Category: Drama
Five filmmakers explore male sexuality and longing in the collection ‘Furious Desires’
The concept of desire is explored to the fullest in Furious Desires, a collection of five international short films exploring male sexuality and longing.
In Brazilian filmmaker Fabio Leal’s The Daytime Doorman, a man pushes past boundaries with someone who works in his apartment building. Also from Brazil, Ricky Mastro’s film Xavier and Miguel follows a teen who is ready to tell the world about the secret feelings he has for his best friend.
The Other Side, from Mexican director Rodrigo Alvarez Flores, chronicles the romance between two young men who will not let the border come between their love. Mexican filmmaker Denisse Quintero’s The Tiger’s Fight is centered around a homoerotic harvest ritual where village men are expected fight one another.
Finally, from Italian director Simone Bozzelli, Loris is Fine follows a naïve 20-year-old whose need for affection drives him to make some life-altering choices.
With all of the shorts combined together, this stylish and diverse collection runs a total of 91 minutes… and will surely leave you with some desires of your own.
Check out these select stills from each of the five featured short films below. Furious Desires is now streaming on Dekkoo.
The full first season of ‘Thirty’ is now available on Dekkoo
Created by celebrated community strategist and social entrepreneur Dontá Morrison, adapted from his own novel ‘The End of the Rainbow,’ Thirty is a brand-new 7-episode series that pushes boundaries.
The show intricately explores the lives of Tyrin and Khalil (Brandon Moten and Bobby Musique Cooks), a Black, same-gender-loving couple. When a situation arises that throws them into a whirlwind of betrayal and heartbreak, it threatens to unravel their seemingly perfect relationship.
As their love story takes an unexpected turn, everyone in Tyrin and Khalil’s orbit seems to get caught in the crossfire. Friendships are questioned, faith is put to the test and prayers are soon answered in the most unexpected of ways.
With a compelling storyline and a talented ensemble cast, Thirty promises to captivate viewers from start to finish.
Watch a short trailer for the series below. The full first season is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Dekkoo Digest – 092
The clever short film ‘Beast’ tells an unusual, genre-twisting story of forbidden gay love
A 24-minute short film from Swedish writer-director Valentina Chamorro Westergårdh, Beast begins as a romantic drama and turns into something else entirely.
The film follows Vincent (Andreas La Chenardière), a reclusive young man who lives in a remote lakeside town that only attracts visitors during the warmer months. When he attends a bonfire and meets the strikingly handsome Gustav (Robert Noack), an instant attraction is sparked.
Gustav visits Vincent again later on, hoping to bring his seemingly shy newfound acquaintance out of his shell and act on their clear desire for one another.
Attracted to Gustav, Vincent soon gives in to temptation, and the two men begin a passionate affair. But Vincent has a good reason for keeping most people at a distance – and his secret may just destroy Gustav and their burgeoning romance if the pair aren’t careful.
Clever and beautifully constructed, Beast straddles two specific genres to tell an unusual tale of forbidden gay love.
Watch the trailer for Beast below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
A sex-worker embarks on an unusual odyssey in the surreal erotic drama ‘Strapped’
The strikingly handsome Benjamin Bonenfant stars in the sexually-charged 2010 indie film Strapped as an unnamed hustler on an unusual odyssey.
Stunningly photographed by writer-director Joseph Graham, the film follows the young man during a routine trick that soon leads him through a series of life-changing encounters.
This amicable and sexually efficient rent boy begins to look at himself differently when he finds himself lost in a maze-like apartment building. On his journey through the building, he meets up with a variety of different clients. Sex is the commonality, but out of that commodity comes raw, unguarded emotions for all involved.
Witty, sexy, surreal and ultimately touching, Strapped offers up an unforgettable look into one young man’s moving journey toward understanding himself and the world around him.
Watch the trailer for Strapped below. Though it’s long been difficult to find, Strapped is now finally available to stream on Dekkoo! We also have an interview with director Joseph Graham where he discusses this provocative film, plus a making-of documentary available now.
