Category: International Film

Now Available: Holding the Man

Based on the beloved and hugely successful memoir and stage play of the same name, Holding the Man tells the warm, funny and achingly sad story of the love affair between Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo, who met when they were teenagers at Xavier College in Melbourne in the 1970s.

Tim (Ryan Corr) was an aspiring actor. John (Craig Stott) was captain of the football team. Their romance lasted 15 years and endured a good many trials. When John died of AIDS at 33, Tim was forbidden to speak at his lover’s funeral. He set out to write a memoir about their relationship that would show the depth of tenderness they shared.

Featuring moving performances by lead actors Corr and Stott, Holding the Man also includes some legendary Australian actors in supporting roles. Guy Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Fox, Geoffrey Rush and “Succession” star Sarah Snook are all on hand to lend their talent to this powerful true story.

Deeply romantic, even in its tragic denouement, Holding the Man is keenly in touch with the lived experience of its characters, offering a loving tribute to those we lost during the AIDS crisis while celebrating a relationship that blossomed and endured in the face of prejudice and adversity.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Dylan Dylan

A gorgeously-crafted 16-minute short film from French writer-director Sylvain Coisne, Dylan Dylan is a profoundly emotional relationship drama set in the aftermath of a devastating loss.

Matthieu Dahan and Vincent Marie star as Yanis and Hugo, a married gay couple who are coping with the recent death of their four-year-old son. Though both men are in great pain, they deal with their grief in different ways.

It remains to be seen whether or not the tragedy will ultimately bring them closer together or widen the gulf that seems to be growing between them. As the pair try to regain some sense of normalcy, the outside world interferes with their grieving process in cruel and insensitive ways.

As Yanis and Hugo realize they have become the victims of a hateful, homophobic act of vandalism, they also find themselves the interest of a pair of documentarians whose motives are not entirely clear.

Dylan Dylan offers no easy answers or pat resolutions – there never are any in the face of such tragedy. Instead, the film tackles the grieving process with compassion and unflinching honesty.

Check out the poster for Dylan Dylan below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Sublime

How do you avoid losing something precious when it’s the very thing tearing you up inside?

Whether he’s writing music with his garage band buddies, having dinner with his family or sneaking off into the woods with his girlfriend, 16-year-old Manu (Martín Miller) is never quite present. He’s consumed by a secret that’s been eating him up inside.

In his dreams, Manu and his best friend Felipe (Teo Inama Chiabrando) lie in bed together, staring longingly into one another’s eyes while inching closer and closer together. Though they never kiss, the desire is clear. That desire simmers beneath the surface of writer-director Mariano Biasin’s moving new coming-of-age drama Sublime.

Featuring beautiful cinematography, an exceptional soundtrack and palpable chemistry between lead actors Miller and Inama Chiabrando, this award-winning new film follows one teen whose affection for his best friend can only stay suppressed for so long.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Dogfriend

An intelligent and wickedly funny 18-minute short from Germany, Dogfriend follows a kinky hook-up that gets incredibly heated… just not for the reasons you might expect.

Screenwriter Lamin Leroy Gibba also stars in the film as Malik, an attractive young man of color who is anticipating the arrival of Phillip (Til Schindler), a newer, unmistakably white and ambiguously political lover.

A classic over-thinker, Malik isn’t sure that this new relationship has legs. Phillip has a confident and casual demeanor that often conflicts with Malik’s neuroses. When Phillip finally arrives, presenting a pair of handcuffs and asking Malik to dominate him, the night takes a wildly unexpected turn.

Malik cuffs Phillip to the bed, but can’t seem to locate the key. Once the men find themselves discussing race relations, Malik starts to realize that he finally has the upper hand and Phillip, flush with white privilege, finds himself more vulnerable than ever before.

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