Category: New This Week

Khalil Ben Gharbia and Julien De Saint Jean star in the emotional queer prison drama ‘The Lost Boys’

In a youth correctional facility in France, Joe (Peter von Kant star Khalil Ben Gharbia) is preparing for his return to society, uncertain as to what life will look like on the other side of the barbed-wire fence.

When William (Lie with Me star Julien De Saint Jean), an alluring new arrival, moves into the cell next door, Joe’s desire for freedom quickly gives way to a desire of another kind.

The debut feature from director Zeno Graton, The Lost Boys charts the twists and turns of passion between these two young men who thought their lives had been put on hold.

Critically acclaimed and gorgeously crafted, the film offers a vision of love both tender and uncompromising, guaranteed to break and mend hearts in equal measure.

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

‘Small Town Gay Bar’ director Malcolm Ingram heads back down South for ‘Southern Pride’

Director Malcolm Ingram first explored Mississippi gay bars on film with his award-winning 2006 documentary Small Town Gay Bar. In 2017, after the first election of Donald Trump emboldened anti-LGBTQ hatred in the region, he returned for the moving follow-up Southern Pride.

Following Lynn and Shawn, two different bar owners in Biloxi and Hattiesburg, the film shows what it takes to fight for equality while trying to keep the bills paid and the drinks flowing.

The film’s subjects decide to hold each of their respective cities’ first official Pride celebrations as a rebuke to the Trump administration. They’re soon faced with homophobia, racism, and fundraising fiascos. But the power of community should never be underestimated – and when everyone comes together to make things happen, they manage to show the rest of the state what Southern Pride truly means.

Watch the trailer for Southern Pride below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: (Il)legal Asterisk

Are we defined by how we see ourselves or how we’re perceived by the outside world?

An experimental, uniquely philosophical short from director Fabrizio Bancale, the 20-minute film (Il)legal Asterisk (originally titled Asterisco (Il)legale) employs three Italian actors (Bruno Petrosino, Orazio Rotolo Schifone and Mauro Toscanelli) to examine that very question.

Pulling from stories both personal and historical, the film playfully jumps around, introducing different settings and characters whose inherent queerness – and their ability to express themselves – has been either discouraged or outright destroyed by societal forces beyond their control.

Handling heavy topics with a light, charismatic touch, the film explores how expressing oneself, coming out and/or living life according to one’s own choices can cost dearly when the law of the land does not offers adequate protection.

With the fight for true freedom being far from over, (Il)legal Asterisk investigates our shared past while shedding a light on our present.

Watch the trailer for (Il)legal Asterisk below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The landmark documentary ‘Before Stonewall’ is now available on Dekkoo

In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city’s LGBTQ+ community. With this outpouring of courage and unity, the gay liberation movement had begun.

Made in 1984 and released to great acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in 1985, during the harrowing early years of the AIDS crisis, the landmark documentary Before Stonewall pried open the closet door – shining a spotlight on the experiences of queer Americans throughout the 20th century and setting free dramatic untold stories of survival, love, persecution and resistance.

Revealing and often humorous, this celebrated film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today’s gay rights movement, from the events that led to the fevered 1969 riots to many other milestones in the brave fight for acceptance.

Experience the fascinating and unforgettable, decade-by-decade history of gay life in America through eye-opening historical footage and amazing interviews with those who lived – and fought – through an often brutal closeted history.

Watch the trailer for Before Stonewall. The documentary is now available on Dekkoo.

A young intern comes between two middle-aged friends in the taboo-busting drama ‘Daddy’

Based on the 2010 stage play by co-star Dan Via, Daddy is centered around two middle-aged gay friends who find their relationship jeopardized by a much younger love interest.

Director and BearCity alum Gerald McCullouch also stars in the film as Colin McCormack, an aging stud who thinks he has it all – a great job, a steady stream of hot younger guys and a best friend whose devotion he takes for granted.

When a charming intern (played by Smash star Jaime Cepero) sweeps him off his feet, Colin sees a chance for something more: a family of his own. What he discovers instead is a shattering secret that may cost him everything – and everyone – he holds dear.

By turns funny, heartbreaking and hopeful, Daddy explores the universal need for love and connection.

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

‘Queendom’ follows a talented queer artist who literally risks her life on the streets of Moscow

Both inspiring and nail-biting, the new documentary Queendom shines a much-deserved spotlight on Gena Marvin, a young queer artist from a small town in Russia who dazzles in the otherworldly costumes she crafts from tape and found materials.

As Putin’s government increasingly encroaches on the rights of LGBTQ+ communities, Gena takes to the streets of Moscow, staging provocative performances that challenge the status quo.

All she wants to do change people’s perception of beauty and queerness and bring attention to the harassment of the LGBTQ+ community. But her artistic activism comes at a price as political tensions in Russia escalate, jeopardizing her own personal freedom.

An Oscar-shortlisted doc from director Agniia Galdanova, Queendom is not so much a portrait as it is a direct cinematic extension of Gena’s inner universe, delving into her extravagant subconscious creations and her search for free expression while illustrating how unleashing one’s inner world can create ripples of positive change.

Watch the trailer for Queendom below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Meddlesome siblings come between a budding romance in the British comedy ‘Three in a Bed’

A romantic coming-of-age comedy set in Manchester, Three in a Bed follows the day-to-day life of struggling musician Nate (Brennan Reece).

A young man finally out in the world on his own, Nate seems to have finally found the independence he’s been desperately seeking. That is until his two feisty sisters (Verity-May Henry and Coby Hamilton) come crashing into his life.

The timing, coinciding with the arrival of an adorable new neighbor named Jonny (Darren Bransford), couldn’t be worse. Soon everything in Nate’s life is turned frantically upside down.

Will he finally be able to get his two sisters out of his apartment? Will the budding romance between Jonny and Nate have room to blossom? Or will the pressures of dysfunctional family dynamics end up pulling them apart?

The path to true love is anything but smooth in this affectionate British comedy from frequent EastEnders director Lloyd Eyre-Morgan.

Watch the trailer for Three in a Bed below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.