Category: International Film

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.

Queer Classics: We Were One Man

Years ahead of its time, We Were One Man is a period piece, originally released in France in 1979, that dared to depict a budding romance between two men.

From director Philippe Vallois, the film tells a story of gay love between two soldiers. Guy (Serge Avedikian), a peasant farmer, is trying to live a simple life during the turmoil of World War II. He lives in a small farmhouse outside a sleepy village in France, where he has almost no friends.

Everything starts to change when he stumbles across Rolf (Piotr Stanislas), an injured German soldier. The simple, naive Guy brings Rolf home and nurses him back to health. While convalescing, a relationship slowly builds between the two men.

Soon the pair are frolicking naked in the woods and swimming in the stream. Thin, boyish Guy is a contrast to the blond, hard bodied Rolf. The passion that stirs between them that becomes hard to deny. As their connection grows deeper, they find a happy escape in one another, content to be sheltered and loved… until the war asserts itself back into their lives.

We Were One Man is now available on Dekkoo.

‘The First Fallen’ is a profoundly moving 1980s period drama from Brazil

Set in 1983 The First Fallen stars Johnny Massaro as a young biologist who returns home from studies abroad and starts to feel that there is something wrong with his body.

This is the beginning of the AIDS crisis – when the first wave of the epidemic hit Brazil. Lives will change, friends will be lost and gained and the future is suddenly uncertain.

With energy, humor and righteous anger, director Rodrigo de Oliveira (the award-winning filmmaker behind Tu Me Manques) creates a drama full of powerful performances, vibrant color and dramatic craft.

Partly entertainment and partly a work of cinematic activism, The First Fallen takes audiences on an emotional journey, offering up a powerful ode to the victims of the AIDS crisis and the community of solidarity and support that formed during those terrifying early days.

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