Category: Drama

Short Film Spotlight: Affection

A thought-provoking 6-minute short from writer-director Connor Williams, Affection stars Justin Kang and Spencer Claus as Shawn and Luke, two young boyfriends who are unexpectedly confronted with their differences during a night out.

While walking down the street holding hands, a passing stranger makes a derogatory comment. The more confident, outspoken Luke’s response is to confront the situation head on – standing up for both himself and the man he loves. Shawn, however, has a different way or handling these incidents… though he’s seemingly reluctant to examine the reasons why.

Smart and compassionate where it counts, featuring terrific performances from the two lead actors, Affection examines the ways in which we deal with prejudice and what it says about our own levels of self-acceptance.

Check out the poster for Affection below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Coming out gets more complicated than usual in the charming Italian rom-com ‘Tell No One’

Fast-paced, funny and even a little tear-inducing when it counts, Tell No One is a charming family comedy about successful young man who is long overdue to start telling the truth.

Mattia (Josafat Vagni) is about to move from Rome to Madrid to start a new job and marry his long-distance boyfriend Eduard (Jose Dammert). This will solve two problems: 1) He will be much closer to the man he loves; 2) He won’t have to bite the bullet and finally come out to his family.

His plan hits a major snag, however, when Eduard, having no idea that Mattia is still in the closet, announces that he has planned a surprise trip to Rome so that he can meet his boyfriend’s folks and ask for their son’s hand in marriage.

Stunned by this unexpected news, Mattia has to compose himself quickly and decide whether or not it’s time to tell the truth to his old-fashioned Italian parents.

Though the whole film takes place during one fateful day, director Ivan Silvestrini and screenwriter Roberto Proia use narration and a variety of creative visual flourishes to jump around in time and give the audience the full scope of Mattia’s family life.

Blending clever dialog and comic set-pieces with heartfelt moments of emotional poignancy, Tell No One should resonate for anyone who has spent a little too much time in the closet.

Watch the trailer for Tell No One below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Raúl Castillo and Sheila Vand star in the powerful coming-of-age drama ‘We the Animals’

Featuring riveting performances from Sheila Vand and Raul Castillo, We the Animals follows three boys who tear through their rural New York hometown while their young parents’ volatile relationship makes and unmakes the family many times over.

While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father, Ma seeks to keep her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own.

With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Jeremiah Zagar based on the celebrated novel by Justin Torres, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered performances from its astounding cast – including three talented, young first-time actors – and stunning animated sequences which bring Jonah’s torn inner world to life.

Drawing from his documentary background, director Jeremiah Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working class family life and brotherhood.

Watch the trailer for We the Animals below. The film is now streaming 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.

Short Film Spotlight: Headlock

A powerful 16-minute short film from writer-director Damon Laguna, Headlock stars Alejandro Akara as Diego, a high school wrestling star whose father just happens to be the team’s coach – and puts an unhealthy amount of extra pressure on his shy, introverted son.

When Diego breaks from his father’s strict routine to attend a party with his best friend and secret crush Travis (Eduardo Alexis Peña), he takes the opportunity to finally express his feelings. Things don’t go entirely smoothly, and soon the whole team becomes aware of Diego’s sexuality.

Though he and Travis are able to come to a deeper understanding and finally unleash their pent-up desires, Diego knows he will have to muster up the courage to confront his father once and for all.

Developed at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Headlock is a touching and thought-provoking short drama which examines masculinity and sexuality in men’s sports and the Latinx community.

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

Dekkoo Films presents Bad Together – now available to rent or own!

From creator Jono Mitchell, the writer, director and actor behind Making a Scene, Thirty Candles and Miles from Nowhere, Bad Together is a brand-new Dekkoo-original that follows the evolving friendship between two gay men as they learn to accept and love both themselves and one another.

Andres Erickson stars as Robbie, a sensitive young casting associate who is reeling after a recent break-up. When his best friend Emma drags him to a work party in an effort to cheer him up, he meets the charming and freewheeling Cameron, played by Queer Niro.

The story checks in with the pair at different moments throughout the years-long relationship that develops. Are these two just friends or are there deeper feeling that aren’t being expressed? And, more importantly, are they even a good match for one another?

Intelligently written, acted and directed, Bad Together examines modern queer relationships with a keen eye and a lot of heart.

Bad Together is now available to rent or own from all major VOD platforms. It will be available to Dekkoo subscribers in 2024.

Sex and politics collide in the recently restored 1978 classic ‘Confessions of a Congressman’

Spanish director Eloy de la Iglesia specialized in many genres (including many legendarily gritty B-movies of the 1970s), but he doesn’t get as much credit for creating some of the first openly gay films in Spain’s cinematic history.

Fighting for liberty, love and your secret teenage lover are the themes of his 1978 film Confessions of a Congressman. Roberto (Jose Sacristan) is our protagonist. He is a leader and follower of the ideals of his radical leftist opposition party, but he’s hiding a secret from the party and his wife Carmen (Maria Luisa San Jose): he can’t resist the cheap beautiful street hustlers that bad-boy Nes (Angel Pardo) throws his way for various pleasures.

Eventually, the fascists find out about his proclivities and hire the blonde and angelic-looking Juanito (Jose Luis Alonso) to infiltrate Roberto’s life. But after a while, Juanito starts to find his place with Roberto, with politics and even with Carmen.

With the elections fast approaching all three members of this strange throuple will have to decide how much they’re willing to lose to avoid revealing the truth.

Watch a teaser trailer for Confessions of a Congressman below. The newly restored film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Pedro Almodóvar presents this stylish thriller about one of Argentina’s most infamous criminals

Produced by Pedro and Augustin Almodóvar, El Angel is a provocative true crime drama – exploring the short, violent career of Argentina’s most infamous and longest-serving convicted killer.

Carlitos (Lorenzo Ferro) is a seventeen-year-old youth with blonde curls, a baby face and movie star swagger. As a young boy, he coveted other people’s things, but it wasn’t until his early adolescence that his true calling – to be a thief – manifested itself.

When he meets Ramon (Chino Darin) at his new school, Carlitos is immediately drawn to him and starts showing off to get his attention. Together they will embark on a journey of discoveries, love and crime. Killing is just a random offshoot of the violence, which continues to escalate until Carlitos is finally apprehended.

Because of his angelic appearance, the press dubs him ‘The Angel of Death.’ He’s soon showered with attention because of his beauty and becomes an unlikely overnight celebrity, despite his long list of offenses.

A flamboyant, pop-energized portrait of a serial killer, El Angel made a big splash when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, even drawing comparisons to some of Martin Scorsese’s most revered crime sagas.

Watch the trailer for El Angel below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.