Category: New Release

A youth pastor searches for redemption in the faith-based indie comedy The Road to Edmond

From director David Trotter and co-writer/star Tripp Fuller, The Road to Edmond is a provocative faith-based indie film that follows a youth pastor on a life-changing road trip after his church puts him on a two-week timeout.

Nathanael Welch stars as Cleo, a youth pastor in suburban Denver who finds himself in trouble when a gay teen seeks his counsel. When he shows genuine support, he finds that his job is soon in jeopardy. The church’s Elder Board becomes aware of the situation and demands that he take two weeks off to consider his actions and the impact on his role in ministry.

Distraught by the arrival of this news via email, Cleo grabs a backpack and bike to hit the road and figure out what’s really true. His journey takes a turn toward Edmond, Oklahoma, when he hitches a ride from a mysterious traveler named Larry and his dead father. Larry’s intense skepticism along with a string of peculiar signs, causes Cleo to question more than his relationship with the teen… he begins to question the very existence of love.

Watch the trailer for The Road to Edmond below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: The Phantom of the Sauna

The Phantom of the Opera gets a proudly gay reimagining in this playful new feature film from Spanish writer-director Luis Navarrete.

Nestor Goenaga stars in The Phantom of the Sauna as Javi, a young rent boy in need of work. When he arrives at his local bathhouse, his first priority is not to find a quick encounter, but gainful employment. What he doesn’t anticipate discovering within the establishment’s steamy, illicit walls, however, is love… and murder!

A true unadulterated pleasure from start to finish, The Phantom of the Sauna is a clever, colorful and gloriously exuberant gay musical – replete with a drag queen chorus who revel in celebrating the joys of the male body… and hot gay sex.

Come for the boys and stay for all of the extra cheeky fun!

Watch the trailer for The Phantom of the Sauna below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Gift

A mysterious, sexually-charged 17-minute short film from Brazil, The Gift follows Zeca, played by Luiz Felipe Bianchini.

Opening with his narration, we learn that he is lonely – searching night after night for a lover who has yet to appear. When he cuts out of work to buy his sister a birthday present, he instead meets up with Lino, an attractive stranger played by Fabricio Licursi.

The two men share a strange sexual encounter in an empty apartment. Later, when Zeca arrives at his sister’s birthday party, he gets an unexpected surprise of his own.

Filming in a spare, naturalistic style, director Daniel Wierman breaks up scenes of mundane, day-to-day activities with sublimely-staged eroticism. The Gift doesn’t offer much in the way of narrative – if anything, the film ends up leaving audiences with more questions than answers – but it does an excellent job presenting the feelings and deep interior worlds of the characters.

Watch a short, tension-filled trailer for The Gift below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the achingly beautiful gay romance A Moment in the Reeds

Taking a break from his studies in Paris, Leevi (Janne Puustinen) returns to his family’s summer cottage in Finland to help his father with renovations.

When the dad, a bitter man, unreconciled to his wife’s death and to his son’s sexuality, is called to the city on business, Leevi is left alone to supervise Tareq (Boodi Kabbani), a Syrian refugee trying to forge a new life.

As Leevi and Tareq get to spend some private time together, things take an unexpected turn.

From director Mikko Makela, A Moment in the Reeds is a sexy romantic drama, unfolding like a summer flower, drifting placidly along on a current of natural beauty and eroticism.

As Leevi and Tareq share their hopes and their bodies, the film lets us intimately observe every lovely and telling moment. The film artfully reveals the clash of cultures and dreams that transpire during this summer idyll – one that will alter the character’s lives forever.

Watch the trailer for A Moment in the Reeds below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Plum

From writer-director Blake Snawder, Plum is a sleek and sexy new 9-minute short film that explores the blossoming of a romantic relationship between two young male models.

Isaac Dice Vega and Hunter Swindle star in the film as Caelum and Lyle. The film looks at the stages of their relationship as the pair spend a fleeting summer together while working in the fashion industry. Throughout the short film, we hear continuous audio, a reading by the lead actors of an original poem written by the director.

