Category: International Film

‘Supernatural’ is a heady sci-fi fantasia – an art film, political essay and erotic gay drama

One hundred years into the future, an unseen leader transforms Thailand into a strange new world where everything is orderly, citizens earn merit through good deeds and humans are forbidden from touching one another.

For the characters in Supernatural, nostalgia for the past, as well as the painful longing for some form of sexual intimacy, are starting to take their toll. Jumping backward in time, the past lives of three of these characters are revealed.

Packed with gorgeous imagery and sensual homoeroticism, Thai writer-director Thunska Pansittivorakul’s heady sci-fi fantasia amplifies the power of touch while telling an epic story with limited resources. Part experimental art film, part political essay and part erotic gay drama, the film tells individual stories that take place in both the past and the future while commenting on gay life in the present.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Private Photos

Looking to add a little spice to their stagnant sex life, young partners Matheus and Rafa (Vinicius Neri and Lucas Galvino) decide to invite a third person into their bedroom. But when Felipe (Antonio Miano) arrives at their apartment, they seem to get more than they bargained for.

Rafa, a medical student, and Matheus, an architect, seem to live a pretty buttoned-up day-to-day existence. Felipe, who isn’t afraid to demand what he wants, has a mischievous, devil-may-care attitude that excites Rafa, but clashes with Matheus’s mild manner.

When Felipe lights up a joint and starts dancing provocatively for the pair, they end up falling into bed, but it quickly becomes clear that two of the participants are having a lot more fun than the third.

The night ends up taking an unexpected turn. Though they were seeking sexual exploration, the couple end up exploring their emotions and their satisfaction with one another, leading to a surprising ‘make-it-or-break-it’ moment.

Beautifully directed by Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Grabowsky and featuring bold performances from all three lead actors, Private Photos is a sexually-frank 20-minute short about a gay couple who are starting to learn what they really want when it comes to life, love and lust.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Private Photos below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Expect to get a little dirty with the incredibly sexy gay rugby romance ‘In From the Side’

In From the Side follows a group of athletes in a gay South London rugby club as they attempt to push past rivalries and score an elusive win. All the while, a secret love affair simmers among them.

Despite having a boyfriend, Mark (Alexander Lincoln), the least experienced member of the team, finds himself unable to avoid the blazing appeal of new teammate Warren (Alexander King). Following a drunken encounter, the two equally-attached men sleepwalk into an adulterous affair, but find they must conceal their growing feelings or risk destroying the team they love.

All the real action and drama starts to occur off the field – as infidelities, heartbreak and unimpeded passions rule the day.

A triumph for director Matt Carter, an accomplished visual effects artist who shot, edited, co-wrote and composed all the music, In From the Side infuses every vivid frame with heat. You aren’t likely to find a movie more packed with ridiculously handsome guys.

Featuring terrific performances from lead actors Lincoln and King, this critically-acclaimed new British rugby romance is slathered in sweat, streaked with mud and dripping with sexuality.

Watch the trailer for In From the Side below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Mab Hudel

Enys (Chris Jenkins) is what you would call a ‘man’s man.’ He’s a capable farmer with a hot dad-bod who takes care of his family, can chug down a pint with the best of them and, as team captain, is something of a legend at his local rugby club.

At the start of the sexy and charming new short film Mab Hudel (translated as The Magical Son), he’s tired, hungover and generally out of sorts. With all of his responsibilities mounting, he’s had little time to spend with Hikka (Rick Yale), his secret boyfriend.

On top of everything else, there is a major rugby final coming up… and Hikka just happens to be captain of the dreaded rival team. On the field, in the heat of the moment, it becomes apparent that their love affair may not have been as secret as they thought it was.

A crowd-pleaser at film festivals around the globe, Mab Hudel was filmed in South West England using entirely Cornish dialog, offering a glimpse into a region not often captured on film.

Mab Hudel also marks the directorial debut of Edward Rowe, an up-and-coming actor who starred in the films Bait and Enys Men, two recently-released British indies from acclaimed director Mark Jenkin. You can also catch his acting work on high profile series like The Witcher, C.B. Strike and House of the Dragon. We’re excited to see where he goes next as a filmmaker.

Watch a short trailer for Mab Hudel below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Director Rodrigo Bellott’s ‘Tu Me Manques’ is a riveting and unforgettably emotional must see

With films like Sexual Dependency and Who Killed the White Llama, writer-director Rodrigo Bellott established himself as one of the driving forces behind Bolivia’s nascent film industry. Not only is he an accomplished director in his own right, but he also oversees La Fabrica, Bolivia’s first official film school, where he shepherds emerging young talents through the filmmaking process.

In 2019, Bellott released his most acclaimed film to date, the moving and cathartic Tu Me Manques. We can’t recommend it more highly.

