Category: Drama

New This Week – 12/16/21

One of the most important and celebrated works of the early ‘90s New Queer Cinema movement, this landmark queer classic from award-winning director Todd Haynes tells three interwoven short stories, examining the AIDS crisis, the work of Jean Genet and more through allegory and a variety of genres. ‘Poison’ is available to experience now on Dekkoo!

Pawel is positive that their recent separation has completely dampened his feelings for the young man with whom he was in love. But when he finds an unexpected visitor at his home one rainy afternoon, it brings up a whole lot of feelings he thought were behind him. Watch ‘After Dawn’ now on Dekkoo!

Sean Paul Lockhart and writer-director Rob Moretti star in this tense psychological thriller about a young man who becomes dangerously obsessed with his slightly older male lover. As their relationship deepens, dependency takes over and dark secrets are revealed – leading to a violent confrontation. ‘Truth’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo.

Teens Isaac and Adam meet in secret one day after class. At the playground, Adam offers Isaac a joint. As the afternoon stretches into the evening, he also offers him a dance and many meaningful looks. Do these two buddies share a secret attraction…or are they just really high? The short film ‘Just Boys’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Here come the bears!

Short Film Spotlight: Nuclear Family

18-year-old Jules (Louka Minnella) has reluctantly returned to the beach-side nudist camp where he spent summers are a child. He’s been dragged there by his mother (Catherine Grosjean), who is constantly testing his boundaries, along with his little brother (Lohen Van Houtte).

While taking a moment to contribute to a boardwalk blood drive, he meets Karim and attractive, flirty young volunteer. Their interaction is brief, but he can feel that there is a spark between them. When he comes back later, the two make plans to spend the evening – Karim’s last in town – together.

Unfortunately, when Jules’ mother makes a spectacle of herself, wandering naked beyond the camp’s perimeter, it throws his romantic plans into jeopardy and forces him to start reckoning with their problematic mother-son dynamic.

A thoughtful, beautifully-shot 19-minute short from Belgian director Faustine Crespy, Nuclear Family upends the typical gay coming-of-age story in interesting ways. It also features a game cast who are not afraid to strip down to sell the drama and pathos.

Nuclear Family is available now on Dekkoo.

Now Available: A Wake

A Wake is an affecting new drama about a family coping with the death of a teenage boy named Mitchel. Questions linger about the nature of Mitchel’s death, but no one seems to want to talk about it.

Mason (Noah Urrea), Mitchel’s identical twin, is desperate to reach his brother by any spiritual means in an effort to assuage his relentless guilt. Precocious preteen Molly (Sofia Rosinsky) presides over the ceremony, determined for it to go smoothly, but finds herself in over-her-head. And older sister Megan (Megan Trout), fueled by anger and alcohol, insists on asking the questions everyone’s been ignoring.

When Mitchel’s secret ex-boyfriend, Jameson (Kolton Stewart), shows up to the wake unexpectedly, the family is forced to confront realities about Mitchel’s life.  When the children clash with their elders over how to handle the situation, family members left torn apart look for solace in places they least expected it.

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

New This Week – 12/10/21

When a school bully starts spreading rumors about his sexuality, Umut stands his ground, refusing to deny the allegation, apologize or explain himself. His time at school, however, becomes more fraught with tension. Set in the high testosterone world of teen sports, this powerful drama from Turkey holds a mirror up to what it still means to be young and gay in so much of the world today. ‘Not Knowing’ is available to stream now, exclusively on Dekkoo!

When a young gay man goes to visit his uncle in the hospital, he becomes witness to an awkward, barely-conscious ramble about sexual fantasies, which morph into a vulnerable confession about love and forgiveness. A unique short film from writer-director-star James Patrick Nelson. Watch ‘Waking Up’ now on Dekkoo!

A married poet finds himself becoming increasingly infatuated with – and creatively inspired by – a handsome young donut shop employee. This comedy-drama from South Korean director Kim Yang-hee explores family structures and repressed queer desire. ‘The Poet and the Boy’ is available now on Dekkoo!

A short drama about sexual exploration, Naufrago follows Juan, a 17-year-old who longs to have sex with his girlfriend Samantha. When he starts dressing up in Samantha’s clothes, he begins to discover new ways of feeling pleasure. Stream ‘Naufrago’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week:  A groundbreaking American indie that was the most fervently debated film of the early 1990s and a trailblazing landmark of queer cinema. 

Short Film Spotlight: Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall

Inspired by a convention of Cold War-era Thai filmmaking not well known to American audiences – wherein most of the actors voices were dubbed to emphasize character – the politically-charged queer espionage thriller Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall carries the viewer through a strange world where cinema and reality meet.

The film follows Ang, a transgender sex worker with a pretty (and deliberately dubbed) feminine voice, who is assigned a special mission as an undercover spy. She disguises herself as a cis-masculine man to enter into a romantic relationship with Jit, a belligerent yet idealistic student activist with an evil voice (also dubbed for cinematic effect).

