New This Week – 9/18/20

When handsome and charismatic Pablo arrives at his affluent family’s house, everyone is eagerly awaiting the return of their beloved son, devoted father and caring husband. A seemingly exemplary pillar of Guatemala City’s Evangelical Christian community, Pablo’s announcement that he intends to leave his wife for another man sends shock waves through the family. ‘Tremors’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

In writer-director Mark Christopher’s ‘The Dead Boys Club’, a young gay man living in New York is haunted by visions of the gay scene in the 70’s, and a generation lost to AIDS. Watch ‘The Dead Boys Club’ on Dekkoo!

Fifty conversations exploring the many different shades of being “gay” in America. A conversation on the degrees and varying perceptions about how people define themselves. Stream ‘Between the Shades’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A tense new thriller from acclaimed writer-director Marco Berger.

Short Film Spotlight: Long Haul

The 21-minute short film Long Haul is a coming-of-age road drama set in the world of American long-haul trucking.

Bo (Jacob Buster) is an ultra-conservative teen who goes on a cross-country delivery job with his estranged father (Jeffrey Hanson). During the journey, the son struggles with his parents’ divorce and discovering that his father is gay.

Based on writer-director Bryan Fugal’s own life, Long Haul is a deeply personal story. “The son character is based on a combination of me and my siblings,” said the filmmaker. “And the father character is based on my biological father. I think it is a unique and very relevant story to our time.”

The screenplay for Long Haul was a semi-finalist in international screenplay competitions, including the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, Screen Craft Short Screenplay Contest, and was a finalist for the David Ross Fetzer Foundation Grant for Emerging Artists. In addition, the screenplay has been endorsed by several other noted artists and film producers, including Arthur Van Wagenen, Mac Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Bryce Fillmore and Kendall Wilcox.

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

Max, a new Dekkoo-Original Short Film, launches September 23rd

Mark your calendars, gay film fans. The brand-new Dekkoo-Original Short Film Max will be available starting September 23rd. Written by and starring Jono Mitchell and directed by Kristina Arjona, the ten-minute film follows two men, total strangers, who form a tenuous bond in a hotel room.

Jeremy (Mitchell) is very recently divorced – in fact, it just happened. After his marriage started to become casually abusive, he knew it was time to pull away. But that doesn’t make it any less painful. Coming out on the other side of signing the papers, his first step is to meet up with an alluring sex-worker who goes by the name Max (Gregory Piccirilli).

Despite Jeremy’s best efforts, he’s not able to get too much info out of Max about his real name or personal life, but the connection that they soon form becomes deep and authentic. Jeremy is in pain and Max, though he may be a hired hand, is ready to lend a comforting bare shoulder (and much more if the mood strikes).

With terrific, subtly emotional performances and skillful writing and direction that teases the larger world and lives beyond their room, Max could easily be expanded into a longer, most expansive feature. The film also brings up a lot of questions about the nature of empathy in transactional relationships.

Check out the trailer, along with some exclusive stills from the film and the poster below and make sure to watch and show your support in the comments when it becomes available on Dekkoo on 9/23!

Now Available: Two

TWO: The Story Of Roman and Nyro documents the 12-year journey of legendary songwriter Desmond Child and his lifelong partner Curtis Shaw, and the extraordinary way they met and connected with Angela Whittaker, the woman who would carry their twin sons, Roman and Nyro, into the world.

From preconception through the boys’ first 10 years, TWO is the personal and powerful story of these unique individuals whose lives become inextricably woven together in magical and unexpected ways. TWO is testament to the universal power and ultimate triumph of love – that it is love that makes a family, affirming modern families may be modern in their making, but timelessly human at their core.

Watch an extended trailer for the film below. TWO: The Story Of Roman and Nyro is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 9/11/20

A Brazilian man and his friends search all over San Francisco to find the guy he had a fling with. They leave no stone unturned, even resorting to visiting every bathroom stall and parking lot they come across. ‘Bathroom Stalls & Parking Lots’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

This quietly electrifying tribute to Harvey Milk focuses on his camera store at 575 Castro Street. Simple, elegant imagery is set to audio of Harvey, who recorded his thoughts in case he—like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—did not make it to the mountaintop. Watch ‘575 Castro St.’ now on Dekkoo!

Combining over twelve years of footage and narrated by their twin sons, TWO: The Story of Roman & Nyro, follows legendary songwriter Desmond Child and his lifelong partner’s loving journey to create their new modern family. Stream ‘TWO: The Story of Roman & Nyro’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Meet the Morecocks!

The controversial Russian import Outlaw makes its debut on Dekkoo

Director Ksenia Ratushnaya’s bold first feature, Outlaw shines a spotlight on modern LGBTQ life (and strife) in Russia.

