Category: New Release

Théodore Pellerin and Félix Maritaud star in the irresistible romantic drag drama ‘Solo’

Théodore Pellerin stars in Solo as Simon, a rising star in Montreal’s drag scene who vibrates with the passion of his adopted artistic community.

Performing lively disco pop numbers weekly at his local club, he’s friendly with his fellow drag queens and supported by his sister, who delights in designing increasingly elaborate and beautiful costumes for his act.

When he meets Oliver, an alluring new recruit played by French BPM and Sauvage/Wild heartthrob Félix Maritaud, their irresistible chemistry sparks an electric romance and a fulfilling creative collaboration. Their dynamic is mesmerizing and tender until Oliver’s dominant instincts and destructive behavior jeopardize Simon’s space in the spotlight.

Simon has plenty of experience with tempestuous personalities – his mother, a bona fide opera diva, is back in his life after years on the road – but can he get out from under the shadow of their influence?

Beautifully charting the highs and lows of falling in love and finding yourself in art, writer-director Sophie Dupuis’s Solo is a passionate feat of character-driven storytelling and visual extravagance, celebrating the drag world in all its splendor and heartache.

Watch the trailer for Solo below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A young actor is put in an uncomfortable position in the short film ‘Go Crazy with Crazy’

Struggling actors have to jump through all kinds of hoops in search of their big breaks. Too often, however, as the #MeToo movement proved, they’re asked to go to unreasonable lengths.

Based on a wild true story, director Ayana Barber’s 9-minute short Go Crazy with Crazy follows a young gay actor who is put in a deeply uncomfortable position.

Justin Garascia, who also wrote the screenplay, stars as the actor in question. After meeting and falling into bed with a promising young director named Joey (Jimmy Brooks), he’s closer than ever to landing the lead role of a meth-addicted gay porn star in a potentially groundbreaking indie film.

But when he’s asked to partake in a very unusual audition process, the young man takes to Google and discovers something fishy about the director. Not willing to compromise his integrity or his safety, he attends the audition ready for a fight – aiming to finally set the record straight and send an unforgettable message about the consequences of catfishing.

Watch a quick teaser trailer for Go Crazy with Crazy below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Hole

An award-winning short film from Canadian writer-director Martin Edralin, Hole is a powerful piece of work, shining light on a topic – and a kind of character – that are too often ignored.

Ken Harrower stars in the film as Billy, a middle-aged disabled man who yearns for an intimate connection in his solitary life. While roaming the city streets in pursuit of intimacy, he finds his disability a constant barrier to his emotional and sexual needs.

The closest thing Billy has to a friend is Craig, a handsome caregiver played by Sebastian Deery, who visits daily to help him with chores and bathing. With no other options, Billy turns to his only friend for some much-coveted relief.

Unflinchingly honest, Hole is a bold and provocative study of disability, sexuality, loneliness, lust and the not-unreasonable request to be treated with basic human dignity.

Watch a quick trailer for Hole below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A respected soldier falls for a young recruit in the searing gay military drama ‘Eismayer’

Sergeant Major Eismayer (Gerhard Liebmann) is known and feared as the toughest training officer in the Austrian Armed Forces. Ruthless with recruits, he is seemingly unwavering in his ideas about discipline, order and presenting an image of macho toughness.

When he starts to fall in love with Falak (Luka Dimic), a new recruit who unashamedly embraces his homosexuality, Eismayer’s closeted existence is shaken to the core.

To a man like Eismayer, loving another man cannot be reconciled with the understanding of what a model soldier should be. Will he choose to protect his badass tough guy image over all else… or can he follow his heart and his true desire?

Inspired by an incredible true story, director David Wagner’s Eismayer is a hard-hitting queer love story set against a modern military backdrop.

A powerful film about coming out, gay love, toxic masculinity, traditional gender roles, fear and friendship, Eismayer aims to tear down your preconceptions and assumptions about masculinity and strength before rebuilding them in a whole new way.

Watch the trailer for Eismayer below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Room for a Man’ is a deeply personal, remarkably assured doc about identity and sexuality

One of the first things that writer, director and documentary subject Anthony Chidiac confesses in his deeply personal film Room for a Man, is that he is paralyzed by fear. He finds the very concept of life in the outside world overwhelming.

Chidiac lives with his mother, a French teacher, in Beirut, and rarely leaves the house. His home is a refuge, but in some respects it’s also a prison. To Anthony, the outside world feels like a hostile environment. That’s partly because of his sexuality – something that his own family refuses to accept. His mom wanted him to become a notary, so that he would earn a lot of money and become ‘a real man.’ But that’s not how he sees himself.

When his bedroom undergoes a renovation, much to his mother’s dismay, Syrian construction workers arrive to do the remodeling. As they peel away at the walls, Anthony engages them in an exploration of his own identity and sexuality within the confines of the apartment.

As the construction workers come and go in the freshly embattled household, unexpected passions get stirred. Through the process of renovation – and the making of this film – Anthony finally begins to blossom and embrace his own identity.

