Category: Drama

Two troubled boys fall in love in the Romeo & Juliet-inspired On the Fringe of Wild

Two young men fall in love under harsh circumstances in the moving new romance On the Fringe of Wild.

Harrison Browne stars as Peter, a teenager who dreams of leaving his small Ontario town to pursue life as an artist, but his homophobic father, played by Andrew Bee, insists on turning him into “a man.” Sending him on a hunting trip one cold winter break, tensions run high and Peter runs away.

Lost, cold and reaching his breaking point, Peter meets another young man named Jack, played by Cameron Stewart. Jack is also desperate to escape his toxic family situation. A romance quickly develops between the two boys as they hide away in a secluded cabin, discovering one another and themselves. But the world outside eventually pulls them back and they’re soon stuck facing the circumstances they tried so desperately to flee.

Inspired by Romeo and Juliet and set in the early 2000s, On the Fringe of Wild offers up an early 21st Century snapshot of queer adolescent boys on the verge of growing up into men and discovering their authentic selves. The film was shot in rural regions of Northern Ontario, Canada, mostly outdoors amongst the beautiful, but cold, stark and melancholic winter landscapes.

Watch the trailer for On the Fringe of Wild below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Lose Your Head

Lured by Berlin’s reputation as city with a pulsating night life, young Luis, played by Fernando Tielve, leaves his boyfriend behind to travel there – eager to indulge in drugs, sex, partying, music and mindless fun.

Somewhat innocent and certainly naïve, the wide-eyed Luis is quickly sucked into the dizzying whirlwind of the club scene where he meets up with a strange bohemian crowd, does coke and hooks up with Viktor, played by Marko Mandic, a domineering Ukrainian immigrant with his own set of hidden problems.

After he meets a couple looking for a missing man who bears a striking resemblance to him, and after Viktor becomes more menacing, Luis gives in to paranoia as a sense of deteriorating reality begins to overcome him.

A gritty gay drama, Lose Your Head is a complex, “Alice in Wonderland”-like tale of a young man methodically driven out of control.

Watch the trailer for Lose Your Head below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Long Ride

Not everything is as it seems in The Long Ride.

An 8-minute comedy-drama from writer Samy Souissi and director Sarah Passos, the film stars Matthew Morrison as Zack, an up-and-coming British actor with lots of talent, but very little professional luck.

After a long and uncomfortable day, all Zack wants to do is sit down and relax on his long train ride home. Determined to get a seat, he decides to “make a scene” with the help of his long-suffering boyfriend Aidan, played by Joseph Prestwich. His efforts, however, prove a little too convincing and end up getting him in much more trouble than he anticipated.

The Long Ride is a clever, well-acted and deliberately deceptive short film about a fake break-up turned tragically real. The full short film is available now on Dekkoo.

Provocative filmmaker Bruce LaBruce returns with the 1970s-set thriller Saint-Narcisse

The latest film from Bruce LaBruce, Canada’s reigning “King of Kink,” Saint-Narcisse follows Dominic (Félix-Antoine Duval), a young man with a fetish… for himself. Nothing turns him on more than his reflection, with much of his time spent taking Polaroid selfies.

When his loving grandmother dies, he discovers a deep family secret: his lesbian mother didn’t die in childbirth and he has a twin brother, Daniel, raised in a remote monastery by a depraved priest, held captive against his will! The power of destiny brings together the two beautiful, identical brothers, who, after being reunited with their mother Beatrice, are soon embroiled in a blasphemous web of sex, revenge and redemption.

Set in the early 1970s and the afterglow of sexual liberation, Saint-Narcisse is a love letter to the psychosexual thrillers of that era. Elegant visuals are combined with LaBruce’s notorious punk provocations in “a wild ride that’s enjoyable in all its B-movie glory while also titillating the intellect” (The Hollywood Reporter).