Highly controversial, this provocative and visually dazzling new film from director Ksenia Ratushnaya and producer Veronika Chibis tells two parallel love stories. One is a love triangle between a gay teen named Nikita (Viktor Tarasenko), a violent jock named Alpha (Gleb Kaluzhny) and a popular girl, the eponymous Outlaw (Liza Kashintseva). The other story follows a romance between a general (Sergey Epishev) transgender dancer (Evengry Okorokov) in the Soviet 1980s.

Due to Russia’s “gay propaganda law,” introduced in 2013 and used to suppress public discourse over LGBTQ issues, the film has had a rough time reaching audiences domestically. It is, however, available now to audiences via Dekkoo.

Watch the trailer for Outlaw below.

 

The acclaimed short film Brother is coming soon to Dekkoo

The 2019 short film Brother (Bror) has been picked up in a deal with Dekkoo, and will be released on our platform in the original language with English subtitles.

Nico (Phillip Oros) and Khalid (Poyan Karimi) are best friends. Khalid was born in Iran, a country where having feelings for another man can lead to the death penalty. Nico was born in Sweden, a country where it’s openly accepted for a man to have a boyfriend. And yet it’s Nico who keeps holding back when Khalid tries to take their relationship to another level.

Brother was created by Isabella Carbonell a screenwriter and director based in Stockholm, Sweden. She has written/directed several shorts and music videos among them is the film Boys that was screened during the Critic’s Week in Cannes and that won the Grand Jury Award for Best Live Action Short at the AFI Film Fest in Los Angeles.

Carbonell said “We are so ridiculously happy and honored to have our film be part of this exciting platform. Brother is all about identity, intimacy and of course love. Hopefully, this love will spread even further now thanks to Dekkoo!”

“This is one of our first ever Swedish titles and we are very proud to be championing the work by the young talented director Isabella Carbonell and producer Alexandra Alegren getting their work to a wider audience,” said Ebba Eriksson of the British distributor Videoplugger (which represents the film). “The topics raised in this short are very relevant, touching on integration and homophobia.”

Check out the original Swedish poster for Brother below and keep your eyes on Dekkoo to see the film. It will be available in the coming weeks.

Brother_1

 

Now Available: The Lawyer

Life just drifts by for corporate lawyer Marius (Eimutis Kvosciauskas), until he finds an unexpected connection for the dark and handsome Ali (Dogac Yildiz), a Syrian refugee who doubles as a sex-cam worker.

After Marius’ estranged father passes away, his infatuation intensifies. He inevitably flies to Belgrade to meet Ali in person, in hopes of a romantic week with his mysterious object of desire. Although off-camera, things might not be exactly as they seem.

The newest feature from prolific Lithuanian filmmaker Romas Zabarauskas (the director behind We Will Riot, Porno Melodrama and You Can’t Escape Lithuania – all available now on Dekkoo), The Lawyer is an engrossing and heartfelt romantic drama. Reportedly, it is also the first feature film made in one of the Baltic countries about male-male love.

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

New This Week – 9/4/20

Montreal is snowed under. While the downtown cranes dance their hypnotic ballet, two strangers meet randomly in an unfinished apartment. Their chance encounter leads to a violent attraction and a dependency beyond reason. ‘The Acrobat’ is available now, exclusively, on Dekkoo!

Dekkoo Films presents ‘Mani’.

Mani a 12-year-old boy is coming to terms with his burgeoning puberty and sexuality while navigating a series of male-dominated environments in contemporary Tehran. ‘Mani’ is available to watch now on Dekkoo!

Motty and Alon, a gay couple from Israel, are pursuing their dream of becoming parents. This feature-length documentary follows them on the journey – as they communicate with Krista, their American surrogate, and await the arrival of their biological twins. Along the way, the film raises questions about parenthood, religion, social norms and our technologically advanced world. Watch ‘Double Income, Kids’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A Brazilian transplant and his friends take to the streets of San Francisco to pursue an American fling. 

A loving couple fights for their right to marry in No Dress Code Required

From director Cristina Herrera Borquez, the powerful documentary No Dress Code Required tells a simple story about one Mexican couple’s desire to get married… and all of the roadblocks that stand in their way.

Victor and Fernando, a devoted, unassuming couple from Mexicali, Mexico, find themselves in the center of a legal firestorm over their desire to get married. Weighing all of their options, the pair opt to stay in their hometown of Mexicali and fight for their legal rights.

With the help of two committed attorneys, Victor and Fernando withstand a seemingly interminable series of bizarre hurdles and bureaucratic nitpicking with grace and dignity.

No Dress Code Required is a rallying cry for equality, a testament to the power of ordinary people to become agents of change, and above all, an unforgettable love story that touches the heart and stirs the conscience.

Watch the trailer for No Dress Code Required below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.