Category: International Film

Short Film Spotlight: Ruins

Poetic and deeply mysterious, Ruins is a supremely sexy 14-minute short from French writer-director Benoît Duvette, following two nameless young men (Paul Lecomte and Simon Royer) whose forbidden love has sent them running from society at large.

Set in a misty lakeside forest, the film finds two unnamed teen boys on the run. We don’t exactly know why, but it isn’t hard to guess that their feelings for one another are intense.

In the hollow of the night, alone, their pains and their fears eventually come to the surface.

Playing out like a dream sequence, Ruins is a sensual, atmospheric, and incredibly homoerotic coming-of-age short about the literal and figurative pain of youthful longing and desire.

Watch a short clip from Ruins below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Sandbag Dam’ is a sensitive, stunningly photographed portrait of youthful masculinity

Croatian director Cejen Cernic’s acclaimed romantic drama Sandbag Dam examines an internal battle that forms between small town ideals and burgeoning gay desires.

Former childhood friends Marko and Slaven (Lav Novosel and Andrija Zunac) shared a secret teenage romance before being found out – which resulted in Slaven’s father casting him out of the family.

Years later, Marko has become a local arm-wrestling champion and plans to start a career close to home with his younger brother. When Slaven returns after the death of his imposing father, their reunion threatens the delicate balance of Marko’s life and the traditional future he sees for himself.

As their town prepares for a coming flood, Marko will have to deal with his own torrent of buried emotions and decide what path he wants to follow: the life that was chosen for him or a more authentic one of his own making with Slaven.

Set in rural Croatia, this relaxed, slice-of-life drama skillfully captures the everyday rhythms of small town life while telling a gripping tale of forbidden gay love and long-awaited second chances.

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

‘Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake’ is a deliciously sexy sequel

After three years apart, Antonio and Luca (Giancarlo Commare and Gianmarco Saurino) finally see each other for the first time after the death of their mutual best friend.

Luca, who has hit rock bottom, has been lucky enough to meet Tancredi (Andrea Fuorto), his current boyfriend, while Antonio has focused on his work, so much so that he is now a well-known chef in a pastry boutique.

It is clear that there is still a special connection between the two men, but Antonio mistakes Luca’s affection for something more – and soon does everything he can to ruin his relationship with Tancredi.

Will Antonio learn to let go of the past in order to fully experience what the future has to offer him?

With a beautiful cast, a beautiful story and plenty deliciously intoxicating bakery goods, Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake, a follow-up to Mascarpone, Italian director Alessandro Guida’s alluring 2021 rom-com, builds off of the original for a sexy and thoroughly charming sophomore feature worth sinking your teeth into.

Watch the trailer for Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake below. The film, along with the original Mascarpone, is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A young man explores anonymous hookups in the Argentine drama ‘A Few Feet Away’

Up-and-coming Argentine actor Max Suen stars in the new gay drama A Few Feet Away as Santiago, a young 20-something who works in a mindless call center by day.

By night, Santiago obsessively searches gay hookup apps to see what kind of men might be available.

One night, as he runs from sex clubs to potential real-life sexual encounters, he begins to realize that while sex may be plentiful, intimacy is increasingly rare.

The debut feature of Argentine writer-director Tadeo Pestana Caro, A Few Feet Away is an exciting and insightful look at one young gay man as he dives headfirst into the wild, sexually-charged world of gay dating apps and anonymous hookup culture.

Watch the trailer for A Few Feet Away below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Check out the first season of ‘People Like Us’ – now available on Dekkoo!

Following the lives of four gay men, People Like Us, a short-form series from creator Leon Cheo, offers up a poignant reflection and insightful look at being gay in modern-day Singapore.

Issac (Steven Lim) is a senior private banker exploring new freedoms after living a double life hosting chem-sex parties. Ridzwan (Irfan Kasban) is a discreet accountant who keeps his work and social life separate. Joel (Josh Crowe) is a smart, but woefully impatient public relations yuppie who struggles to maintain long-term relationships. Lastly, Rai (Hermant Ashoka), is a young and idealistic conscripted soldier who is searching for love.

These characters drift into one another’s worlds – and beds – as they navigate love, lust and life in the big city.

In addition to the sexual escapades and relationships that unfold between the characters, People Like Us explores themes of acceptance, community support, the challenges of dating, substance addiction, and HIV awareness in the local LGBTQ+ community.

Check out the first season of People Like Us – now available on Dekkoo! The next two seasons will be available in the coming months.

