Category: Gay Film

Cinema Spotlight: Spa Night

Writer-director Andrew Ahn’s remarkably assured feature-length debut is a portrait of forbidden sexual awakening set in the nocturnal world of spas and karaoke bars in Los Angeles’ Koreatown.

David Cho (Joe Seo, who won the Special Jury Award at Sundance for his breakthrough performance), a timid 18-year-old living with his financially-struggling immigrant parents, chances upon a secret spot for cruising when he takes a part-time job at an allmale spa, and begins to realize hidden inner desires that threaten his life as a dutiful son and student.

Effervescent and atmospheric, this one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story makes the steamy spa a liminal place between dream and reality, and desire and disillusionment.

Joe Seo (David) and Youn Ho Cho (Jin) in Andrew Ahn's SPA NIGHT

“Spa Night is an intensely personal film,” said Ahn. “I knew very early in the screenwriting process that I had to draw from my own life experiences in order to find the honesty I wanted to show on screen. As the son of Korean-American immigrants, I have felt the conflict between my parents’ expectations and my own personal desires. In Spa Night, I wanted to explore what it means to be a part of a Korean-American family. As Spa Night progressed into production, the film became even more personal for me. We shot on location in Koreatown, Los Angeles — at restaurants I have eaten at, spas I have visited, and streets I have walked down. As I directed scenes, I saw my family in this fictional family I had created.”

“My main character David speaks in a mix of Korean and English to his parents, the same mix I use when I speak to my parents. With Spa Night, I want to open up American independent cinema to include stories about immigrant communities told in languages other than English. It is important that our cinema culture reflect the diversity of the American experience. By telling this story, I am attempting to validate the immigrant experience and acknowledge my parents’ sacrifice to leave their home country and start a new life in America. Spa Night is my way of fulfilling my parents’ hopes and dreams.”

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

New This Week – 2/14/20

Lars, a male nurse from Saarbrücken, moves with his lover Roland to Berlin. They renovate an apartment with the intention of finally living together. Their happiness seems almost complete. What Roland doesn’t know: while secretly checking out Berlin’s night life, Lars is experimenting with a deadly poison. ‘Darkroom’ is available to stream now, exclusively on Dekkoo!

In this gay short a man searches to reconcile his faith and his sexuality. Stream ‘Cognitive’ now on Dekkoo!

In this fish-out-of-water comedy a conservative Southern mom discovers that her only son is gay. Determined that he won’t go through life alone, she sets out to find him a husband. Watch ‘You Should Meet My Son’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week – A story about getting everything wrong.

Now Available: Copa 181

A gay sauna is the meeting place for a ragtag group of strangers looking for anonymous sex and perhaps a friendly smile in this supremely human dramedy.

On any given day at Copa 181, tucked in a corner of the Copacabana neighborhood in Rio, expect to find Tana and his wife Eros, an opera singer who finds acceptance for her incredible gift at the bathhouse. Joining them are a host of men ready to pay for the muscle-bound escorts. These include Leo, who tried to keep his relationship with trans girlfriend Kika a secret. Kika, a housecleaner by day, entertains nightly from the tiny stage and dreams of an elusive stardom that is just out of reach.

Everyone at Copa 181 falls under the joint spell of the sex and escape from mundane reality the bathhouse offers and audiences, too, will fall under the seductive spell.

Watch the trailer for Copa 181 below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

“Looking” star Russell Tovey makes “The Pass”

Jason and Ade (“Looking” star Russell Tovey and Arinze Kene) are nineteen. They’ve been in the academy of a famous London soccer club since they were eight, and now it’s the night before their first-ever game as professionals.

Though they should be sleeping, the boys find themselves over-excited. They exercise, fight, laugh, and talk. And then, suddenly, Jason kisses Ade. In the high-profile sporting world where image is everything, this surprising pass sets the men up for a contrasting decade of fame and failure, full of secrets, denial and sensual secret encounters.

Based on a stage play and featuring terrific performances, The Pass is a relentlessly sexy and deeply heartfelt examination of sports, friendship and homoerotic tension.

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

New This Week – 2/7/20

A gay sauna, not unlike the legendary Continental Baths, is the meeting place for a ragtag group of strangers looking for anonymous sex – and perhaps a friendly smile – in this compassionate new comedy-drama. Everyone at Copa 181 is looking to escape from their mundane reality. Falling under its seductive spell, they learn that family is where you find it. ‘Copa 181’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

The 15 year old footballers Loris and Thomas are bored, and steal their trainer’s mobile phone, where they discover photos of young footballers naked in the shower. Loris decided to use the pictures as a revenge. Stream ‘Play it Like a Man’ now on Dekkoo!