Accomplished Argentinian actor Oscar Martinez stars as Jorge, a conservative Bolivian father who receives news that his son, Gabriel , has committed suicide. Weeks after the tragedy, he finds his son’s laptop where he discovers he had a romantic relationship with Sebastian (Fernando Barbosa), another young countryman who lives in New York City, where his son was studying.

After an initial angry confrontation with Sebastian on Skype, Jorge decides to go to New York to look for answers about his son’s death. He soon learns that Sebastian has channeled his own grief into a bold new play in honor of his lost love, in which Gabriel’s inner turmoil is transformed into an eye-popping gay fantasia… and the result will change Jorge’s life forever.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at L.A. Outfest and the Audience Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Tu Me Manques is a smart, stylish and ultimately life-affirming exploration of three men’s struggles to reconcile identity and heritage.

Watch the trailer for Tu Me Manques below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A group of hot young hunks cut loose in Marco Berger’s sizzling hangout flick ‘Taekwondo’

Testosterone is almost like an extra character in the hot dude-packed hangout movie Taekwondo.

Set in a beautiful country house in a chic suburb of Buenos Aires, the film follows Fernando (Lucas Papa) and his many attractive buddies, who are about to enjoy a rowdy “boys only” weekend.

Disconnected from the outside world, they do little more than bask in the hot sun, play around in the swimming pool, smoke lots of pot and drink – naked or half- naked pretty much the entire time.

On this particular occasion, Fernando decides to invite along a newcomer named Germán (Gabriel Epstein), a close friend from his taekwondo class.

Though Germán is quickly welcomed into the group, Fernando hasn’t realized that he is attracted to men. Little by little, the two dudes get more intimate and the simmering sexual tension between them hits a boiling point.

Assembling what might be one of the hottest casts of fit young studs in gay movie history, prolific Argentine director Marco Berger has outdone himself. You won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen.

Watch a short clip from Taekwondo below. The film is now available on Dekkoo. You can also check out a large selection of Marco Berger’s other films right now on Dekkoo as well. The Carnival, Hawaii, The Blonde One, Young Hunter and the sizzling short story anthology Sexual Tension: Volatile are all currently streaming.

Short Film Spotlight: Chasin’

An 8-minute Australian short from director Lee Matthews and screenwriter Ben Chuah, Chasin’ observes an impromptu meeting between a Gen-X daddy and a Gen-Z twink.

On a hot summer night, the pair meet up in a public park after flirting on Scruff. The differences between them are immediately apparent.

But after the two jump the fence of a nearby recreation center and the older man injures his ankle, the pair of would-be lovers share in a moment of vulnerability and unexpected connection.

Suddenly it seems like this may be more than just a casual hook-up.

Featuring charming performances from lead actors Dushan Philips and Jay De Leon, Chasin’ offers up a sexy and kind-hearted meet-cute that may mark the start of a lasting relationship.

Check out the poster for Chasin’ below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the gorgeous and enthralling road-movie romance ‘The Man with the Answers’

The Man with the Answers first introduces us to Victor (Vasilis Magouliotis), a hunky, twenty-something ex-diving champion now working in a furniture factory and living with his sick grandmother in a seaside town in Greece.

Distraught after her death, he decides to dust off her old car and travel to Germany to visit his estranged mother. On the ferry to Italy, he meets the dreamy Matthias (Anton Weil) – a talkative, inquisitive young German who is on his way home.

Matthias persuades Victor to take him along for the journey. As the pair drive north, Victor’s uptight, repressive personality clashes with the more free-spirited Matthias. But they soon find common emotional ground as their summer road trip takes unexpected – and increasingly romantic – turns.

When their journey finally comes to an end, they’re confronted with the question of whether either has found the answers he’s looking for… and whether or not they can be found in one another.

Featuring terrific performances from sexy lead actors Magouliotis and Weil, The Man with the Answers tells a tender story of self-discovery, family and burgeoning love in all its many forms.

Watch the trailer for The Man with the Answers below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Word

A father and son (Karim Ashtari and Ali Ashrafiju) take to the road for a driving lesson. It’s a scenario that will be familiar to many, but in Iranian writer-director Hadi Khanmohammadi’s The Word, the roles are reversed.

In this intriguing 15-minute short, it’s the son who is teaching his aging father how to drive. But as this potential bonding moment plays out, an increasingly tense and difficult conversation ensues.

As the two men begin to air their grievances with one another, we get a strong sense of the abuse and patriarchal entitlement the son has had to endure. The father also wants to know why his son shies away from the topic of marriage… and spends so much time with his closest male ‘friend.’

Though it doesn’t offer any easy answers, The Word has a lot to say about traditional gender norms in Iran. It also adeptly captures the feeling of having to censor yourself in the presence of a closed-minded parent. Unfortunately, sometimes it really is impossible to teach an old dog new tricks.

Watch a short teaser trailer for The Word below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.