International Film – Page 67 – Dekkoo Blog | Gay Movies, Series & LGBTQ+ Entertainment

Cinema Spotlight: In the Grayscale

When architect Bruno (hot Chilean TV star Francisco Celhay) finds himself passionately drawn to Santiago tour guide, Fernando (Emilio Edwards) he faces challenging decisions about his identity – and his relationship with his wife and young son.

Hired to design a civic landmark for the Chilean capitol city, Bruno struggles with the commission. His uncertainty about how to proceed professionally is paralleled by his personal grappling.

Offering no easy answers, this tenderly told tale of sexual discovery has earned comparisons to Andrew Haigh’s Weekend for its beautifully realized portrayal of two men in love. Variety called In the Grayscale “A measured, tenderly played study of imprecise sexual identity.” The San Francisco Chronicle called it a “wonderfully complex character study.” The film also won the Jury Award for Best First Feature at the Frameline San Francisco LGBT Film Festival and the Ibero-American Debut Award at the Miami International Film Festival.

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

Now Available: The Blue Hour

“The Blue Hour” can mean the time between day and night, a realm between dream and reality, or a point between good and evil. Based on a true story, The Blue Hour from director Anucha Boonyawatana is all about the relationship between a boy, who is pressured by his family, and a mysterious young man who will lead him into horrifying situations.

A sexy supernatural love story about a bullied loner, Tam (Attapun Poonsawad), who finds solace in the arms of Phum (Oabnithi Wiwattanawarang), a boy he meets at a haunted swimming pool. Phum reveals that his family’s land has been stolen and the new found lovers imagine a perfect life together on the disputed land. Haunted by a ghostly presence, Tam struggles to stay connected to reality.

An official selection of the Berlin International Film Festival, The Blue Hour is a dark atmospheric tale of love and distress.

Born in Nakhon Phanom, a North-Eastern Province of Thailand, in 1981, Anucha Boonyawatana is a Thai independent film director and also founder of G-Motif Production, one of the largest video production company in Thailand. His thesis film “Down the River”, combination of Buddhist philosophy and Thai art and a love story of a gay couple, won Young Thai Artist Award and has been shown at several film festivals. He collaborated with TUC, Thai-American Public Health Agency (under the US government) and UNESCO to direct the online movie “Love Audition1, 2” aim to promote health and relationships among Thai gay teenagers. In 2012, his short film “Erotic Fragments No.1, 2, 3” was screened in competition at Berlinale Shorts of the 62th Berlin International Film Festival. The Blue Hour is his first feature film.

Check out the trailer for The Blue Hour below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 8/16/19

‘The Blue Hour’ is a sexy supernatural love story about a bullied loner, Tam, who finds solace in the arms of Phum, a boy he meets at a haunted swimming pool. Stream it now on Dekkoo!

This documentary chronicles the life and crimes of former gay porn star Luka Magnotta who was convicted of killing and dismembering a man and posting the video online. ‘Sex, Fame and Murder: The Luka Magnotta Story’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

This edgy drama follows 19-year-old Ari, a gay Greek-Australian whose roiling ethnic- and sexual-identity struggles lead to a wild, 24-hour odyssey. Watch ‘Head On’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week:

Breaking up is hard work in 45 Days Away from You

After a recent breakup with “a man who shall not be named,” young bachelor Rafael (Rafael de Bona) finds his romantic life spinning out of control. With a change of scenery in order, he sets out on journey of self-discovery – an adventure that will take him from Brazil to England, Portugal and Argentina.

Along the way, he seeks the counsel of his nearest and dearest friends. There’s Julia (Julia Corrêa), an amorous single actress trying to land her breakthrough role; Fabio (Fábio Lucindo), Rafael’s straight-boy buddy, who is trying to maintain a long-distance relationship; and Mayara (Mayara Constantino), a dear friend who gave up a promising career in favor of marriage.

Over the course of his 45-day trip, Rafael grows closer to the people in his life who really matter and learns that all it takes to mend a broken heart is time… and the support of a few good friends.

Check out the trailer for 45 Days Away from You below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 8/9/19

Following a recent break up Rafael sets off on a globe-trotting adventure. Along the way, he learns that all it takes to mend a broken heart is time…and some good friends. ’45 Days Away From You’ is a smart, funny, and sexy globe-trotting (and bed-hopping) romantic drama.

Four unique friends, all only children, rely on each other as a chosen family to get through the everyday ups and downs of adulthood. Watch all episodes of ‘Only Children’ now on Dekkoo!

Harry, a young Chinese man, travels to America in an attempt to reunite with his first lover, Sam, in hopes to relive the love and intimacy they once shared. Watch ‘Goodbye, My Big Cat’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A bullied loner finds solace in another boy’s arms when they meet at a haunted swimming pool.

Acclaimed author Abdellah Taïa adapts his own semi-autobiography Salvation Army

Described by Interview Magazine as a “literary transgressor and cultural paragon,” Abdellah Taïa became the first openly gay Arab writer in 2006 and remains once of the only openly homosexual Moroccan writers or filmmakers. Since his coming-out, he has become an iconic figure throughout the Arab world, and a beacon of hope in a country where homosexuality is still illegal. His 2013 film Salvation Army, now available on Dekkoo, is widely considered to have given Arab cinema its first gay protagonist.

