Category: Drama

Now Available: Monster Pies

Does anyone ever forget the time they felt the incredible force of first love?

When Mike (Tristan Barr) learns that his English teacher is pairing him up for a class assignment on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ William (Lucas Linehan), the super-cute new kids on school, Mike can’t believe his luck!

As the two young men spend more and more time working together on a monster movie version of the Bard’s classic tale, they soon realize that their feelings for one another may be more powerful than either of them is truly ready for.

From Australian writer-director Lee Galea, who based his screenplay on a short story he has written when he was 15 years old and deep into the themes of the movie on a personal level, Monster Pies is a touching and original take on the all encompassing power of teen love – one that is sure to move even the hardest of hearts.

The film was originally released back in 2013 (almost ten years ago!) when it earned awards – and a whole lot of tears – at film festivals all around the globe.

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

Don’t miss the gripping, layered and beautifully honest award-winning drama José

Winner of multiple awards, including the Queer Lion from the 75th Annual Venice Film Festival, José is a gripping, layered and beautifully honest story about one working class young man’s struggle to find himself. Made in the neorealist filmmaking tradition, the film delivers a nuanced and vivid look at being gay in Central America.

José (played by magnetic newcomer Enrique Salanic) lives with his mother (Ana Cecilia Mota) in Guatemala City, where they survive on her selling sandwiches at bus stops and with him working at a local restaurant. It is a poor and sometimes dangerous country where, dominated by conservative Catholic and Evangelical Christian religion, living one’s life as an openly gay man is hard for José to imagine.

His mother has never had a husband. And though José is at the edge of manhood at 19-years old, he is her youngest and favorite child and she is determined to hold on to him.

Reserved and private, José fills his free moments playing with his phone and random sex with other men arranged on street corners and dating apps. When he meets attractive and gentle Luis (Manolo Herrera), a migrant from the rural Caribbean coast, they pursue an unexpected relationship with more emotion than José has ever felt. He is quickly thrust into new passion, pain and self-reflection that push him to rethink his life even as he is reluctant to take a leap of faith.

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

New This Week – 4/8/22

When Lorena and Diego, a seemingly straight couple, move to the coast of Chile together, they find their relationship tested. Diego begins developing feelings for a handsome local man named Vincente. Their passionate clandestine affair comes to a dramatic, inevitable head when all three go camping together in this deeply erotic drama from director Marco Antonio Nunez. ‘The Sea’ is available to stream now exclusively on Dekkoo!

This provocative short film from French director Florent Medina follows Gabriel, a shy young man who seeks out the services of Eva, a seductive trans sex-worker. Though he isn’t quite able to make love with her, their meeting takes an unexpected turn that will leave a lasting impression. Watch ‘Eva’ now on Dekkoo!

The honeymoon is over for Nelson and Todd when one of the grooms vanishes without a trace… only to turn up with a shocking confession! America’s favorite gay bears are back! This time, they find themselves in a dangerous world of international intrigue – chasing clues that take them to Palm Springs, Los Angeles and a wild showdown in a deserted Mexican ghost town. ‘Where the Bears Are 5’ is now available on Dekkoo!

Xavier Dolan’s sensational feature debut I Killed My Mother hits Dekkoo

Released in 2009, I Killed My Mother was the semi-autobiographical debut feature film by then 20-year-old Xavier Dolan – who quickly became a breakthrough star director on the international film scene.

Focusing on the relationship between Hubert Minel (Dolan), a 16-year-old Quebecois living in suburban Montreal, and his single mother Chantale (Anne Dorval), I Killed My Mother beautifully captures the anxieties of a mother-son relationship.

While he gauges her with contempt, only seeing her out-of-date sweater and kitschy decor, the ingrained mechanisms (i.e. manipulation and guilt) of their relationship beautifully (and tragically) unravel on the big screen.

After the film’s debut, I Killed My Mother was nominated for dozens of film festival awards all over the globe and quickly became a sensation. Dolan has gone on to make many more features, often with major Hollywood stars. He has also had some other big acting opportunities in films like Bad Times at the El Royale and It: Chapter Two.

Watch the trailer for I Killed My Mother below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

NEW THIS WEEK – 4/1/22

Winner of multiple awards, including the Queer Lion from the 75th Annual Venice Film Festival, ‘José’ is a gripping, layered and beautifully honest story about one working-class young man’s struggle to find himself. Made in the neorealist filmmaking tradition, the film is a nuanced and vivid look at being gay and falling in love in Central America. ‘Jose’ is available now on Dekkoo!

When social outcast Mike is paired up with dreamy new kid William for a class assignment on “Romeo & Juliet,” he can’t believe his luck. As the two teens spend time together crafting a monster movie version of the Bard’s classic, they realize that their feelings for one another may be more powerful than either of them are ready to admit. Watch ‘Monster Pies’ now on Dekkoo!

