Category: International Film

Short Film Spotlight: Shadow Animals

In the new Swedish short film Shadow Animals, a young girl (Ayla Turin) follows her parents to a party where she experiences assorted grown-up rituals. As the evening progresses she finds the adults’ behavior increasingly strange. Everyone tries to fit in, but not everyone succeeds.

Skillfully mixing kitchen-sink social drama with over-the-top surrealism, Shadow Animals manages to pinpoint the illogical adult world that makes childhood something deeply serious.

Writer-director Jerry Carlsson has created a fascinatingly weird dance-based drama about the discovery of human behavior.

Watch the trailer for Shadow Animals below to get a sense of what the film has up its sleeve. It’s now available on Dekkoo.

No Hard Feelings is a must-see new romance!

The critically-acclaimed, Teddy Award-winning must-see romance No Hard Feelings tells a story about re-discovering one’s past and building a future together.

Parvis (Benny Radjaipour), the son of exiled Iranians, copes with life in his small hometown by indulging himself with pop culture, Grindr dates, and raves. After being caught shoplifting, he is sentenced to community service at a refugee shelter where he meets siblings Banafshe (Banafshe Hourmazdi) and Amon (Eidin Jalali), who have fled Iran.

As a romantic attraction between Parvis and Amon grows, the fragile relationship between the three is put to a test. They find and lose each other throughout a summer of fleeting youth, an intense first love, an attempt at a joint future, as well as the stark realisation that, in Germany, they are not equal.

Growing up in Cologne the son of exiled Iranis himself, writer-director Faraz Shariat studied media art to explore his experiences as a gay, second generation migrant. In his work, Faraz often attempts to re-inhabit his own history and build a visual archive of migration in Germany. No Hard Feelings is one of his most treasured works yet.

Watch the trailer for No Hard Feelings below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 12/25/20

A ’70s-set homoerotic prison drama based on a low-circulated pulp novel, tracking the sexual, often-violent and eventually murderous experiences of 20-something narcissist Jaime. ‘The Prince’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

A young girl follows her two dads to a party where she experiences assorted grown-up rituals. As the evening progresses she finds the adults’ behavior increasingly strange. Everyone tries to fit in, but not everyone succeeds. Watch ‘Shadow Animals’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Inspired by first-time feature filmmaker Simon Amstell’s own experiences, this film is a heartfelt ode to the search for human connection.

His is a heartfelt romance from prolific Japanese director Rikiya Imaizumi

Nagisa (Kisetsu Fujiwara) and Shun (Hio Miyazawa) first met one another and fell in love when they were teenagers in high school. Thirteen years have now passed since they last saw one another.

Even though he now lives in Australia with his wife and child, Nagisa has never been able to let the memory of his first love fade. When difficulties begin to arise within his marriage, he is reminded more of those early day than ever. He decides to return to Japan with his daughter in tow – and to reunite with Shun to see if their connection is still as strong.

Though their love story may be pure, the hopeful pair must survive discrimination and prejudice in order to live together as a happy family.

From accomplished Japanese director Rikiya Imaizumi, the gorgeous new romance His is a heartfelt exploration of custody and long-lost love.

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

New This Week – 12/18/20

Handsome, twenty-something, Manuel, travels back to his hometown with an ulterior motive. He’s going to ask his parents for money to move to Denmark with his super-hot boyfriend. Soon after arriving, however, things start to get complicated. ‘A Skeleton in the Closet’ is available to stream exclusively on Dekkoo!

Nagisa and Shun fell in love during their high school days in Japan. Though he’s now a family man living in Australia, Nagisa has never let the memory of his first romance fade. When he finally returns to Japan, he and Shun reconnect, after thirteen years apart, to see if their love story deserves a new chapter. Stream ‘His’ now on Dekkoo!

Eric, who has early-onset dementia, arrives home from hospital after overcoming COVID-19 to discover his partner is still in hospital, uncertain of his future. Due to the lockdown restrictions, Eric is unable to visit his partner and relies on Benny, his carer to help him through his confusion. ‘Where’s Steve?’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo.

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Coming next week: An explosive homoerotic drama set in a repressive 1970s Chilean prison.

New This Week – 12/11/20

Second-generation Irani-German Parvis works at a refugee shelter where he meets brother and sister Irani refugees and develops a tenuous romance with Amon as his friends attempt refugee status. ‘No Hard Feelings’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Strangers from opposite ends of the earth: Nizar, a Syrian refugee and Eric an Irish tourist, meet in the City of Angels and embark on a journey of trust, abandonment, tragedy and privilege. Stream ‘Irish Goodbye’ now on Dekkoo!