Kumar, a bachelor in his thirties leaves his corporate job in Kochi to become a graphic novelist. He embarks on a new life as an Uber driver in Kochi while working on his graphic novel titled ‘Pixelia’. One day a transgender named Mandakini gets into his cab and that day changes Kumar’s life forever. ‘Pixelia’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: The release of the trailer for our brand-new Dekkoo-original ‘Stranger Hearts’!

New This Week – 1/20/2020

The night before their debut game, two professional soccer players share a kiss. In a sporting world where image is everything, this surprising ‘pass’ sets the men up for a contrasting decade of fame and failure, full of secrets and denial. ‘The Pass’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

In this new anthology series a group of interconnected gay men, brought together by their relationships, explore the difference between coincidence and fate. Binge the first season of Grounded now on Dekkoo!

A mother and son shop for a Bar Mitzvah gift at a 99 Cent store. Watch the gay short film 99 now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A gay bathhouse in Rio De Janeiro is the stage for the gentle human drama.

Orpheus Song is a wildly erotic variation on Greek mythology

From prolific writer-director Tor Iben (The Visitor, The Passenger, The Year I Lost My Mind), Orpheus Song is a wildly erotic variation on Greek mythology that will quickly have you falling under its sensual spell.

Enis and Philipp (Julien Lickert and Sascha Weingarten) are two hot macho dudes from Berlin who become workout buddies at their local gym – each spotting the other. The two hunks quickly fall into an intense friendship. When Philipp wins a trip to Greece, he invites Enis along and the two have a great time. But during a hike, they become lost and tempers flare, escalating to a violent scuffle.

A mysterious young man, Hercules (Henry Morales), happens upon them and leads them to a magical underground cave. During the night, fueled by forbidden fruit Hercules has warned them against eating, passion ignites between Enis and Philipp. The next day, nothing between the two will ever be the same.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Mankind

Beginning with a quote from Carl Sagan, writer-director Layke Anderson’s new short film Mankind is an intimate relationship drama with bigger themes on its mind.

Will and Evan (Ricky Nixon and Alexis Gregory) have been in a committed relationship. It all comes crumbling down however, when Evan sneaks his way into Will’s emails. He discovers that Will has entered and been selected for a potentially dangerous space mission aiming to test the possibilities of colonizing Mars. Not only does Even learn that Will might be leaving him, he learns that Will may be leaving the entire planet behind.

What plays out throughout the thirteen-minute runtime of this heady short is a simple conversation in which two men with vastly different opinions about life and the future try to find some kind of common ground. Anderson splices in shots of their love life, their sexual escapades and vast footage of the cosmos to contrast and expand on his themes. At different points throughout Mankind, Will and Evan could be talking about their relationship, or humanity in general.

Watch the trailer for Mankind below. The full short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: From Zero to I Love You

In the crowd-pleasing new romantic drama From Zero to I Love You, Noah’s Arc and Boy Culture-star Darryl Stephens plays Pete, a gay man who has played the field for years, avoiding commitment by hooking up with exclusively with married men. Enter handsome model Jack (Scott Bailey of Guiding Light and Prayers for Bobby) who is fifteen years into a seemingly perfect marriage with an enviable wife and two kids.

When Jack and Pete hook up, both assume it’s going to be a one-time-only thing. But an overwhelming desire for a return tryst leads to more down-low action. Suddenly Pete begins to realize that in addition to the incredible sex, he is developing very strong feelings for this new married man. Is it possible that the commitment-phobic Pete and Jack, his supposedly straight lover who has a lot of baggage, will find a future together?

The off the charts chemistry between the two leads adds authenticity to this deeply satisfying obstacle-filled romance. Written and directed by Doug Spearman, the same filmmaker behind the hit 2013 gay action-comedy Hot Guys with Guns, From Zero to I Love You has been a massive hit at film festivals all around the globe.

Watch the trailer for From Zero to I Love You below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 1/24/20

Two best friends from Berlin win a trip to Greece. On their excursion, they get lost on an island. They spend the night together in a cave and dream a mystical dream. On the next day, nothing between the two will be like it was before. ‘Orpheus Song’ is a brand new gay film streaming exclusively on Dekkoo!

In this stunningly original short film a restless young man wants to leave love and the Earth behind. ‘Mankind’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

In this merry movie of matrimony, happily engaged Antonio brings his fiancé Paulo to the exquisite old Italian village of his birth to meet his headstrong parents and reveal his sexuality, setting out on a quest to make a city founded on religious tradition understand that love is love. Stream ‘My Big Gay Italian Wedding’ now on Dekkoo!

In this three-part documentary series LGBT culture and issues are explored in modern day Japan. Watch ‘Queer Asia: Japan’ now on Dekkoo.

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Coming next week: A romantic interaction between two young footballers profoundly affects one of them throughout the rest of his life and career.