Category: Gay Icon
Short Film Spotlight: People (Who Need People)
From screenwriter Eric Grant and director Omid Iranikhah, the short film People (Who Need People) follows former partners Alex and Raj (Patrick Sprague and Adron Duell), who are in the middle of a bitter divorce.
Raj has packed up most of their belongings and has one foot out the door, but Alex is nowhere near ready to move on. When Alex attempts to steal back a copy of Barbra Streisand’s album People, which was given to him as an anniversary present, it sets a major conflict into motion.
As the couple begin to argue, they discover that there are unresolved issues at the heart of their relationship… and not all of them revolve around Barbra.
Featuring game performances from the two lead actors, People (Who Need People) is a clever and bitingly funny 8-minute break-up comedy.
Check out the poster for People (Who Need People) below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.
The landmark documentary ‘Before Stonewall’ is now available on Dekkoo
In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city’s LGBTQ+ community. With this outpouring of courage and unity, the gay liberation movement had begun.
Made in 1984 and released to great acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in 1985, during the harrowing early years of the AIDS crisis, the landmark documentary Before Stonewall pried open the closet door – shining a spotlight on the experiences of queer Americans throughout the 20th century and setting free dramatic untold stories of survival, love, persecution and resistance.
Revealing and often humorous, this celebrated film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today’s gay rights movement, from the events that led to the fevered 1969 riots to many other milestones in the brave fight for acceptance.
Experience the fascinating and unforgettable, decade-by-decade history of gay life in America through eye-opening historical footage and amazing interviews with those who lived – and fought – through an often brutal closeted history.
Watch the trailer for Before Stonewall. The documentary is now available on Dekkoo.
Gregg Araki’s New Queer Cinema classic ‘The Living End’ is now available on Dekkoo!
One of the most electrifying films of the New Queer Cinema movement, The Living End left viewers stunned when it premiered at the now-infamous 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Brazenly transgressive, it may be even more shocking by today’s standards. Credited as ‘An Irresponsible Movie by Gregg Araki,’ the film’s take-no-prisoners story follows two HIV-positive men with nothing to lose.
Luke (Mike Dytri), a mischievous and reckless drifter, and Jon (Craig Gilmore), an initially uptight film critic, meet, unconventionally, after Luke has a run-in with a trio of gay-bashers.
A passionate affair – and a whole lot of trouble – soon ensue as the pair embark on a nihilistic road trip – fueled by whiskey, a gun and Luke’s motto of ‘fuck everything.’
Though it was referred to, at the time, as ‘the gay Thelma & Louise,’ The Living End has far more in common with the groundbreaking work of Andy Warhol, John Waters, Derek Jarman and Jean-Luc Godard, iconoclast filmmakers who are all paid some level homage throughout the film.
On a budget of just $20,000, Gregg Araki crafted this ultra-violent Gen-X classic as a primal scream in the face of the mounting AIDS crisis and its accompanying cultural stigma.
More than thirty years later, The Living End has lost none of it’s power or political charge. Now audiences new and old can experience it once again, in all it’s digitally-remastered glory, on Dekkoo. Check out the original trailer below.
A star-studded new documentary explores the life of legendary fashion icon Antonio Lopez
The riveting documentary Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco doubles as a time capsule of Paris and New York City between 1969 and 1973 – as viewed through the eyes of Antonio Lopez, the dominant fashion illustrator of the time.
A native of Puerto Rico who was raised in The Bronx, Antonio was a seductive arbiter of style and glamour. Beginning in the 1960s, he brought elements of the urban street to a postwar fashion world desperate for change and diversity.
Counted among Antonio’s discoveries – and muses of the period – were iconic beauties such as Grace Jones, Jessica Lange and Jerry Hall, as well as Warhol Superstars Donna Jordan, Jane Forth and Patti D’Arbanville.
Antonio’s inner circle was also comprised of his romantic and creative partner, Juan Ramos, makeup artist Corey Tippin, photographer Bill Cunningham, and rival designers Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint-Laurent.
All these characters and more come together in this acclaimed film from director James Crump, creating a vivid portrait of Lopez and the revolutionary fashion world he helped create.
Watch the trailer for Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.
A legendary entertainer and pioneer gets her due in the documentary ‘Miwa: A Japanese Icon’
Male actor Akihiro Miwa came to prominence in Japan back in 1968 while playing the glamorous heroine of the film Black Lizard.
A legendary entertainer and a pioneer of gay activism, Miwa popularized androgyny as a fashion statement, fusing the masculine and the feminine into a new generation of aesthetics. This evolved into performing as a woman and living off-stage as a man.
With glitter, wit, evening gowns and enchanting storytelling, Miwa: A Japanese Icon, the celebrated new documentary from director Pascal-Alex Vincent, looks back over a 50-year career and a fascinating life in Japanese music, film and television.
Having sold millions of records, Miwa continues to fight for gay rights, among other issues. Miwa: A Japanese Icon reveals the life story of this wonderful performer and unapologetic social critic.
Watch the trailer for Miwa: A Japanese Icon below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.
‘Seed Money’ looks into the life of legendary gay porn producer and philanthropist Chuck Holmes
As the head of Falcon Studios, Chuck Holmes became one of the most influential gay figures of the 20th century, his work viewed by millions of men at a time when most cinematic representations of gay life were either blatantly homophobic or strictly relegated the art house.
Starting in the early 1970s, Chuck revolutionized the newly legal gay porn industry, assertive in his belief gay men deserved positive representations – and that quality gay films would help them change their sense of self.
He fought legal battles and personal demons, surfacing in the late ’80s as a major contributor to the growing gay rights movement — only to find that the community he helped create now thought of him as a liability.
Through extensive use of film footage, archival material and interviews with Chuck’s friends, lovers, activists and fellow adult filmmakers, the groundbreaking feature-length documentary Seed Money follows the sensational story of Chuck’s incredible rise, his cultural and philanthropic contributions to gay culture and his struggle to achieve respect – even in death.
Watch the trailer for Seed Money below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Discover great gay stories. 