Category: Gay Film

Short Film Spotlight: Affection

A thought-provoking 6-minute short from writer-director Connor Williams, Affection stars Justin Kang and Spencer Claus as Shawn and Luke, two young boyfriends who are unexpectedly confronted with their differences during a night out.

While walking down the street holding hands, a passing stranger makes a derogatory comment. The more confident, outspoken Luke’s response is to confront the situation head on – standing up for both himself and the man he loves. Shawn, however, has a different way or handling these incidents… though he’s seemingly reluctant to examine the reasons why.

Smart and compassionate where it counts, featuring terrific performances from the two lead actors, Affection examines the ways in which we deal with prejudice and what it says about our own levels of self-acceptance.

Check out the poster for Affection below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Coming out gets more complicated than usual in the charming Italian rom-com ‘Tell No One’

Fast-paced, funny and even a little tear-inducing when it counts, Tell No One is a charming family comedy about successful young man who is long overdue to start telling the truth.

Mattia (Josafat Vagni) is about to move from Rome to Madrid to start a new job and marry his long-distance boyfriend Eduard (Jose Dammert). This will solve two problems: 1) He will be much closer to the man he loves; 2) He won’t have to bite the bullet and finally come out to his family.

His plan hits a major snag, however, when Eduard, having no idea that Mattia is still in the closet, announces that he has planned a surprise trip to Rome so that he can meet his boyfriend’s folks and ask for their son’s hand in marriage.

Stunned by this unexpected news, Mattia has to compose himself quickly and decide whether or not it’s time to tell the truth to his old-fashioned Italian parents.

Though the whole film takes place during one fateful day, director Ivan Silvestrini and screenwriter Roberto Proia use narration and a variety of creative visual flourishes to jump around in time and give the audience the full scope of Mattia’s family life.

Blending clever dialog and comic set-pieces with heartfelt moments of emotional poignancy, Tell No One should resonate for anyone who has spent a little too much time in the closet.

Watch the trailer for Tell No One below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Raúl Castillo and Sheila Vand star in the powerful coming-of-age drama ‘We the Animals’

Featuring riveting performances from Sheila Vand and Raul Castillo, We the Animals follows three boys who tear through their rural New York hometown while their young parents’ volatile relationship makes and unmakes the family many times over.

While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father, Ma seeks to keep her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own.

With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Jeremiah Zagar based on the celebrated novel by Justin Torres, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered performances from its astounding cast – including three talented, young first-time actors – and stunning animated sequences which bring Jonah’s torn inner world to life.

Drawing from his documentary background, director Jeremiah Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working class family life and brotherhood.

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

François Ozon’s underseen masterpiece ‘Frantz’ is now available on Dekkoo

Set in Germany and France in the immediate aftermath of World War I, Frantz recalls the mourning period that follows great national tragedies as seen through the eyes of Anna, played by Paula Beer in a breakthrough performance.

A bereft young German woman whose fiancé, Frantz, was killed during trench warfare, she’s surprised to find Adrien, a French veteran played by Pierre Niney, laying flowers at her late lover’s grave.

Adrien’s presence is met with resistance by the small community still reeling from Germany’s defeat, yet Anna gradually gets closer to the handsome and melancholy young man, as she learns of his deep friendship with Frantz, conjured up in evocative flashbacks.

What follows is a surprising exploration of how these characters wrestle with their conflicting feelings – survivor’s guilt, anger at one’s losses, the overriding desire for happiness despite everything that has come before, and the longing for sexual, romantic and familial attachments.

Stylishly shot in black and white, prolific director Francois Ozon drew his inspiration for the film from a post-WWI play by Maurice Rostand that also inspired the 1932 Ernst Lubitsch film Broken Lullaby.

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

‘Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe’ is a colorful and confrontational new comedy classic

Why be normal when you can be extraordinarily fabulous? That’s the question posed by Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe, a wildly funny, proudly over-the-top new indie comedy from writer-director Harvey Rabbit.

The film tells a kinky comic book-inspired story that would have the superheroes of Marvel clutching their pearls. Rodrigo Garcia Alves stars as Father Gaylord, a conflicted young priest who is hell bent on denying his homosexuality… but isn’t very good at it.

Meanwhile, his supernaturally powerful alien ex-lover, Queen Bitch (Bishop Black), is hatching a plan to turn the entire Earth gay. The repressed priest turns to superhero Captain Faggotron (Tchivett) for help, but the caped crusader finds himself highly conflicted. Clashing ideologies culminate in an orgy of gay demons… and a love that no longer has to hide.

Taking inspiration from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the films of John Waters and Bruce LaBruce, this brazenly queer, subversively political new film was conceived in response to anti-gay attitudes around the world and uses camp as a tool of joyful resistance, confronting heteronormative structures with humor, garish glamour and a whole lot of attitude.

Watch the trailer for Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Headlock

A powerful 16-minute short film from writer-director Damon Laguna, Headlock stars Alejandro Akara as Diego, a high school wrestling star whose father just happens to be the team’s coach – and puts an unhealthy amount of extra pressure on his shy, introverted son.

When Diego breaks from his father’s strict routine to attend a party with his best friend and secret crush Travis (Eduardo Alexis Peña), he takes the opportunity to finally express his feelings. Things don’t go entirely smoothly, and soon the whole team becomes aware of Diego’s sexuality.

Though he and Travis are able to come to a deeper understanding and finally unleash their pent-up desires, Diego knows he will have to muster up the courage to confront his father once and for all.

Developed at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Headlock is a touching and thought-provoking short drama which examines masculinity and sexuality in men’s sports and the Latinx community.

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

‘Wake Up, Leonard’ is here to satisfy your neurotic, quirky gay Christmas comedy needs!

Part comedy, part self-help nightmare, Wake Up, Leonard follows the adventures of one man who is failing miserably at “staying on the right vibe.” Set during the holidays, the film tells the story of a broken-hearted seeker with a tenuous grasp on wellness and too much faith in “the Universe.”

Leonard (co-writer Nigel DeFriez) is a self-obsessed young gay man who is moving into a new apartment with help from his perpetually stoned sister Orla (Kira Pearson).

An out-of-work actor and overworked assistant, Leonard rushes to his boss’s house to hang Christmas decorations and receives an unexpected text from his ex that gives Leonard lots of false hope, but little direction. Should he get back with his ex? Is this what will finally solve his existential quandary? There is only one way to find out.

An improvised feature shot during the pandemic, Wake Up, Leonard is a deeply funny and thoughtful feel-good movie about feeling bad, exploring themes of mental health, queer love and self-acceptance.

Watch the trailer for Wake Up, Leonard below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Dekkoo Films presents Bad Together – now available to rent or own!

From creator Jono Mitchell, the writer, director and actor behind Making a Scene, Thirty Candles and Miles from Nowhere, Bad Together is a brand-new Dekkoo-original that follows the evolving friendship between two gay men as they learn to accept and love both themselves and one another.

Andres Erickson stars as Robbie, a sensitive young casting associate who is reeling after a recent break-up. When his best friend Emma drags him to a work party in an effort to cheer him up, he meets the charming and freewheeling Cameron, played by Queer Niro.

The story checks in with the pair at different moments throughout the years-long relationship that develops. Are these two just friends or are there deeper feeling that aren’t being expressed? And, more importantly, are they even a good match for one another?

Intelligently written, acted and directed, Bad Together examines modern queer relationships with a keen eye and a lot of heart.

Bad Together is now available to rent or own from all major VOD platforms. It will be available to Dekkoo subscribers in 2024.