Category: Gay Film

The line between friends and lovers gets blurred in the sexy new gay comedy ‘Shoulder Dance’

Shoulder Dance stars Matt Dallas and Rick Cosnett as Ira and Roger, two former best friends – one gay, the other straight – who have not actually seen each other in twenty-four years.

When Roger arrives unexpectedly for the weekend with his girlfriend Lilly (Maggie Geha) in tow, long suppressed desires dangerously resurface… and a wild weekend of seductive games, unraveling revelations and all-out indulgence ensues.

But as the boundaries of friendship, love and sex collide, the strength of Ira’s long-term relationship with Josh (Taylor Frey) starts getting tested like never before.

Written and directed by Jay Arnold, who previously helmed the 2011 comedy What Happens Next and produced The Big Gay Musical, Shoulder Dance won the Best LGBTQ Film and Best Supporting Actress awards and was nominated for Best Picture at 2023 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival.

Watch the trailer for Shoulder Dance below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Two Italian teens begin an ill-fated romance during the summer of 1982 in ‘Fireworks’

Set in Sicily in 1982, Fireworks (also know as Stranizza d’amuri) chronicles the budding romance that grows between Gianni and Nino (Samuel Segreto and Gabriele Pizzurro), two teen boys who are stuck in an era and culture that is inhospitable to their love.

Working together setting off fireworks during the summer, the two young men forge a friendship that slowly grows deeper. But when their new romantic bond is uncovered by their families, the consequences prove just as violent and tragic as the times and mores are conservative.

Based on a real-life incident that actually jump-started the Italian Gay Rights movement, and featuring sensitive performances from Segreto and Pizzurro, its two up-and-coming lead actors, this debut feature from Italian writer-director Giuseppe Fiorello is a moving and deeply felt examination of the painful moments that produce lasting political change.

Watch the trailer for Fireworks below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Campfire

There are thirty-some LGBTQ campgrounds in America – many of which started in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS epidemic as refuges for urban gay men and as meeting places for rural (often closeted) men from conservative areas.

In the summer of 2022, author, filmmaker and former New York Times journalist Austin Bunn decided to make a documentary about Hillside, one of the oldest gay campgrounds, located in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

After weeks of interviews, he found that some men were only willing to talk off the record. In an effort to capture their transformational experiences, he created a composite character from their stories and filmed Campfire, a narrative/documentary hybrid.

This award-winning film follows a married dairy farmer who travels to a gay campground in rural Northeast Pennsylvania in search of the man he fell in love with 30 years earlier. Along his journey, he discovers that the past is not done with him yet.

Unfolding in the real location, during one weekend, this inventive and deeply poignant film features six permanent residents of Hillside along with two professional actors and dozens of actual campers – who just happened to be there at the right time – serving as extras.

Check out the poster for Campfire below. A hit with audiences at film festivals all over the country, this unique short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Activist and LGBTQ influencer Yves Mathieu East dances his way through ‘NYC Dreams’

Filmmakers J. Arcane and Paul Erskine focus on telling stories that push boundaries and encourage audiences to challenge their preconceived ideas. After completing numerous shorts, they began making feature films on their own as a crew of two.

Their sophomore feature, NYC Dreams, stars noted Black Lives Matter activist and LGBTQ influencer Yves Mathieu East as Theo, a gifted but struggling dancer in New York City who uses his daydreams to escape and search for love.

As he literally dances his way through the city that never sleeps, he experiences betrayals at the hands of lovers, is unexpectedly embraced by strangers and learns to start coping with the memories of an abusive childhood.

Beautifully photographed and with immersive music and impressive physicality, NYC Dreams eschews any traditional narrative structure. Instead, using minimal dialogue, it builds a rich tapestry of emotions mostly through movement while telling a profound story of memory and longing.

Check out the poster for NYC Dreams below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Supernatural’ is a heady sci-fi fantasia – an art film, political essay and erotic gay drama

One hundred years into the future, an unseen leader transforms Thailand into a strange new world where everything is orderly, citizens earn merit through good deeds and humans are forbidden from touching one another.

