Category: Drama

New This Week – 3/13/20

Three queer characters of wildly different backgrounds – a closeted young African-American man, a gender non-conforming artist and a smooth-talking media mogul – find their lives connected through fate, work, family love and donuts in this thoughtful, sexy and deeply heartfelt new Dekkoo-original series. Stream the first season of ‘Stranger Hearts’ now exclusively on Dekkoo!

College freshman Damien is struggling to stay focused on his studies – and not on all the shirtless jocks, hot frat boys and handsome intellectuals at his new school. His self-discipline is tested, however, when a manipulative college senior enters the picture. Meanwhile, Damien’s cousin Kendall embarks on his own journey of self-discovery when he reconnects with a cute church boy from his past. Binge the first season of H.I.M. now on Dekkoo!

A single, awkward business man finds himself attracted to his hunky, ride-share driver but loses any chance with him when they pick up an annoying passenger who wants the driver for himself. ‘Luber’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A stunning debut from South African filmmaker John Trengove,

New This Week – 3/6/20

This dark comedy from writer-director-star Mark Blane concerns a self-involved gay man who becomes a nanny for a well-to-do couple…a job for which he’s completely unqualified. As he begins to bond with his precocious new charge, he also starts having delusions involving a BDSM superhero named Leather-Man, brought on by a psychedelic cupcake. ‘Cubby’ is available to stream exclusively on Dekkoo!

Jasper, a 20 something playboy with little empathy, has a date in a rather obscure motel Petit Ami with Vincent, a mysterious older man. For Jasper just another day on the job, until he discovers Vincent’s secret. Watch ‘Petit Ami’ now on Dekkoo!

At the oldest-running queer theatre in the world, Toronto’s most cerebral drag queen and “tragicomedienne” Pearle Harbour prepares to take the stage for her new show “Battle Cry: Songs Of Warfare & Gaiety”. ‘Battle Cry’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: The Dekkoo-original series ‘Stranger Hearts’!

Short Film Spotlight: Play It Like a Man

It’s summertime in the Landes. Looking to cure their boredom, fifteen-year-old footballers Loris and Thomas (Simon Boutin and Matthieu Lucci) by engaging in what they assume will be some largely harmless trouble-making.

When they end up stealing the mobile phone of their coach (Samuel Theis), they discover clandestine photos of young naked footballers in the shower. Loris seems to be the main subject of this voyeurism. Cut to the quick, the teenager goes to his trainer’s place to seek revenge… and things get way, way out of hand.

An edgy twenty-one-minute thriller from French writer-director Laurent Lunetta (who worked as the art director on the acclaimed Stranger by the Lake), Play It Like a Man is a riveting short work that isn’t afraid to tackle taboo subjects.

Watch this short excerpt from Play It Like a Man below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 2/28/20

In this funny, bittersweet romantic comedy from Sweden, perpetual list-maker Anton falls in love with David, but things start to go awry when Anton realizes that his dreams in life might be in direct opposition to David’s. ‘Top 3’ is now available on Dekkoo!

Nathan, a conservative English teacher, tells his best friend Zach about a one-night stand with a hot Latin man who loves to talk dirty in this short comedy. Watch ‘Dirty Talk’ now on Dekkoo!

Over the course of forty-eight hours during a music festival, a recovering drug addict attempts to rekindle his relationship; but with little money, he is forced to engage in a dangerous deal with a former lover-turned-drug-pusher to fund the weekend. Stream ‘The Low End’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: “THE LOVE CHILD OF LADY BIRD AND NAPOLEON DYNAMITE” — Terry Mesnard, FRESH TOMATO REVIEW

Now Available: Darkroom

In this unusual new film, controversial cult film director and legendary queer activist Rosa von Praunheim focuses his lens on a recent, true criminal case involving a German serial killer.

Lars (Bozidar Kocevski), a male nurse from Saarbrucken, moves with his lover Roland (Heiner Bomhard), a kind young musician with a lilting voice, to Berlin. The two lovers soon begin renovating an apartment with the intention of finally living together. For Roland, their happiness seems almost complete. What he doesn’t know, however, is that while secretly checking out Berlin’s nightlife, Lars is experimenting with a deadly poison – an obsession that will lead to a horrific outcome for the couple.

Using a psychiatric tribunal as a framing device, von Praunheim expertly balances Lars’ twisted fantasies with Roland’s dreams of a blissful romance.

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

New This Week – 2/21/20

This charming romantic comedy follows two men, Paul and Gavin, who meet over of the holidays while planning the “perfect wedding” for Paul’s sister. Watch ‘The Perfect Wedding’ now streaming on Dekkoo!

In this one man play, producer, playwrite and actor Del Shores plays six distinct characters he has created based on people in his life. They are all Southern caricatures but more complicated than they may at first seem. Stream ‘Six Characters in Search of a Play’ now on Dekkoo!

Female prejudices towards men are explored in this humorous short about a young woman has two unexpected meetings in the Jardin de Luxembourg. ‘No Comment’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A funny, bittersweet animated romantic comedy from Sweden.

Sordid Lives creator Del Shores presents Six Characters in Search of a Play

Sordid Lives creator Del Shores new filmed one-man show proves once again that he is not a writer, he’s a self-proclaimed thief. In Six Characters In Search Of A Play, Shores is inspired by Pirandello’s classic play to bring you six characters inspired by his real-life encounters that haven’t quite made it into one of Shores’ plays, films or TV shows.

