Category: International Film

Watch a short clip from the powerful new drama Label Me

No kissing. No passive penetration. For Waseem (Renato Schuch) the rules are very clear. Its only when Lars (Nikolaus Benda) pays him for sex that he can sleep with a man and still feel secure in his heterosexuality.

One of these men is a refugee from Syria living in a shelter, the other is a wealthy German with a loft apartment – the differences couldn’t be more apparent and yet both men find themselves connected by a sincere interest in one another. Their relationship is rooted in a constant alternation between dominance and a longing for closeness. The playful power struggle between the two of them reveals their inability to hide their fears and longings – and to keep up their carefully constructed facades.

While both men struggle to uphold the labels they keep in their heads, their friendship starts to pose a very realistic threat within the Waseem’s shelter.

Not quite a short film, yet not quite a feature (at sixty minutes) the multiple award-winning Label Me is a powerful cross-cultural romantic drama from German writer-director Kai Kreuser. Label Me is currently available to watch on Dekkoo, along with the first two season’s of Kreuser’s sexy and provocative gay series Kuntergrau.

Watch a short clip from Label Me below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Fish Curry

A gorgeous, deeply personal animated short film from Indian writer-director Abhishek Verma, The Fish Curry follows Lalit Ghosh, a twenty-eight-year-old man who decides to come-out to his conservative parents.

Lalit is in love with a man, his very own roommate, Ashutosh Gautam. Planing out his day, he decides to cook his father’s favorite dish, a traditional fish curry recipe he learned from a famous radio cook show. He prepares the dish with effort and serves his father the delicious fish curry and confronts his sexuality over the dinner table.

Gaining his family’s acceptance proves a difficult task, especially for his parents. The societal structure and prejudices related to homosexuality is huge, specifically in Indian societies. But will Lalit’s dad love the delicious fish curry?

The short trailer below will give you a sense of the style on display in The Fish Curry. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 4/10/20

Despite clear rules, the continuously growing relationship between the straight Syrian refugee Waseem and his German customer Lars starts to pose a threat within the reality of Waseem’s shelter. ‘Label Me’ is streaming now on Dekkoo.

A cynical counselor at a crisis hotline finds himself in a life or death situation when a young man calls and threatens to kill three people and then himself. ‘Crisis Hotline’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Arthur is a single dad, struggling with the care for his seven-year-old son Max and the combination of his secret life as a drag queen. Stream ‘Hello Stranger’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A film where a gender nonconforming teenager walks through their neighborhood and is greeted with dignity. 

Five guys discover the meaning of love, sex and friendship in the gay series Kuntergrau

In the German series Kuntergrau, coming out is part of the past while sex and love is mundane. A group of five gay friends between seventeen and twenty-four years old deal with everyday problems and experience the meaning of love, sex, and friendship.

The show focuses on Leopold (Marcel Meyer) who does not want to identify himself through his sexuality and Noah (Daniel Printz), whose BDSM fetish challenges his ex-boyfriend, Jan (Fabian Freistühler), to the point where their relationship begins to break. Along with them are the promiscuous Marcel (Moustafa Tarraf), who works as a banker and is learning to live day-by-day as HIV positive. Last but not least, Lukas (Daniel Kosic) moves from the country to the big city to get away from his controlling parents… somewhat unsuccessfully.

The lives of these five men soon become intertwined and what results is a story that encapsulates what it means to be a young gay man in a big city.

Watch the series trailer below. The first two seasons of Kuntergrau are available now on Dekkoo!

Don’t Miss End of the Century on Dekkoo!

In his alluring debut feature, End of the Century, writer-director Lucio Castro offers up both a sun-soaked European travelogue and an epic, decades-spanning romance.

When Ocho (Juan Barberini), a 30-something Argentine poet on vacation in Barcelona, spots Javi (Ramón Pujol), a Spaniard from Berlin, from the balcony of his Airbnb, the attraction is subtle but persistent. After a missed connection on the beach, a third chance encounter escalates to a seemingly random hookup. But are these two merely beautiful strangers in a foreign city or are they part of each other’s histories—and maybe even their destinies?