Ang must extract important information from Jit. However, the mission goes awry as she slowly falls for him. Apolitical at first, Ang is slowly awakened by Jit to see the other world where people speak in another way.

Hyper-stylistic, this unusual and fascinating 30-minute short film marks writer-director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke as an artist to keep an eye on.

Watch the trailer for Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall below. The full film is available now on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the award-winning, critically-acclaimed Kanarie

Johan Niemand (Schalk Bezuidenhout) is a fashion-loving gay teen in small-town South Africa in 1985, a time of apartheid, religious conservatism and war – an era when not even his idol Boy George had dared to come out publicly as gay yet. 

When Johan is called up to serve his compulsory two-year military training, he escapes the border war by joining The South African Defence Force Church Choir and Concert Group, known as Die Kanaries (The Canaries), where he discovers his true self through hardship, camaraderie, first love and the liberating freedom of music.

A winner of over 15 different international awards, Kanarie earned rave reviews from critics. It currently has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Los Angeles Times called it “A rich, poignant and finely observed musical drama.” Michael McNeely in theBUZZ said “Every once in a while comes a film that is filled with so much joy, human connection, and emotional turmoil, you know that as long as it sticks the landing, it is a masterpiece.”

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

New This Week – 12/3/21

The children of a religious family begin clashing with their elders during the wake of their recently deceased brother. Teenage Mason is desperately trying to reach his lost identical twin brother through spiritual means. When a handsome stranger arrives, family secrets are brought out into the open. ‘A Wake’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo.

18-year-old Jules is reluctantly spending his holidays in the naturalist camp where he was raised. He soon finds himself torn between his attraction to Karim, an alluring seasonal worker on the textile beach, and Adele, his depressed mother who refuses to let him grow up and move on. Watch ‘Nuclear Family’ now on Dekkoo!

When twenty-something Maurice joins his family on a weekend getaway, he starts to notice how much of a gap has grown between the generations. Though he tries to keep up appearances, he grows more and more frustrated by his family’s myriad secrets – until he reaches a breaking point. The short film ‘Holiday’ is now playing on Dekkoo!

The life and important work of Hank Wilson, a longtime San Francisco LGBTQ rights activist and AIDS survivor, are chronicled in this deeply emotional feature-length documentary. ‘Thanks to Hank’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A film that holds a mirror up to what it still means to be young and gay today in so much of the world.

The lost queer classic Wild Tigers I Have Known has been restored and remastered for its 15th Anniversary

A 13-year-old boy learns to cope with his newfound sexuality and his unrequited love for the coolest kid at school in this lyrical coming-of-age indie from visionary director Cam Archer.

After being work-shopped at the 2005 Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab, Wild Tigers I Have Known had its world premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival where it earned stellar reviews from critics. The film went on to be screened at New Directors/New Films Festival, London International Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival and AFI Film Festival.

Despite great word-of-mouth, the film was heavily re-edited before being released theatrically by IFC Films in 2007. This shorter edition changed the sound as well as the order of the scenes, making them chronological. The edited version also leads to a completely different interpretation of the film’s events and themes – one not in line with the director’s original intent. In Europe, where the film was released on DVD only, the film was trimmed down to an even shorter 1 hour and 13 minutes.

In honor of the film’s 15th Anniversary, the indie boutique distribution label Altered Innocence has restored and remastered the film, presenting the full uncut version as Cam Archer envisioned it.

Watch the new trailer for Wild Tigers I Have Known below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 11/26/21

Drafted into the South African army during apartheid, a young soldier joins the military’s travelling choir – and a romance on the battlefield causes him to deal with his long-repressed sexual identity. ‘Kanarie’ is a comedy, drama, romance, musical, war movie and coming out story all wrapped up in one film.

While Sebastian lives a pretty standard life with his family, he’s pulled outside of it when he gives into his secret desires on a mysterious and dark hill. A stylish short film from Chilean director Constanza Majluf based on the short story by Pablo Simonetti. ‘Santa Lucia’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

***EPISODES 17 thru 20 ARE NOW AVAILABLE***

Scott, a mild-mannered gay writer in Los Angeles, gets wrapped up into a world of bad boys and their crime-filled past after being adopted as their “Daddy Scott”, whether he likes it or not. ‘Bad Boy’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Sometimes the right path is a circle.

Two high school friends get closer than they ever expected in the coming-of-age drama Blurred Lines

Janik and Samuel (Emil von Schönfels and Mekyas Mulugeta) are extremely close best friends celebrating the end of their senior year of high school. Both come from completely different worlds. Janik’s parents are seemingly perfect, while Samuel comes from a broken home. Naturally, Samuel is looking for stability while Janik just wants to rebel.

Sex and sexuality are never far from the surface for both, which leads the pair to one impulsive moment that could threaten their friendship forever. In an attempt to rekindle their relationship, the boys set off on a trip to Istanbul, but the blurred line that has been crossed proves hard to re-establish.

Based on a young adult novel by German writer and filmmaker Finn-Ole Heinrich, Blurred Lines (also known as Stambul Garden) is a thoroughly modern take on the bonds that develop between young men.

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