For the characters in Supernatural, nostalgia for the past, as well as the painful longing for some form of sexual intimacy, are starting to take their toll. Jumping backward in time, the past lives of three of these characters are revealed.

Packed with gorgeous imagery and sensual homoeroticism, Thai writer-director Thunska Pansittivorakul’s heady sci-fi fantasia amplifies the power of touch while telling an epic story with limited resources. Part experimental art film, part political essay and part erotic gay drama, the film tells individual stories that take place in both the past and the future while commenting on gay life in the present.

Watch the trailer for Supernatural below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Private Photos

Looking to add a little spice to their stagnant sex life, young partners Matheus and Rafa (Vinicius Neri and Lucas Galvino) decide to invite a third person into their bedroom. But when Felipe (Antonio Miano) arrives at their apartment, they seem to get more than they bargained for.

Rafa, a medical student, and Matheus, an architect, seem to live a pretty buttoned-up day-to-day existence. Felipe, who isn’t afraid to demand what he wants, has a mischievous, devil-may-care attitude that excites Rafa, but clashes with Matheus’s mild manner.

When Felipe lights up a joint and starts dancing provocatively for the pair, they end up falling into bed, but it quickly becomes clear that two of the participants are having a lot more fun than the third.

The night ends up taking an unexpected turn. Though they were seeking sexual exploration, the couple end up exploring their emotions and their satisfaction with one another, leading to a surprising ‘make-it-or-break-it’ moment.

Beautifully directed by Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Grabowsky and featuring bold performances from all three lead actors, Private Photos is a sexually-frank 20-minute short about a gay couple who are starting to learn what they really want when it comes to life, love and lust.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Private Photos below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Expect to get a little dirty with the incredibly sexy gay rugby romance ‘In From the Side’

In From the Side follows a group of athletes in a gay South London rugby club as they attempt to push past rivalries and score an elusive win. All the while, a secret love affair simmers among them.

Despite having a boyfriend, Mark (Alexander Lincoln), the least experienced member of the team, finds himself unable to avoid the blazing appeal of new teammate Warren (Alexander King). Following a drunken encounter, the two equally-attached men sleepwalk into an adulterous affair, but find they must conceal their growing feelings or risk destroying the team they love.

All the real action and drama starts to occur off the field – as infidelities, heartbreak and unimpeded passions rule the day.

A triumph for director Matt Carter, an accomplished visual effects artist who shot, edited, co-wrote and composed all the music, In From the Side infuses every vivid frame with heat. You aren’t likely to find a movie more packed with ridiculously handsome guys.

Featuring terrific performances from lead actors Lincoln and King, this critically-acclaimed new British rugby romance is slathered in sweat, streaked with mud and dripping with sexuality.

Watch the trailer for In From the Side below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Mab Hudel

Enys (Chris Jenkins) is what you would call a ‘man’s man.’ He’s a capable farmer with a hot dad-bod who takes care of his family, can chug down a pint with the best of them and, as team captain, is something of a legend at his local rugby club.

At the start of the sexy and charming new short film Mab Hudel (translated as The Magical Son), he’s tired, hungover and generally out of sorts. With all of his responsibilities mounting, he’s had little time to spend with Hikka (Rick Yale), his secret boyfriend.

On top of everything else, there is a major rugby final coming up… and Hikka just happens to be captain of the dreaded rival team. On the field, in the heat of the moment, it becomes apparent that their love affair may not have been as secret as they thought it was.

A crowd-pleaser at film festivals around the globe, Mab Hudel was filmed in South West England using entirely Cornish dialog, offering a glimpse into a region not often captured on film.

Mab Hudel also marks the directorial debut of Edward Rowe, an up-and-coming actor who starred in the films Bait and Enys Men, two recently-released British indies from acclaimed director Mark Jenkin. You can also catch his acting work on high profile series like The Witcher, C.B. Strike and House of the Dragon. We’re excited to see where he goes next as a filmmaker.

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