Watch the trailer for Saint-Narcisse below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

Now Available: The Extinction of Fireflies

Set in a coastal New England town over Labor Day Weekend, the new comedy-drama The Extinction of Fireflies follows a middle-aged playwright who invites some friends to read his latest dramatic effort.

Those friends are Charlotte, a legendary TV diva, and Jay, an actor who rarely finds himself employed. The play, titled “The Extinction of Fireflies” is a mythological comedy based on the epic romance of Roman Emperor Hadrian and his teenage lover Antinous. When Jay brings along his new, much younger lover Callisto, life begins to imitate art and the critical feedback of the piece becomes personal and surprisingly spectacular.

Based on his own stage play, this new comedy from writer-director James Andrew Walsh stars multi-award winner Michael Urie, of “Ugly Betty” fame, Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett, “Bob’s Burgers” and “Search Party” regular Drew Droege and “Chicaco Fire” and “Broad City” star Kario Marcel.

Shot entirely on location in Westerly, Rhode Island during the 2020 global pandemic, the film is dedicated to all the fireflies extinguished by both AIDS and the coronavirus.

Watch the trailer for The Extinction of Fireflies below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Eastern Boys

The critically-acclaimed Eastern Boys follows the cautious relationship that develops between a single man and a much-younger sex-worker.

Arriving from all over the Eastern Bloc, the young men who frequent the Gare du Nord train station in Paris are scraping by however they can, forming gangs for support and protection and living in fear of being caught by the police and deported.

When a bourgeois, middle-aged man named Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin) approaches a boyishly handsome Ukrainian immigrant named Marek (Kirill Emelyanov), he learns the young man is willing to do anything for some cash.

When Daniel brings the young man home, it leads to an alarming and dangerous home invasion. But once the men are able to spend some time alone together, they end up forming an unexpectedly profound relationship. The drastically different circumstances of their lives ultimately reveal hidden facets of the city they share.

Presented in four parts, this absorbing, critically-acclaimed drama from director Robin Campillo (“The Returned,” BPM (Beats Per Minute)) is centered around relationships that defy easy categorization, in which motivations and desires are poorly understood – even sometimes by those to whom they belong.

Watch the trailer for Eastern Boys below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Freefall

From writer-director Krit Komkrichwarakool, Freefall is an award-winning 18-minute short film which has proved so successful that it’s being adapted into a feature-length film.

Freefall follows Ivan (Andrew Jenkins), a young gay man who is diagnosed with ALS. After receiving this troubling news, he finds his relationship with his boyfriend Lucas (Chris McNally) changed and tested in difficult ways, all while he starts to lose control of his own body.

Deeply emotional and expertly-crafted, the film won the Best Director Award at the Moscow Shorts Film Festival and was nominated for Best Short Film at the 2018 Leo Awards when it first premiered.

Originally from Bangkok, Komkrichwarakool earned a degree in Communication Design, then moved to Canada to pursue a career in film. Integrating his knowledge of design with his approach to filmmaking, he always brings a unique point of view to his storytelling.

In his own words, Komkrichwarakool says “film is a great medium to explore the reflections of our own existence, and the ultimate question of why each of us is here. It is why I do what I do. To speak with my own subconscious. To find a trace of the answers that connect us all.”

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

Now Available: Nothing But Flowers

Taking its title from a Talking Heads song, the new romantic drama Nothing But Flowers follows Ash (Hayden Vaughn) and Max (August Medina), a long-term gay couple who suddenly find their loving relationship in jeopardy.

When Max gets accepted into an elite East Coast graduate school program, it puts all of their plans on hold. Now they must question whether or not they have a future together. On their final night as a couple, they begin to relive pivotal moments from their past, until their interrupted by a surprise going-away party.

From writer-director Nicolas Merrias and co-writer Omar Salas Zamora (the filmmaker behind the Dekkoo-Original Series Here Comes Your Man), Nothing But Flowers is a tender and heartfelt gay romantic drama.

Watch the trailer for Nothing But Flowers below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.