Though he may suffer from insecurities, his filmmaking is remarkably self-assured. Room for a Man is a courageous, stylish and ultimately life-affirming cinematic experiment.

Watch a short trailer for Room for a Man below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Former lovers reconnect after a long time apart in the thought-provoking drama ‘The Writer’

The second film in a planned trilogy from prolific Lithuanian writer-director Romas Zabarauskas, The Writer follows two former lovers who reconnect later in life.

Lithuanian-American Kostas and Russian-Lithuanian Dima reconnect in New York decades after serving together in the Soviet Army. They fell in love back in the 1980s – and Dima soon joined Kostas in moving from Russia to Lithuania. But as Lithuania gained independence in the 1990s, Kostas left to study in New York, leaving Dima behind.

Kostas, now an established author, has published a book based on their romance and separation. Upon reading it, Dima pays a visit, eager to correct a few key facts.

A tender and bittersweet romantic drama, featuring impressive lead performances from veteran New York theatre actors Jamie Day and Bruce Ross, The Writer offers up a testament to the power of self-expression and the resilience of first love.

Watch the trailer for The Writer below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo. And though it isn’t connected narratively, you can check out The Lawyer, the first film of the director’s new trilogy, which is also available now.

An elderly man revisits a lost love in the profoundly emotional short film ‘Wayne’

Romance, memory, nostalgia and bravery all intermingle in Wayne, a profoundly emotionally 9-minute film from writer-director Mario Galarreta.

The title character (played at different ages by both Stu Klitsner and Ross Neuenfeldt) is an elderly farmer who is suffering from dementia and nearing the end of his life. Though he’s cared for by his wife Louise (Martha Milton Stookey), he can’t seem to remember who she is.

Wayne’s thoughts take him back to a specific time in his youth, when he fell into forbidden love with a ranch hand named Ron (Jeremy Kahn). In his mind, they’re still playfully wrestling around on the floor of the barn before staring longingly into one another’s eyes. Just as they’re about to kiss, however, he’s snapped back into the present.

In the middle of the night, desperate to reconnect, Wayne decides to make one last trip out to the barn in search of his lost love.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Wayne below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Director David Lewis returns with ‘All Kinds of Love,’ a romantic gay comedy about starting over

David Lewis, the director behind Longhorns, Ranchlands, Rock Haven, Redwoods and Under One Roof, reunites with his frequent leading man Matthew Montgomery for the charming rom-com All Kinds of Love.

Set in Northern California in 2015, against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s upholding of Marriage Equality, All Kinds of Love follows a long-term gay couple who are getting divorced just as everyone else is seemingly getting married.

Montgomery plays Max, a gay man who tries to start over after getting dumped by his commitment-phobic husband. While his ex (played by Montgomery’s real-life husband Steve Callahan) starts to spread his wings by exploring non-monogamy and all sorts of new kinks, Max is still very much stuck in his old ways.

When he becomes accidental roommates with Conrad (Cody Duke), a much younger, but emotionally mature programmer, he learns that, despite their age difference, they have similar worldviews. Their chance encounter soon blossoms into something much deeper, threatening to shake Max loose from his carefully constructed shell.

Funny, sexy and refreshingly light-hearted, All Kinds of Love is a feel-good comedy about a loveable group of people who are finally learning to follow their hearts.

Watch the trailer for All Kinds of Love below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Last call invites unexpected romance in the stylish and sexy short film ‘Velvet’

It’s finally last call after a slow night at the bar. Marcus (Chris Jehnert), a shy twink expecting a first date, has been sitting alone after being stood up.

His cute, pouty face has caught the attention of Ben (Achilles Mulkey), a charming transgender bartender dressed like a king with a robe, scepter and crown.

Once the two are alone, Ben uses his considerable charm and positive attitude to coax Marcus out of his shell. The two share an unexpectedly special night together – filled with lust, dancing, romance, and the sharing of sweet childhood memories. But will they meet again? Only the velvet robe knows for sure.

From co-directors Juliana Antoninus and Damon Beirne, Velvet is a heartfelt 10-minute short film about two people who, however briefly, become the kings of one another’s worlds.

Watch the trailer for Velvet below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Two young men from different backgrounds come together in the sexy Italian romance ‘Empty’

Italian writer-director Giovanni Carpanzano’s feature-length debut, Empty follows two incredibly handsome young men in love who come from different worlds.

Giorgio (Gianluca Galati) is the first-born son of a wealthy and prominent Italian lawyer. Marco (Kevin Di Sole) comes from a much more modest family and has been struggling to emancipate himself from his small provincial town.

Both young men dream of an overwhelming love and above all to emerge from their current circumstances into something greater. The powerful force that attracts them to one another will also fuel them in their fight to stay together.

Sexy, thought-provoking and deeply emotional, Empty examines two lovers at a crossroads and the overwhelming and unexpected love that pushes them.

Watch the trailer for Empty below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.