Category: Drama

Caden and Beau consider becoming dads in ‘Baby Steps,’ the heartfelt new follow-up to ‘Say Yes’

Stewart Wade, the writer-director behind Tru Loved, Such Good People and the on-going Coffee House Chronicles film series, follows up his 2018 romantic comedy-drama Say Yes with this thoughtful sequel about a gay couple considering whether or not to expand their family.

Say Yes lead actors Matt Pascua and Patrick Zeller return for Baby Steps as Caden and Beau, two men who came together under deeply unusual circumstances.

When Caden’s twin sister Lily (played by Leah McKendrick) was diagnosed with cancer, he moved in to help her family during their time of need. He never expected to catch feelings for Beau, Lily’s husband.

With Lily’s whole-hearted encouragement, the pair became an unexpected couple after her passing. Now, a full year after her death, they discover that she surreptitiously froze some of her eggs before she started chemotherapy – just in case the two men wanted to start a family.

It’s suddenly up to Caden and Beau to decide whether or not they are ready to take the next step in their relationship and become parents. Their search for a potential surrogate also presents complications when Caden’s own mother enthusiastically applies for the position.

Co-starring Alec Mapa and Alexandra Paul, Baby Steps is a sweet-natured family comedy about everything that comes before bringing home that bundle of joy.

Watch a short clip from Baby Steps below. The full film is now streaming on Dekkoo. Say Yes, the original film, is also available to stream now.

Director Rodrigo Bellott’s ‘Tu Me Manques’ is a riveting and unforgettably emotional must see

With films like Sexual Dependency and Who Killed the White Llama, writer-director Rodrigo Bellott established himself as one of the driving forces behind Bolivia’s nascent film industry. Not only is he an accomplished director in his own right, but he also oversees La Fabrica, Bolivia’s first official film school, where he shepherds emerging young talents through the filmmaking process.

In 2019, Bellott released his most acclaimed film to date, the moving and cathartic Tu Me Manques. We can’t recommend it more highly.

Accomplished Argentinian actor Oscar Martinez stars as Jorge, a conservative Bolivian father who receives news that his son, Gabriel , has committed suicide. Weeks after the tragedy, he finds his son’s laptop where he discovers he had a romantic relationship with Sebastian (Fernando Barbosa), another young countryman who lives in New York City, where his son was studying.

After an initial angry confrontation with Sebastian on Skype, Jorge decides to go to New York to look for answers about his son’s death. He soon learns that Sebastian has channeled his own grief into a bold new play in honor of his lost love, in which Gabriel’s inner turmoil is transformed into an eye-popping gay fantasia… and the result will change Jorge’s life forever.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at L.A. Outfest and the Audience Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Tu Me Manques is a smart, stylish and ultimately life-affirming exploration of three men’s struggles to reconcile identity and heritage.

Watch the trailer for Tu Me Manques below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Viggo Mortensen wrote, directed and stars in the emotional gay family drama ‘Falling’

The directorial debut of A-list star Viggo Mortensen, who also wrote and co-stars in the film, Falling is a deeply emotional family drama in which two worlds collide.

Mortensen stars as John, a gay man who lives with his partner and their daughter in California, far from the traditional rural life he left behind years ago. Legendary character actor Lance Henriksen plays his father, Willis, a man who raised his child in a storm of rage.

Early on, the film shifts between scenes of John as a boy, forced by Willis into regular tests of masculinity, and John as an adult living happily out of the closet.

But when Willis, now in the grip of dementia, descends back into John’s life, his usual vitriol and rancid homophobia continue to flow unchecked. As a son still bound by duty, John must care for the man who hurt him the most.

Co-starring Laura Linney, Hannah Gross and acclaimed director and regular Mortensen collaborator David Cronenberg, Falling offers up a tense examination of the wounds and responsibilities that come with family and the overwhelming need to live one’s life with honesty.

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

Two brothers-in-law get unexpectedly close in the emotional family comedy-drama ‘Say Yes’

Say Yes is a touching comedy-drama about a dying woman who becomes determined to help her husband and her brother find an unconventional path to happiness after she’s gone.

