Category: International Film

Now Available: Santa & Andrés

Set in Cuba during the 1980s, Santa & Andrés follows two outsiders who form an unexpected bond.

Eduardo Martinez stars as Andrés, a provocative openly gay novelist who has been banned from writing another word by the Cuban government. With a political rally coming up, they intend to keep Andrés under close scrutiny in order to prevent him from communicating with the press. Enter Santa, played by Lola Amores. She is sent to Andrés’ countryside home to watch over him for the next three days.

Despite their mutual distrust and suspicion, the pair find themselves quietly questioning their allegiances and ultimately coming to understand one another.

In a case of “life imitating art, imitating life,” the film was banned in Cuba and pulled from the Havana Film Festival shortly before it was set to premiere, despite the fact that writer-director Carlos Lechuga had been selected as an award recipient.

Though it’s set nearly 40 years ago, Santa & Andres delivers a thoughtful and still completely relevant rumination on the notions of political censorship, hatred and intolerance.

Watch the trailer for Santa & Andres below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

A closeted policeman tries to diffuse an anti-gay protest in the tense thriller Poppy Field

Planning to spend a romantic weekend with his long-distance boyfriend, Christi (Conrad Mericoffer) finds their tender reunion cut short when he is called in to handle a crisis at work. He and his unit are sent to quell a protest at a local movie theater, where a far-right group has interrupted the screening of a queer film.

As tensions between the homophobic protesters and the audience mount, Christi, closeted to his fellow officers, begins to spiral out of control when he spots a former fling in the crowd. When the incident turns violent, it threatens to expose Christi’s secret and forces him to confront the contradictions between his personal and professional life.

Based on true events, Poppy Field creates a poignant portrait of a man reconciling his professional and private identities. Director Eugen Jebeleanu builds a pressure cooker of emotions and subverts the conventional thriller format to arrive at deeper truths.

Watch the trailer for Poppy Field below. The full film is now available on Dekkoo. And if you want to dive into the true story further, the film 5 Minutes Too Late, which is based around the same real-life incident, is also streaming now.

The Dekkoo Digest 029 – 11/18/22

The Dekkoo Digest is back with three new releases this week (of course!). Check out what Ross has to say about the Dekkoo-original series ‘Adam In Fragments’. It’s available to stream now exclusively on Dekkoo!

Now Available: Isaac

The debut film from veteran Spanish producers Angeles Hernandez and David Matamoros, Isaac stars Pepe Ocio and Ivan Sanchez as Nacho and Denis, two former childhood friends who meet again years after having had an intense relationship as teenagers.

Both men’s lives are now quite different. Nacho and his wife Marta seem to be the perfect bourgeois married couple, but they’re struggling to get pregnant. Denis and his wife Carmen lead a more laid-back lifestyle, living from hand to mouth as they try to save up enough money to open up the restaurant of their dreams.

When Denis offers his partner as a surrogate for Nacho and Marta, the two couples find themselves having to deal with deep secrets the two men buried long ago.

Based on an acclaimed Spanish stage play by Antonio Hernández, Isaac is an emotional and poignant drama about class, happiness, repressed desires and learning to be your true, authentic self.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Floating

In expertly-made new short film Floating, a Russian astronaut awakens alone on board a space station module after an unfortunate crash. Space debris has left the module severely damaged and any communication with the outside world appears to be severed.

As the astronaut tries to reconnect to the base, strange noises turn his attention to the outside. There are knocks coming from outside the ship. They get closer and closer until a strange character emerges. He’s come to welcome the astronaut with a pie.

Puzzled, scared and believing everything to be a hallucination, the astronaut tries to focus on his communication efforts… but the mysterious man decides to open the door and let himself in.

From director Frankie De Leonardis, Floating, also known as Flotando, shows what a skilled filmmaker can do on a limited budget. Ultimately telling an allegorical story about self-realization and acceptance, this clever sci-fi short packs a surreal comic punch.

Watch a short – and very tense – trailer for Floating below. The full short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day explores the sensual experiences of gay Egyptian men

In Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day?, a contemporary queer musical and pseudo-documentary from Egyptian director Mohammad Shawky Hassan, soft speaking voices and a dreamlike soundscape of Egyptian pop music combine to create an almost hallucinatory cinematic experience.

Based on a diary of the filmmaker’s personal love stories, and told in the form of tales from “One Thousand and One Nights,” Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day? gives us a glimpse into the sensual experiences of gay Egyptian men.

Telling their stories with humor, tenderness and wit, the power of prose commands attention and allows viewers to be completely swept up in Hassan’s unique vision.

With gorgeous colors, riveting stories, handsome actors and imaginative editing, Shall I Compare You To a Summer’s Day? is a truly unique gay fantasia.

Watch the trailer for Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day? below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.