Short Film Spotlight: I Get So Sad Sometimes
The debut short film from Filipino writer-director Trishtan Perez, I Get So Sad Sometimes is a sexually-charged drama about the isolation of youth.
Starring newcomers JC Santiago, Karl Louie Caminade and Russ Ligtas, the film follows a lonely high school boy who, unbeknownst to his family, is secretly spending a lot of time on the internet chatting with a mature man whose face he hasn’t seen.
Cleverly shot in a claustrophobic aspect ratio to capture the lead character’s sense of being boxed in, this provocative film offers up a keen observation of this modern generation’s ethos – expressed through an intimate and contemporary visual language focusing on the immediacy of online interaction and instant gratification.
One could also read the film as a stern warning of the dangers of the internet and social media as a surrogate to real life bonds.
Check out the poster for I Get So Sad Sometimes below. The full 20-minute short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Nico Greetham co-stars in the charming ’90s-set theater kid comedy ‘Dramarama’
It’s the end of the summer of 1994 and Gene (Nick Pugliese) is preparing for his high school drama friends’ final murder mystery slumber party!
The theatrical hostess, Rose (Anna Grace Barlow), will fly off to start college the next morning, followed by the earnest Claire (Megan Suri), charismatic Oscar (‘Love, Victor’ and ‘American Horror Story’ heartthrob Nico Greetham) and sarcastic Ally (Danielle Kay).
Before they head off to begin their separate lives, however, Gene wants to come out of the closet – but he’s terrified of what his sheltered Christian friends might think… especially Oscar.
The feature-length debut of prolific short film director and producer Jonathan Wysocki, Dramarama is like a perfect mix of The Breakfast Club and The Big Chill. Featuring winning performances from the pitch-perfect ensemble cast, the film offers up a nostalgic and deeply funny coming-of-age tale and a poignant love letter to drama nerds, late bloomers and the intense friendships that mark our youth.
Watch the trailer Dramarama below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Short Film Spotlight: The Station In-Between
Swiss actors Peter Fischli and Carlos Leal star in the tender and visually lush short film The Station In-Between as Theo and Louis, two gay men with little in common who are compelled to go on an emotional journey together.
Louis’s husband, who was also Theo’s best friend, was recently killed during a homophobic attack. The pair are traveling by train to Paxmal, a spiritual peace monument in the Swiss Alps, to scatter their beloved friend and partner’s ashes.
Along the way, almost as if by fate, they meet a variety of memorable characters. Some confront them with traumas of the past, while others remind them of the good things in life and the beauty that surrounds them even in the darkest of times.
Gorgeously crafted by director Sven Schnyder, this touching and compassionate 19-minute short film is an ode to unexpected friendships, as well as life, death and everything in between.
Check out the poster for The Station In-Between below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
The 1974 gay classic ‘A Very Natural Thing’ is now available on Dekkoo
Originally released by New Line Cinema in 1974, director Christopher Larkin’s A Very Natural Thing is considered one of the first films about gay relationships intended for mainstream, commercial distribution.
The plot concerns a young monk named David, played by Robert Joel, who leaves the monastery to become a public school teacher by day, while looking for true love in a gay bar by night.
Though it didn’t reach the large, mainstream audience the distributors had been seeking, the film offers a unique look at a specific period in the LGBTQ history – beginning with a mini-documentary about New York City’s 1973 Gay Pride Parade and continuing on to take a refreshingly positive and optimistic look at then-modern same-sex relationships.
While earlier queer films were dominated by tales of gays and lesbians being outcasts of society, mentally disturbed or committing suicide – and later queer films were sadly dominated by the emergence of the AIDS crisis – A Very Natural Thing represents a short period in time where gay liberation flourished, and filmmakers could explore relationships in much the same way that films with heterosexual characters did.
Check out the original poster for A Very Natural Thing below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
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