After a gender affirmation surgery, Joëlle finds difficulty maintaining normal parenting standards with her son. When he leaves the family home and follows her to New York, it starts to make things even more difficult – interfering with the new life she is looking to build. ‘In The Mirror’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A deeply erotic new romance about a tender secret affair.

Now Available: Parallel Sons

A gay indie classic and film festival favorite from 1995, Parallel Sons follows the relationship that develops between a white teen who identifies as black and a young black man who has been wounded while escaping prison.

Seth (Gabriel Mann) is a youth with artistic leanings, a fascination with Black pop culture and a dead-end life in an Adirondack village. He’s alternatively sensitive and brutal with Kristen (Heather Gottlieb), who wants a sexual relationship that he explosively rejects.

Late one night, as he’s closing the cafe where he works, a young Black man attempts to rob him at gun point but faints from illness. Seth takes the man, Knowledge (Laurence Mason), an escapee from a nearby prison, to a family cabin where he nurses him and they begin a tentative friendship. When the sheriff learns of Seth’s harboring a fugitive, a major confrontation looms.

Watch the original trailer for Parallel Sons below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 3/25/22

This new comedy series follows best “Judies,” Preston and Ben (Prescott Seymour and John Wascavage) as they navigate the insane “she-nanigans” life throws at them. From makeup mishaps to medical diagnoses, these queens make lemon drop martinis out of lemons as they untuck the power of a found family. ‘What a Drag’ is available now on Dekkoo!

This seductive short film from French writer-director Julien Glòries is all about desire, following two young men who embellish their love story in front of a social worker in an effort to get what they want most out of life. Watch ‘Je Suis Desire’ now on Dekkoo!

The stunning, semi-autobiographical debut from writer-director-actor Xavier Dolan, ‘I Killed My Mother’ follows 16-year-old Hubert, whose turbulent relationship with his mother unfolds with a compelling combination of savage fury and deep affection. Released in 2009, the film was nominated for dozens of international film festival awards, and quickly became an international sensation – launching Dolan’s prolific career. ‘I Killed My Mother’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Winner of the Queer Lion Award at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. 

New This Week – 3/18/22

A gay indie classic and film festival favorite from 1995, Parallel Sons follows a white teen from upstate New York who identifies as black – though he’s never met a black person. His life takes an unexpected turn when he falls in love with Knowledge, a young black man who has been wounded while escaping prison. ‘Parallel Sons’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

Flavio and Wendel are friends from the same soccer team. For more of their relationship, they have both shared the dream of one day becoming professional players. While Flavio starts entertaining ideas about quitting, Wendel begins to realize that what they feel for one another might be more than just friendship. Watch ‘A Team of Two’ now on Dekkoo!

A confrontation between two swimmers in a locker room ends in tears in this morality tale, which concerns the impudence of “manspreading” in public spaces. Inspired by homoerotic photography, GUO4 is a wildly original stop-motion short film from acclaimed British director Peter Strickland (The Duke of Burgundy, Berberian Sound Studio, In Fabric). ‘GU04’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Two best Judies, Preston and Ben, navigate the insane she-nanigans life throws at them.

Short Film Spotlight: Plantonic

For anyone who has ever had trouble finding their soulmate, Plantonic poses an attractive fantastical question: what if you could grow the perfect man?

A wildly inventive short film from writer-director Krit Komkrichwarakool, Plantonic follows the unique relationship that grows (literally) between a young aspiring artist and the handsome hunk that sprouts, fully-formed, from his garden.

Well… kind of. There’s actually a lot more going on in this beautifully-shot, deeply-emotional 15-minute romance. The clever fable at the film’s core is woven inside a moving story of real-world heartbreak that is sure to stir up some tears.

Lead actors Josh Pyman and Kenny Brain have great chemistry and are effective at selling both the film’s grounded and fantastical aspects. Plantonic also marks Komkrichwarakool as a talented director to keep an eye on in the future. We can’t wait to see what he does next.

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

Now Available: Down in Paris

Antony Hickling wrote, directed and stars in the personal and beautifully evocative Down in Paris, which follows a troubled gay filmmaker at a creative and personal crossroad through one unusually eventful night.

Richard (Hickling) is a gay movie director in his forties who finds himself suddenly overwhelmed with crippling anxiety in the middle of a night shoot for his latest project. Without saying a word to his cast and crew, he walks off the set and wanders through the Paris streets in search of answers and hopefully, the inspiration to continue.

During his long dark night of the soul, Richard bonds with a British woman he meets in a bar, runs into an old boyfriend, visits an eerily profound fortuneteller and has a myriad of other random encounters (including a memorable visit to a gay sex club).

Some of these encounters are warm, some disturbing, others life affirming. None, however, quite provides what Richard is seeking. As dawn approaches, he must confront his fears and question his deepest desires in order to find renewal to continue his life journey.

Watch the trailer for Down in Paris below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.