Category: Gay Film
Brian Jordan Alvarez wrote, directed and stars in the sexy gay dramedy ‘Everything is Free’
From writer, director and star Brian Jordan Alvarez, an accomplished character actor you may recognize from countless viral TikTok videos, the ‘Will & Grace’ reboot, and films like 80 for Brady and M3GAN, Everything is Free is a sexy and playful comedy-drama about a particularly tricky love triangle.
Ivan (Alvarez), an American painter, has relocated to a coastal town in Colombia to focus on his work.
After some time apart, his straight best friend and former roommate, Christian (Peter Vack), comes to visit, bringing his younger brother, Cole (Morgan Krantz), along for the trip.
When a spark forms between Ivan and Cole, the pair start sleeping together, but attempt to keep their new affair secret. Once Christian discovers the truth of their relationship, the otherwise idyllic summer takes a turn – bringing up difficult and surprising emotions in not just the three men, but also their diverse circle of fellow American expats and tourists.
With exceptional cinematography and a memorable soundtrack, Alvarez navigates gay cinema tropes with self-awareness, humor, gravity, and a very modern sensibility.
Watch the trailer for Everything is Free below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Short Film Spotlight: A Bela é Poc
An intense short film from Brazilian writer-director Eric Lima and co-writer/star Taciano Soares, A Bela é Poc follows a proudly queer young man who is stuck living within a harsh environment that threatens his happiness at every turn.
Belinho (Soares), a devoted Francophile, dreams of a glamorous life on the stage, but his day-to-day reality is something quite different. Working to support his ailing, homophobic father, he’s constantly dodging threats of violence from the people in his community.
Nonetheless, with support from Mara, his best friend and biggest fan (Isabela Catao in a scene-stealing performance), he soldiers on, refusing to suppress himself for the closed-minded comfort of those around him.
But when he’s served a one-two punch of life-altering tragedies, Belinho risks drifting off into his Edith Piaf-inspired fantasy world for good.
With high energy performances, exceptional camera work and one particularly electric homage to My Own Private Idaho, A Bela é Poc offers up a hard-hitting examination of one man’s admirable resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Check out the poster for A Bela é Poc below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Survivors speak out in director David France’s riveting documentary ‘Welcome to Chechnya’
With searing urgency and uncommon bravery, the eye-opening documentary Welcome to Chechnya shadows a group of activists who risk unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ purge raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic.
Since 2017, Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has waged a depraved operation to “cleanse the blood” of LGBTQ Chechens, overseeing a campaign to detain, torture and execute them. Operating without the sanction of the Kremlin, activists take matters into their own hands.
In this riveting and deeply affecting piece of work, David France, the acclaimed, award-winning director behind How to Survive a Plague, uses a remarkable hands-on approach to expose this atrocity and tell the story of an extraordinary group of people literally putting their lives on the line to confront evil and make not just Chechnya, but the whole world a better place for the LGBTQ community.
Watch the trailer for Welcome to Chechnya below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Dekkoo Digest – 093
Five filmmakers explore male sexuality and longing in the collection ‘Furious Desires’
The concept of desire is explored to the fullest in Furious Desires, a collection of five international short films exploring male sexuality and longing.
In Brazilian filmmaker Fabio Leal’s The Daytime Doorman, a man pushes past boundaries with someone who works in his apartment building. Also from Brazil, Ricky Mastro’s film Xavier and Miguel follows a teen who is ready to tell the world about the secret feelings he has for his best friend.
The Other Side, from Mexican director Rodrigo Alvarez Flores, chronicles the romance between two young men who will not let the border come between their love. Mexican filmmaker Denisse Quintero’s The Tiger’s Fight is centered around a homoerotic harvest ritual where village men are expected fight one another.
Finally, from Italian director Simone Bozzelli, Loris is Fine follows a naïve 20-year-old whose need for affection drives him to make some life-altering choices.
With all of the shorts combined together, this stylish and diverse collection runs a total of 91 minutes… and will surely leave you with some desires of your own.
Check out these select stills from each of the five featured short films below. Furious Desires is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Short Film Spotlight: Xmas Eve Eve
You know that scene at the end of almost every romantic comedy where one lover chases another to the airport to catch them and profess their love before they fly out of each other’s lives forever? Well, the short film Xmas Eve Eve takes that concept, expands on it and turns it completely on its head.
Set on a cold December night in 2020, while New York City is still in a state of semi-lockdown, this 13-minute rom-com follows Dennis (Christian Elán Ortiz), a young Brooklyn resident who is planning to leave the city for good just two days before Christmas. When he runs into Tom (Javan Nelson), a recent ex-boyfriend, while in route to La Guardia, his plans get a little more complicated.
A frantic chase through several New York boroughs soon ensues, with long held frustrations, lingering feelings, a particularly heavy suitcase and some clunky N95 masks along for the ride.
Featuring terrific performances from lead actors Nelson and Ortiz, and expert direction from up-and-coming filmmaker Dazhi Huang, Xmas Eve Eve is like the lost gay subplot of Love, Actually that you didn’t even know you needed.
Watch a short teaser trailer for Xmas Eve Eve below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Dekkoo Digest – 092
The clever short film ‘Beast’ tells an unusual, genre-twisting story of forbidden gay love
A 24-minute short film from Swedish writer-director Valentina Chamorro Westergårdh, Beast begins as a romantic drama and turns into something else entirely.
The film follows Vincent (Andreas La Chenardière), a reclusive young man who lives in a remote lakeside town that only attracts visitors during the warmer months. When he attends a bonfire and meets the strikingly handsome Gustav (Robert Noack), an instant attraction is sparked.
Gustav visits Vincent again later on, hoping to bring his seemingly shy newfound acquaintance out of his shell and act on their clear desire for one another.
Attracted to Gustav, Vincent soon gives in to temptation, and the two men begin a passionate affair. But Vincent has a good reason for keeping most people at a distance – and his secret may just destroy Gustav and their burgeoning romance if the pair aren’t careful.
Clever and beautifully constructed, Beast straddles two specific genres to tell an unusual tale of forbidden gay love.
Watch the trailer for Beast below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
A sex-worker embarks on an unusual odyssey in the surreal erotic drama ‘Strapped’
The strikingly handsome Benjamin Bonenfant stars in the sexually-charged 2010 indie film Strapped as an unnamed hustler on an unusual odyssey.
Stunningly photographed by writer-director Joseph Graham, the film follows the young man during a routine trick that soon leads him through a series of life-changing encounters.
This amicable and sexually efficient rent boy begins to look at himself differently when he finds himself lost in a maze-like apartment building. On his journey through the building, he meets up with a variety of different clients. Sex is the commonality, but out of that commodity comes raw, unguarded emotions for all involved.
Witty, sexy, surreal and ultimately touching, Strapped offers up an unforgettable look into one young man’s moving journey toward understanding himself and the world around him.
Watch the trailer for Strapped below. Though it’s long been difficult to find, Strapped is now finally available to stream on Dekkoo! We also have an interview with director Joseph Graham where he discusses this provocative film, plus a making-of documentary available now.
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