Marcos lands in New York only to find out his layover flight to San Francisco has been canceled. Having nowhere to go, he ends up in his friend’s apartment with a complete stranger: Alan. ‘A Stormy Night’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Yet ANOTHER new release gay film comes to Dekkoo! You’re welcome!

New This Week – 12/4/20

A lucrative win at the races for newlyweds Kevin and Jay turns into a perilous car ride home when Jay claims ownership of the prize and has a very different idea of how to spend the cash to Kevin. Dekkoo Films presents the original short film, ‘Jackplot.’

In Manhattan, film-maker Erik bonds with closeted lawyer Paul after a fling. As their relationship becomes one fueled by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries while being true to himself. ‘Keep the Lights On’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

United States, the 50s. Amongst stuffed poodles, whiskey-infused teas, sinful mambo lessons, and threats of alien invasion, Mr(s). Fairytale spends her days locked in her dream home and without a moment to breathe. A surreal world where anyone can finally be who they want to be, but behind which hides another upsetting reality. Stream ‘Fairytale’ now on Dekkoo!

Carl, struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, meets James for a one night stand. ‘Your Heart is Homeless’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A confidently out German-born Iranian falls for an Iranian immigrant in a refugee center in Faraz Shariat’s vibrant, lively, lovely debut. – Variety

New This Week – 11/27/20

A polyamorous male couple test the limits of a restrictive society when they become romantically entangled with a beautiful young woman. ‘The Taste of Betel Nut’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

A seemingly pious Hasidic man living a secret double life misplaces his black hat one night which will cause his two separate lives to collide in a way he never imagined. Watch ‘Black Hat’ now on Dekkoo!

John Curry transformed ice skating from a dated sport into an exalted art form. Coming out on the night of his 1976 Olympic win, he became the first openly gay Olympian in a time when homosexuality was not fully legal. Ferociously ambitious yet bent on self-destruction, Curry was an artist and an athlete whose body time and again – sometimes against his will – became a political battlefield. ‘The Ice King’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week – Dekkoo Films present a new original short film from the winner of our ‘Love & Distance’ short film competition!

Now Available: Dry Wind

Sandro (Leandro Faria Lelo) is shy, hirsute and incredibly horny middle-aged factory worker living in a dusty town in central Brazil. By day, he keeps his head down just enough not to be spotted eyeing the ample flesh on display at his local pool. But after a few glances shared with the younger and sexier Ricardo (Allan Jacinto Santana), an undeniable connection has been sparked.

A few chance encounters in the woodlands, and a memorably explicit moment at a county fair, visionary writer-director Daniel Nolasco’s sumptuous new drama Dry Wind takes us on an erotic trip – sometimes real, sometimes imagined – out of the mundane parts of Sandro’s life.

But just as things start to make sense for Sandro and Ricardo as a pair, in walks Maicon (Rafael Teóphilo), a man who seems like he literally stepped out a Tom of Finland sketch. He soon upends everything, forcing a love triangle that threatens Sandro’s careful discreet lifestyle.

A stylish and explicit follow-up to his wildly provocative pseudo-documentary Mr. Leather, Dry Wind proves that Daniel Nolasco is a filmmaker worth keeping an eye on and sets a new standard for original queer erotic cinema in the process.

Watch the trailer for Dry Wind below. The film is now streaming exclusively on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 11/13/20

From visionary director Daniel Nolasco, ‘Dry Wind’ is an erotic fever dream centered around Sandro, a shy, middle-aged factory worker in a secret relationship with his younger co-worker Ricardo. When the mysterious and seductive Maicon arrives on the scene, a heated love triangle begins to develop, threatening to upend the secret life Sandro has strived to keep hidden. ‘Dry Wind’ is a available to stream now, exclusively on Dekkoo!

When a teenager with Down syndrome is abandoned by his mother, a gay couple take him in and become the loving family he’s never had. But when their living arrangement is discovered, the men are forced to fight a biased legal system to save the life of the child they have come to love as their own. ‘Any Day Now’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!

In a cold, lonely motel room, two boys who came out to their parents form a special, self-affirming bond. Watch ‘Blind Chance’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A brand-new original short film from Dekkoo Films!