Category: Gay Film

Former school friends reignite their attraction in the Hong Kong drama I Miss You When I See You

Jamie (Bryant Ji-Lok Mak) is on his way to visit his uncle in Melbourne. First, he stops by Sydney to see an old school friend.

Kevin (Jun Li) lives in a group home due to crippling depression. It’s been over a decade since they last saw each other back in Hong Kong, but the two reconnect as if no time has passed. Though they part quickly, Jamie gives Kevin an invitation to visit him in Hong Kong.

Soon back in his homeland, Kevin’s presence causes a rift between Jamie and his suspicious girlfriend Elaine (Candy Cheung). Through it all, the true reason for Jamie and Kevin’s estrangement hangs over them, a reason further elucidated in a series of flashbacks to their confusing, treacherous school years.

As the two troubled friends circle each other, and Kevin catches the eye of one of the teen male students at his tutoring job, they must make a choice between following their heart or conforming to the norms of heterosexual society.

Using a stark digital cinematographic style, writer-director Simon Chung’s I Miss You When I See You navigates a tense landscape of modern masculinity.

Watch the trailer for I Miss You When I See You below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 8/6/21

After his ex-wife suddenly disappears, Cicci and his partner Nikolas are given custody of their twin 17-year-old sons. When Cicci’s interfering aunts attempt to move in as well, it throws off the delicate and loving balance this new makeshift family is attempting to build. Cooler heads try to prevail in this madcap Italian comedy. ‘Tell Me Softly’ is available now on Dekkoo!

Up-and-coming queer director Miguel Lafuente was born in Madrid. After studying film in the United States, Lafuente returned to Spain to start his own production company to produce queer cinema and music videos. These three short films explore dating, romance, and family dynamics. Watch ‘The Short Films of Miguel Lafuente’ only on Dekkoo!

In a world where all that matters is basketball, Pete can’t play basketball. Stream ‘Pete Can’t Play Basketball’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Two vaguely unhappy spouses begin torrid affairs with the same man.

George Takei narrates the feel-good mountaineering doc Who’s on Top

Who’s on Top is a new feature-length documentary which shines a spotlight on members of the LGBTQ community – including those with a range of mountaineering experience – who challenge stereotypes about gender and sexuality in the outdoor arena.

Historically excluded and ostracized as not belonging to the natural domain, the climbers will tackle not only a mountain, but assumptions about who they are and how they belong to the world of outdoor adventure.

Narrated by George Takei, Who’s on Top portrays a journey like no other, a never-before-told story about what makes LGBTQ folks both distinct and connected, facing physical, mental and societal obstacles.

Watch the trailer for Who’s on Top below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

A baker seeks out the wife and son of his dead lover in this must-see drama The Cakemaker

Thomas (Tim Kalkhof) is a young German baker who is having a secret affair with Oren (Roy Miller), an married Israeli man who takes frequent business trips in Berlin.

When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking answers regarding the untimely death of his lover. Under a fabricated identity, he infiltrates the life of Anat (Sarah Adler), Oren’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small cafe in downtown Jerusalem.

Thomas starts to work for her and create German cakes and cookies that bring life into her store. Thomas soon finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a way far beyond his anticipation – and to protect the truth he will stretch his lie to a point of no return.

An international hit when it was released in 2017, The Cakemaker earned glowing reviews from critics. The New York Times said “The Cakemaker believes in a love that neither nationality, sexual orientation nor religious belief can deter.”

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

New This Week – 7/30/21

Jamie re-encounters his old school friend, Kevin, who has been suffering from depression and must make a choice between following his heart or society. ‘I Miss You When I See You’ is available now on Dekkoo!

Though Nev is happily situated with his family in Los Angeles, he has yet to reveal his secret to his old school Jewish parents who are coming over to visit their new grandson for the first time. Watch ‘Paradise Apartments – Generation Clash’ now on Dekkoo!

One month and $10,000 is “not enough” to put on an off-Broadway musical, but first-time director Rob Gould attempts it anyway, and takes us along for the ride. Taking his script for ‘Little House on the Ferry’ and making it a reality isn’t smooth sailing. From casting and table reads to costuming and rehearsal, Theality TV follows the creative process step by step until the final performance itself. ‘Theality TV’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Nude male dancers explore dark, primal energy and ritual in the dance documentary Bare

For about 25 years, Belgian choreographer Thierry Smits has asserted an artistic approach that is well off the beaten path, and frequently controversial.

