad-boy he meets during training. ‘Free Fall’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

Before Brian Mills leaves for his first year at Princeton University, he must come to terms with his sexual orientation and be honest with himself after some guidance from his trusted barber. ‘Haircut: THE MUSICAL! is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Chasing the Devil: Inside the Ex-Gay Movement is now available to stream on Dekkoo

This disturbing documentary offers an unflinching look at the personal journeys of four people who claim to have “changed” their sexual orientation from gay to straight. ‘Chasing the Devil: Inside the Ex-Gay Movement’ is now available on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A complex, moving and eye-opening tale of race, religion, sexuality.

Don’t miss the acclaimed doc Red Without Blue

An award-winning documentary originally released in 2007, Red Without Blue is a groundbreaking artistic examination of gender, identity, and the unswerving bond of twinship, despite transformation.

An honest portrayal of a family in turmoil, the film follows a pair of identical twins as one transitions from male to female. Captured over a period of three years, directors Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills and Todd Sills document the twins and their parents, examining the Farley family’s struggle to redefine themselves as a unit.

The twins’ early lives were quintessentially all-American: picture-perfect holidays, supportive parents who cheered them on every step of the way. By the time they were 14, their parents had divorced, they had both come out as gay, and a joint suicide attempt precipitated a forced separation of Mark and Alex for two and half years.

Through extensive, deeply candid interviews with the twins and their family, Red Without Blue recounts these troubled times, interweaving the twins’ difficult past with their efforts to find themselves in the present.

The film follows the painful steps of Clair’s transition, including electrolysis and the difficult decision to proceed with bottom surgery. Through its portrayal of these articulate and independent twins, each haunted by the painful experiences of their adolescence, the film questions normative standards of gender and identity – as Mark and Clair reassert their indescribable bond as identical twins. Through the power of the their voices, we hear the story of a family’s redemption from a dark past, and ultimately, its revival to the present.

Check out the trailer for Red Without Blue below and watch the full film on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 11/2/18

Gay writer/director Don Roos (‘The Opposite of Sex’) returns in prime form with a wicked ensemble comedy about a group of gay, lesbian and hetero friends and family connected by secrets and lies. Watch ‘Happy Endings’ now on Dekkoo!

Cancer patient Hannah fears her husband Elwood will have no one to care for him after she’s gone. Long suspecting Elwood had feelings for another man in his youth, Hannah sets out to find his unrequited love in hopes of reuniting them. Stream the gay short film ‘Elwood Takes a Lover’ now on Dekkoo!

The intimate bond between two identical twin brothers is challenged when one decides to transition from male to female; this is the story of their evolving relationship, and the resurrection of their family from a darker past. Stream ‘Red Without Blue’ on Dekkoo now!

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Coming next week: The feature-length directorial debut of actor Gerald McCullouch, who most gay cinema fans will recognize as one of the leads of BearCity.

Real Boy tells the story of a son’s transition and a mom’s transformation

Real Boy is an intimate story of a family in transition. As 19-year-old Bennett Wallace navigates early sobriety, late adolescence, and the evolution of his gender identity, his mother makes her own transformation from resistance to acceptance of her trans son. Along the way, both mother and son find support in their communities, reminding us that families are not only given, but chosen.

Director/producer Shaleece Haas balances the poignancy and humor in this terrific new documentary, using intimate character-driven storytelling that invites the audience deep into the interior world of the protagonists.

Screened more than 180 times in 23 different countries, earning a total of 20 awards, Real Boy was broadcast in the United States on PBS’ Independent Lens and now it’s available for all to enjoy on Dekkoo!