When Lily (Leah McKendrick) is diagnosed with cancer, her beloved twin brother, Caden (Matt Pascua), moves in to help the family during their time of need.

Once there, Caden ends up forming a strong connection with Lily’s husband, Beau (Patrick Zeller). Noticing their bond, Lily comes up with an unusual idea. She makes the two most important men in her life promise to find happiness as a couple after she’s gone. But can a straight guy really fall in love with another man?

With Say Yes, writer-director Stewart Wade, the filmmaker behind Tru Loved, Such Good People and the on-going Coffee House Chronicles film series, set out to tell a story of fluidity, in which a person’s sexual orientation is not the only determining factor in how he or she chooses love.

You’ll also be able to check in on Caden and Beau again soon! Wade followed up Say Yes with the 2023 sequel Baby Steps, which will be available on Dekkoo starting next month.

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

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!

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.

Short Film Spotlight: The Word

A father and son (Karim Ashtari and Ali Ashrafiju) take to the road for a driving lesson. It’s a scenario that will be familiar to many, but in Iranian writer-director Hadi Khanmohammadi’s The Word, the roles are reversed.

In this intriguing 15-minute short, it’s the son who is teaching his aging father how to drive. But as this potential bonding moment plays out, an increasingly tense and difficult conversation ensues.

As the two men begin to air their grievances with one another, we get a strong sense of the abuse and patriarchal entitlement the son has had to endure. The father also wants to know why his son shies away from the topic of marriage… and spends so much time with his closest male ‘friend.’

Though it doesn’t offer any easy answers, The Word has a lot to say about traditional gender norms in Iran. It also adeptly captures the feeling of having to censor yourself in the presence of a closed-minded parent. Unfortunately, sometimes it really is impossible to teach an old dog new tricks.

Watch a short teaser trailer for The Word below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Into Temptation

The lingering effects of abuse and trauma are explored in Into Temptation, a deeply provocative 20-minute drama from writer-director Quinn da Matta.

Michael, played as an adult by Juan Manuel Salcito and as a young boy by Jaxon Ballenger, was abused by his priest, a trusted authority figure and friend, as a child. Tom McClaren, who plays the priest in both flashbacks and the present setting, starts the film off tied to a bed.

As a kid, Michael took the older man’s manipulative declarations of love literally. He doesn’t feel like a victim, but rather an equal partner whose romance was unfairly interrupted by outside forces.

Now that he’s been reunited with the object of his infatuation, he’s willing to go to extreme lengths to make the priest understand his feelings and honor the promises he once made.

To Michael, his actions are an expression of a deep, abiding love. But, it’s a twisted, dangerous and warped sense of love that he can’t genuinely comprehend due to his manipulation and abuse such a young age.

Into Temptation begins as a revenge thriller but carefully transforms into a thought-provoking drama that explores the consequences of sexual abuse on a minor and the lingering psychosexual effects.

Watch a short trailer for Into Temptation below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Louis Hofmann stars in the swoon-worthy young adult romance ‘Center of My World’

After a three-week stint at a French-language camp, high-schooler Phil (Louis Hofmann) returns home to find that his mother (Sabine Timoteo) and twin sister (Ada Philine Stappenbeck) aren’t speaking to one another.

Not willing to confront his family during the last days of the summer holidays, Phil escapes to hang out with his best friend, Kat (Svenja Jung), eating ice cream and playing dress-up.

As the school year begins, a new student arrives – the handsome and mysterious Nicholas (Jannik Schumann). Smitten, Phil watches his crush as he runs around the track after school, and is thrilled when Nicholas returns his feelings. However, when first love’s volatility comes to light, Phil realizes he must deal with the problems of his past in order to deal with the issues of his present.

Based on author Andreas Steinhofel’s award-winning young adult novel and featuring a swoon-worthy lead performance from Louis Hofmann, a super-cute German actor who has made an international splash over the past few years in popular shows like Masters of the Air, Dark and All the Light We Cannot See, Center of My World is a gorgeously-crafted, sun-kissed ode to friendship, family bonds and first love.

Watch the trailer for Center of My World below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.