In 90 minutes, he presents the audience with the truth behind how he collected these eccentrics, then he portrays them in classic Shores’ monologue style. The audience will walk away knowing “Yvonne”, the vegetarian-hating Texas waitress; “Sarah”, an elderly actress who is determined to drink and smoke herself to death if Trump is elected; “Jimmy Ray”, the evolving Georgia redneck, “Loraine”; the once brilliant drama teacher who has lost her damn mind and is now obsessed with porn; “Aunt Bobbie Sue”, the blue-collar Republican who does not care for “Mexkins” or Obama; and “Marsha”, the monkey-hating lesbian with CPOD.

Del Shores has written, directed and produced successfully across studio and independent film, network and cable television and regional and national touring theatre. His career took off with the play Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got The Will?) in 1987, which ran two years, winning many Los Angeles theatre awards, including LA Weekly’s Best Production and Best Writing. The play has subsequently been produced in over 2,500 theatres worldwide. A movie version was released in 1990 starring Beau Bridges, Tess Harper, Judge Reinhold, Keith Carradine and Beverly D’Angelo.

Sordid Lives, his fourth play, opened in Los Angeles in 1996 and ran 13 sold-out months. The play went on to win 14 Drama-Logue Theatre Awards, including three for Shores for wring, directing and producing. There have since been over 300 additional stage productions of the play. In 1999, Shores wrote and directed the film version of Sordid Lives starring Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John, Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant along with most of the cast from the play. Opening in only eight theaters across the country, the little film that could took in nearly two million dollars in its limited release and became a cult phenomenon.

Watch the trailer for Six Characters in Search of a Play below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Cinema Spotlight: Spa Night

Writer-director Andrew Ahn’s remarkably assured feature-length debut is a portrait of forbidden sexual awakening set in the nocturnal world of spas and karaoke bars in Los Angeles’ Koreatown.

David Cho (Joe Seo, who won the Special Jury Award at Sundance for his breakthrough performance), a timid 18-year-old living with his financially-struggling immigrant parents, chances upon a secret spot for cruising when he takes a part-time job at an allmale spa, and begins to realize hidden inner desires that threaten his life as a dutiful son and student.

Effervescent and atmospheric, this one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story makes the steamy spa a liminal place between dream and reality, and desire and disillusionment.

Joe Seo (David) and Youn Ho Cho (Jin) in Andrew Ahn's SPA NIGHT

“Spa Night is an intensely personal film,” said Ahn. “I knew very early in the screenwriting process that I had to draw from my own life experiences in order to find the honesty I wanted to show on screen. As the son of Korean-American immigrants, I have felt the conflict between my parents’ expectations and my own personal desires. In Spa Night, I wanted to explore what it means to be a part of a Korean-American family. As Spa Night progressed into production, the film became even more personal for me. We shot on location in Koreatown, Los Angeles — at restaurants I have eaten at, spas I have visited, and streets I have walked down. As I directed scenes, I saw my family in this fictional family I had created.”

“My main character David speaks in a mix of Korean and English to his parents, the same mix I use when I speak to my parents. With Spa Night, I want to open up American independent cinema to include stories about immigrant communities told in languages other than English. It is important that our cinema culture reflect the diversity of the American experience. By telling this story, I am attempting to validate the immigrant experience and acknowledge my parents’ sacrifice to leave their home country and start a new life in America. Spa Night is my way of fulfilling my parents’ hopes and dreams.”

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

Watch now! ‘Stranger Hearts’ official trailer.

The Dekkoo-original series ‘Stranger Hearts‘ debuts on March 12.

From writer-director Kevin James Thornton, ‘Stranger Hearts’ is a thoughtful, sexy and deeply heartfelt new series following three queer characters of wildly different backgrounds. First, there is Andre, a shy young African-American man struggling with his sexual identity. When his mother finds a stack of gay porn hiding in his closet, the truth starts inching ever closer to the surface. Then there is Luka, a gender non-conforming photographer who has fallen on hard financial times. In need of a steady job, Luka decides to dip their toe into the potentially risky world of online escorting. Lastly, there is Billy, a smooth-taking media mogul who finds his life turned upside down when he’s diagnosed with an incurable heart disease. While waiting for a transplant, he begins reevaluating his life and learning to appreciate the people closest to him. Though they don’t know it, all three of these disparate characters are soon to be connected – through fate, work, family, love… and donuts.

Check out the official trailer below!

Now Available: Copa 181

A gay sauna is the meeting place for a ragtag group of strangers looking for anonymous sex and perhaps a friendly smile in this supremely human dramedy.

On any given day at Copa 181, tucked in a corner of the Copacabana neighborhood in Rio, expect to find Tana and his wife Eros, an opera singer who finds acceptance for her incredible gift at the bathhouse. Joining them are a host of men ready to pay for the muscle-bound escorts. These include Leo, who tried to keep his relationship with trans girlfriend Kika a secret. Kika, a housecleaner by day, entertains nightly from the tiny stage and dreams of an elusive stardom that is just out of reach.

Everyone at Copa 181 falls under the joint spell of the sex and escape from mundane reality the bathhouse offers and audiences, too, will fall under the seductive spell.

Watch the trailer for Copa 181 below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.