Castro deliberately parses out mystery after mystery, leading the audience on a journey of discovery as the two leading men discover themselves and each other. With sumptuous lensing of a Barcelona summertime and tangible chemistry between the actors, End of the Century is a love story that echoes across time.

Watch the trailer for End of the Century below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 4/3/20

Pedro, a 70-year-old gay nurse, is taking care of Daniela, his ailing transgender friend. In order to find her a vacant hospital bed, he decides to help an arrested and wounded criminal to escape. ‘Greta’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!

While Montreal is in the throes of a string of kidnappings targeting young boys, ten-year-old Felix is finishing his school year in the seemingly quiet suburb where he lives. A sensitive boy with a vivid imagination, Felix is afraid of everything. Little by little, his imaginary demons begin to mirror those of the truly disturbing world around him. Stream ‘Demons’ now on Dekkoo!

Jimmy Park is visiting home for the first time in years and has nothing to show for his time living overseas in Seoul. But old tensions come to a head when he confronts his homophobic sister at a family dinner. ‘Zero One’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

In this inspiring animated short film, a young man comes out to his father while preparing his favorite traditional dish. Watch ‘The Fish Curry’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A soulfully melancholy reflection on the extreme isolation of the refugee experience.

New This Week – 3/27/20

When a 30-something Argentine poet on vacation in Barcelona spots a Spaniard from Berlin the attraction is subtle but persistent. After a missed connection on the beach, a third chance encounter escalates to a seemingly random hookup. But are these two merely beautiful strangers in a foreign city or are they part of each other’s histories – and maybe even their destinies? ‘End of the Century’ is now available on Dekkoo!

In Kuntergrau, coming out is part of the past while sex and love is mundane. A group of five gay friends between 17 and 24 deal with everyday problems and experience the meaning of love, sex, and friendship. Season 2 of Kuntergrau is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

Winn Morton – a visionary, 90-year-old costume designer who honed his craft on Broadway and with Ringling Brothers Circus – brings over-the-top fantasy and sparkle to a traditional debutante pageant in East Texas. Watch ‘The Queen’s New Clothes’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: “…a thematically ambitious but narratively very intimate and compassionate story of human relationships.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Cinema Spotlight: Cupcakes

From Eytan Fox the director of Yossi, comes this extravagant and unashamedly
entertaining Eurovision parody featuring a feel-good soundtrack provided by Babydaddy
from the Scissor Sisters.

Set in contemporary Tel Aviv, Cupcakes follows six diverse best friends who gather to
watch the wildly popular UniverSong competition. Appalled by the Israeli entry, they
decide to create their own and record it on a mobile phone. Unbeknownst to them, their
performance is seen by the UniverSong judges and selected as Israel’s entry for next
year’s competition.

With bright, Almodóvar-esque styling, irresistibly catchy tunes and a
gloriously uplifting storyline, this laugh-out-loud comedy is a refreshing ode to music,
friendship and romance.

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

New This Week – 3/20/20

Xolani, a lonely factory worker, travels to the rural mountains with the men of his community to initiate a group of teenage boys into manhood. When a defiant initiate from the city discovers his best-kept secret, Xolani’s entire existence begins to unravel. ‘The Wound’ is now playing on Dekkoo!

Inspired by true events, ‘Lúbtha’ follows the story of a teenager dealing with his sexuality whilst having to grow up in early 90s Northern Ireland. ‘Lúbtha’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Dallas is a succesful executive with a beautiful wife. Austin is his gay younger brother. Each thinks the other “has it so good.” When they switch places due to a strange twist of fate they both discover not everything is always as it seems. Stream ‘My Brother’s Shoes’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A powerful love story, elegantly told.

Watch the trailer for the short animated romantic comedy Top 3!

Top 3 is an animated romantic comedy about love, life, lists and what happens after falling helplessly in love.

In this funny, bittersweet animated romantic comedy from Sweden, perpetual list-maker Anton falls in love with David, but things start to go awry when Anton realizes that his dreams in life might be in direct opposition to his new partner’s.

A Dekkoo Original (the first animated film of its kind), Top 3 is a multiple-award-winning co-production of Swedish Television, with support from the Swedish Film Institute.

Watch the trailer for Top 3 below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.