At the same time, the film jumps ahead in time, giving us quick glimpses into the progression of the love story and its ultimate decay as the summer comes to a close.

Using fruit as a metaphor to reflect on relationships that turn from sweet to sour, Plum is a skillfully made short about how love can grow less delicious over time.

Watch a short trailer for Plum below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

A young escort gets more than he bargained for in the gripping drama Hooked

The feature film debut of YouTube and Instagram star Max Emerson, Hooked is a gripping, cautionary melodrama about a homeless gay hustler that plays out like a modern-day version of Midnight Cowboy.

Conor Donnally stars as Jack, an impulsive 18-year-old escort for both men and women. His boyfriend Tom, played by Sean Ormond, is an aspiring photographer on the run from his unaccepting father.

The two young lovers live in a dorm-like Manhattan youth hostel as they plan for a better future together. When an older, closeted and married gentleman named Ken, played by Terrance Murphy, meets Jack and whisks him away on a weekend trip to Miami, things turn ugly. Suddenly, the possibilities of Jack and Tom’s relationship are tested in new and extreme ways.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Unicorn

A new 30-minute short film from Rodrigo Bellott, the writer-director behind the award-winning 2019 drama Tu Me Manques, Unicorn tells a poignant story about religious fundamentalism, homophobia and a romance that helps one character break free.

Doug Porter stars as Isaac, a young man whose family’s strict religious code prohibits them from all modern-day technology. So strict is his pious father that Isaac sometimes finds himself locked away in a cell for even daring to interpret the Bible differently.

When he’s finally freed thanks to intervention from the local police, he finds himself shunned by everyone in his orbit – including his siblings. His work on a dairy farm in the neighboring town brings him into contact with Fernando, played by Eric Robles. An immediate spark is felt between the two, but in Issac’s homophobic and watchful religious community, his sexual awakening will come at a heavy cost.

Inspired by a true story, Unicorn is a gripping film from a talented director at the height of his powers.

Watch a trailer for Unicorn below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Two slash fiction writers check their taboos at the door in the crowd-pleasing comedy Slash

In Slash, writer-director Clay Liford’s charming new comedy-of-age comedy, Michael Johnson stars as Neil, a high school kid who struggles to fit in with his peers.

Expressing himself through writing, his fantasies follow a sci-fi action hero named Vanguard. A character with a strong hold on Neil’s imagination, Vanguard travels to far off planets where his battles for justice often devolve into shirtless skirmishes that embrace same-sex entanglements.

Passionate about “Slash,” otherwise known as erotic fan fiction, Neil is ostracized at school but soon finds a kindred spirit in Julia, played by Hannah Marks. Julia is a fellow slasher who gets her kicks from “Fain Elven” fiction. Embracing Neil as her protégé of sorts, the duo explore an unusual writerly passion.

Soon, a Comic Con-bound journey of self-exploration has them checking all of their taboos at the door.

A true crowd-pleaser at film festivals all around the world, Slash is a winning exploration of teen angst, bisexuality, life, love… and erotic fiction.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Stockholm

Stockholm is a powerful and stylishly-crafted new short film from British writer-director Tom Wright.

Alex Britt stars as Alex, a young gay man who, during what initially seems to be an unusual first date, attempts to gain control over a traumatic event from his past. Things, however, are not as simple as they initially appear.

Wright uses deliberately disorienting cinematography and quick editing to jump around in time. And while the exact nature of Alex’s trauma is kept mysterious, what we do know is that he met another young guy who ended up hurting him.

Taking us through a montage which shows the consequences of the incident, we see Alex spiral into a chasm of self-destructive behavior before finally taking the first steps toward dealing with his emotions in a healthier way.

Stockholm shows us, in an intelligent and even elegant way, the deep effects of sexual assault and examines how the circumstances of recovery are never just black and white.

Watch a short trailer for Stockholm below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

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.