Alternating pure dance productions with more performative pieces, his work explores our relationship to the body – as an object of desire, pleasure and finiteness – which Smits considers, today more than ever, as a political space, the only free territory left to us.

In Anima Ardens, based on the experience and singularity of each dancer, Smits creates a piece about the intuitiveness of the body and bodies together, reminiscent of the evolution of a hurricane which, starting from nothing, attains wild strength, both violent and fascinating, before dissipating and returning to silence.

In between breathtaking dance sequences, the revealing new documentary Bare reveals the artistic collaboration and conflict between Smits and his company – eleven male dancers performing nude – as they build this new avant-garde piece steeped in dark, primal energy and ritual.

With the creation they address questions of body politics, gender, censorship and taboo aesthetics. A creative exploration of the underrepresentation of the naked male form in performing arts, the film documents the arduous process of auditioning, rehearsing and opening Anima Ardens.

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

New This Week – 7/23/21

DJs, dancers, a party producer and an adult entertainer – take us on a wild ride through the inner workings of the New York City gay dance party subculture. Explore the eponymous “circuit” parties as the cast juggle career, love and the thrilling events themselves until a global pandemic and a series of unfortunate decisions turns their world on its head. ‘The Circuit’ is available now on Dekkoo!

“Who’s on Top?” (narrated by George Takei) is the emotional story of members of the LGBTQ community who challenge stereotypes about gender and sexuality and demonstrate their diverse journeys in overcoming physical and figurative mountains. Stream ‘Who’s On Top?” now on Dekkoo!

After emigrating from Israel, Noam, a young transgender artist, is now happily living in New York with an older woman, but things change when an old friend from Tel Aviv comes to town for a visit. ‘The Friend From Tel Aviv” is now available on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Love sick and longing in Hong Kong.

Short Film Spotlight: Touchscreen

Brian (Kelly Miller) drifts through life using a computer monitor as his window to the world outside. He hooks up with men online, remotes into his office, and FaceTimes with family, unable to connect meaningfully with the people on the other side of his screen.

After an online encounter with the charming Dom (Jose Joaquin Perez), Brian is faced with an unusual request: a virtual sleepover.

Brian succumbs to Dom’s proposition, and is transported (then spooked) by the sweet hints of intimacy that permeate the laptop screen.

Later, when Dom asks to meet him in person, Brian conjures an alternate reality; one in which he shatters his long-lived inhibitions to claim the warm touch of another human being. Dom persists until Brian replies: a small step for man – with momentous implications.

From writer-star Kelly Miller and Arthur Halpern, Touchscreen is a smart new short film about one man’s self-imposed isolation, and how the technologies and social platforms meant to connect us – to lovers, to family, to work – are misused to reinforce that isolation. The film was chosen as a selection at countless film festivals all over the globe.

Watch the trailer for Touchscreen below. The full 15-minute short is available now on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the taut gay thriller Last Ferry

Joseph (Ramon O. Torres), a young lawyer living in Harlem, makes a pilgrimage to the fabled Fire Island, desperately seeking romance and community. Only trouble is, it’s April, the thick of the off-season, and the island is dead.

Joseph does meet a cute boy – but only to realize he is a mugger who has drugged him to steal his belongings.

During his impaired state, he witnesses a murder and narrowly escapes the grasp of the murderer. He awakes in The Pines, under the care of Cameron (Sheldon Best) and his friends.

As Joseph integrates into the group and begins to fall for Cameron, he forgets about what he witnessed when he was drugged – only for the murderer to reemerge right under his nose.

Shot on location with gorgeous cinematography, Last Ferry is a taut thriller with a distinctly gay sensibility.

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

New This Week – 7/16/21

A voyeuristic, behind-the-scenes look as celebrated choreographer Thierry Smits and his team go through the auditions, rehearsals and eventual premiere of his controversial dance piece Anima Ardens. ‘Bare’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

Clement and Alex are looking for a new gay roommate. And they find Leo, a charming student who is in deep trouble to find a place to sleep. Leo will do anything to get that room, whatever it takes. ‘Clément, Alex et tous les autres’ is available on Dekkoo!

A drug addicted hustler, in the middle of a binge, encounters someone from their past. Watch ‘Adam (In Fragments)‘ on Dekkoo!

Today is a day unlike any before. Today is the day Kalthoum and their girlfriends imagine their revenge. Stream ‘Terror Sisters’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A series that explores the underground circuit community through the personal lives of different players within the scene.