Adapted from his own novel, itself based on his own coming-of-age, Taïa’s story concerns Abdellah (played by Said Mrini as a teen and Karim Ait M’Hand as an adult), a young gay man navigating the sexual, racial and political climate of Morocco.

Growing up in a large family in a working-class neighborhood, Abdellah is caught between a distant father, an authoritarian mother, an older brother whom he adores and a handful of predatory older men all too happy to take advantage of his sexual confusion in a society that denies his homosexuality.

As a college student, Abdellah moves to Geneva and while faced with the new possibilities of freedom, he grapples with the loss of his homeland. Both chapters in this character’s life inform one another in powerful and moving ways.

You can watch the trailer for Salvation Army below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 8/2/19

In a working class neighborhood in Casablanca, Abdellah, a homosexual teen, tries to build his own life within his big family, caught between an authoritarian mother and an older brother, who he adores. Stream ‘Salvation Army’ now on Dekkoo!

When Nathan tells Bret that he’s HIV positive, it doesn’t go well for Nathan. But months later, things take a turn for Bret. ‘All Things Fade’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

If you can imagine ‘Lethal Weapon’ with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as younger, hotter ex-boyfriends, you’ll have the basis for ‘Hot Guys With Guns’, a modern take on the old-fashioned detective story. It’s ‘Chinatown’ meets ‘Boystown’. ‘Hot Guys With Guns’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Dekkoo Films presents a smart, funny, and sexy globe-trotting (and bed-hopping) romantic drama.

Fall in love with The Way He Looks

Positively enchanting, The Way He Looks is a feel-good high school romance that will likely warm over even the coldest, blackest and most bitter of hearts.

Blind student Leo (Ghilherme Lobo) doesn’t usually let his disability get him down. He’s of a sunny, cheery disposition – happy to lay around the pool with his best gal-pal Giovana (Tess Amorim). He wants to be treated like any other teenager. When new kid Gabriel (Fabio Audi) arrives at school, however, Leo starts feeling the pangs of puppy love and finds his confidence on less solid ground. Gabriel and Leo take an instant liking to each other and start spending a great deal of time together, but that makes Giovana feel left out and puts their friendship in jeopardy. On top of that, Leo is very worried that his feelings for Gabriel – who, for all Leo knows, is straight – might never be returned.

The cast in also uniformly excellent. Ghilherme Lobo is a compelling and endearing lead, Fabio Audi is a total high school dreamboat (it’s easy to see the attraction) and Tess Amorim, whose character, in lesser hands, could have been written as a complete drip, is thoroughly loveable and relatable as Leo’s jealous best friend.

The Way He Looks is based on writer-director Daniel Ribeiro’s 2010 short film of the same name – which won countless awards and charmed the pants off of audiences and juries during it’s initial film festival run. Anyone who has seen the original short will get the sense that Ribeiro is padding the run-time here. The short, after all, reached, in 17 minutes, the same heartwarming ending that the film takes 96 minutes to arrive at.

Spending time with these characters, though, is so pleasant that it hardly matters. The extra superfluous material is quite welcome. It’s nice to have extra time in this universe. It’s hard not to fall in love with this movie. Watch the trailer below. The Way He Looks is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 7/25/19

In the third and final season of the Dekkoo-original series, Nate has at last put Joey behind him and moves forward in his career and friendships. That is, until an opportunity presents itself that makes him question everything he knows about L.A. All the while Jeff, Andy, Nicole and Mick navigate what it is they want and need in order to finally feel…fine.

The new season of ‘I’m Fine’ is available to binge-watch now!

Two men meet for a passionate sexual encounter that ends up getting far more personal than either had imagined. Tackling issues of self-image, the prescribed sexual roles of gay men and notions of masculinity, this short film shows what happens when two attractive young guys cut through all the sexual tension and really start getting intimate. Dekkoo Films presents ‘Rubber Dolphin’.

‘The Pink Angels’ is an outlaw-biker movie from 1971 about a gang of gay bikers on their way to a ball to compete as drag queens. B-movie gold and, considering it was released in the early 70’s, treats its LGBTQ+ characters with respect.

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Coming next week: Two hot guys. Two smoking guns. One helluva ride.

New This Week – 7/19/19

When Tyler O’Conner, a young gay author, visits a therapist, he realizes that his intense fear of negative consequences is keeping him from living his life to the fullest. Determined to change his behavior, he decides to bite the bullet and ask his cute neighbor, Shane, out for coffee. But will his deep-seated neurosis threaten their burgeoning romance? ‘Analysis Paralysis’ is a available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend, Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel. Watch ‘The Way He Looks’ now on Dekkoo!

‘A Last Farewell’ is both a calm and upsetting portrait of an aging author’s sorrow over the death of his long-term partner.

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Coming next week: The Dekkoo-original series ‘I’m Fine’ returns for its final season!