Short Film Spotlight: Debut

The 28-minute short Debut follows Philip (Hannes Fohlin), a young man who dreams of becoming a model.

At a casting call, he gets the rare opportunity to be photographed alongside a well-known model named Sebastiaan (Karl-Henrik Franzen) – and there is clearly a spark between them.

During the photo shoot, Philip pushes his limits more and more in order to keep the photographer’s interest. Soon the alluring young men find themselves losing control of the situation, as Philip is doing everything he can just to be able to stay in front of the camera.

From screenwriter Veronica Zacco and Swedish director Anette Sidor, Debut is a sexy and provocative short about art and desire, featuring seductive performances from the lead actors.

Check out Debut today – the short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Director Sergio de León gets surreal in the unique coming-of-age drama ‘Keep Coming Back’

Keep Coming Back stars newcomer Bruce Pintos as Emilio, an eighteen-year old who can hardly keep his hormones under control.

Emilio is suddenly, unexpectedly faced with handling the cursed inheritance of a rural dovecote for carrier pigeons following the death of his mother. Looking to settle her debts, he and his mother’s boyfriend Juan uncover a legacy of local bird racing championship prizes in their pigeon coop, inspiring them to begin training their feathered flock for an upcoming race.

As Emilio navigates a weighty cocktail of new, all-consuming sensations – including grief, lust and romantic longing – he discovers the local community’s gay orgies.

Deliberately surreal and packed with offbeat humor, this fascinating debut feature from South American writer-director Sergio de León is one of the most vivid and original queer coming-of-age films in recent memory.

Watch the trailer for Keep Coming Back below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Poz

From Danish co-directors Christian Edvard Halberg and Helle Rossing, the short film Poz follows a lost young man who is looking for meaning in all the wrong places.

At the beginning of the film, Oliver (Max Raundalf Laursen), a troubled 20-something, arrives at his sister’s apartment on her birthday with the sole intention of pestering her.

When he asks whether she would be willing to take care for him in the event that he gets ill, the moment goes by mostly unnoticed. But a deeper, murkier truth lies beyond the question.

Oliver has been engaging in deliberately risky sexual behavior with a variety of men. When an HIV test comes back negative, he’s devastated to find himself healthy. Skipping his sister’s birthday party, he ventures out into the night, looking to finally catch hold of the virus he’s been seeking.

Stylishly constructed with haunting sound design, Poz is an intense and confrontational short film, following one young man on a misguided journey.

Poz is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The sexy Italian rom-com ‘Mascarpone’ looks at love through the lens of food

Mascarpone follows an attractive young Italian named Antonio (Giancarlo Commare) just as he’s being dumped by his partner. Having depended on him both psychologically and economically, his life begins to change radically.

The lost young man soon enrolls in pastry school, rents a room from the attractive, free-spirited and sex-positive Denis (Eduardo Valdarnini) and takes a job working in a bakery owned by the extremely hunky Luca (Gianmarco Saurino). He also starts having numerous hot sexual encounters with eligible men.

Through this process, Antonio discovers that it was wrong to give up his independence for the sake of his past relationship.

As sweet and silky as the ingredient which serves as the title, Mascarpone is the perfect gay date movie, blending sexy men, endearing characters and charming humor.

Having premiered to great acclaim at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, this flavorful gay treat is sure to delight. There is also a sequel, Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake, which will be available on Dekkoo later this month.

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

‘The Mouth of the Wolf’ is an intimate documentary hybrid with evocative atmosphere

Vintage images of a city on the decline are woven into the story of one queer couple separated for decades by prison bars in The Mouth of the Wolf, a hauntingly beautiful film from Italian director Pietro Marcello.

Vincenzo returns to Genoa after many years away, some spent in prison. He tours the city searching for the places of his childhood and the Genoa idealized in his father’s stories.

Although the reality of the city has changed, waiting for him in the small house in the ghetto is Mary Motta, his lifelong companion and a trans woman. Through material ranging from 1920’s home movies to scenes of massive ship launches and dynamited machinery, Marcello pays a mournful tribute to Genoa’s degeneration. Its fortunes are compared with those of shipwrecked survivors – as well as the two lead characters.

An intimate work with an evocative atmosphere told using a hybrid narrative structure that blends fiction and documentary The Mouth of the Wolf won the Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Festival when it was first released in 2009.

Watch the trailer for The Mouth of the Wolf below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.