Category: New This Week

Dinah East, a long-lost LGBTQ+ curio, comes to Dekkoo

Originally released in 1970, Dinah East tells the story of a glamourous movie starlet who is later revealed to be a trans woman.

In 1950s Hollywood, Dinah East (Jeremy Stockwell) fooled the world into believing he was a she – and became a glamorous movie diva on top of it. When she dies, the secret finally comes out. The film proceeds to tell the story of her relationships with friends and intimates – including a lesbian wardrobe designer, a gay matinee idol (with whom she had an affair), a protective lawyer and a washed up prize fighter who becomes her chauffeur.

Marketed at the time as “Hollywood’s strangest story,” Dinah East is a film that is deeply dated and problematic in many respects, but surprisingly far ahead of its time in others. Seen today, it’s an undeniably fascinating cult classic curio of a bygone era.

After a short, but celebrated run in theaters, the film seemingly disappeared, but has not been restored for modern audiences. Take a trip back fifty years and behold the lost LGBTQ+ classic Dinah East. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Gentleman Spa

Hao is a lonely and romantic young janitor who works at a spa for gay men. He dreams of finding a loving, committed relationship, but lacks the confidence to make it happen.

When he meets Kai, a customer, and has an opportunity to become his masseuse, an unexpected bond begins to grow and Hao suddenly sees a chance to make his dreams come true.

A short comedy-drama from Taiwanese co-writer Bon An and co-writer/director Jhi-Han Yu, Gentleman Spa is filled with awkward sexual tension, but also packs a positive message about feeling comfortable in your own skin (especially when it’s coming into contact with attractive strangers).

Watch a short trailer for Gentleman Spa below. The full 18-minute short film is now available on Dekkoo.

The arrival of a secret gay lover threatens to derail an already tense wedding in the new drama The Marriage

With their wedding only two weeks away, Anita and Bekim (Adriana Matoshi and Alban Ukaj) are adding the final touches to their big day. Despite some major issues involving their respective families, the couple is managing to get through all of their many preparations.

However, when Bekim’s secret gay ex-lover, Nol (Genc Salihu), returns from abroad unexpectedly, the situation becomes complicated, especially when Bekim realizes that Nol is still in love with him.

Inevitably, the wedding banquet becomes loaded with tension when this unusual love triangle starts to unravel.

A touching and compassionate drama about the impossibility of a gay love affair in Kosovo’s patriarchal society, The Marriage is a well-acted and absorbing film debut from director Blerta Zeqiri. The film was the recipient of the FIPRESCI and Special Jury prizes in Tallinn and was the official Kosovar submission to the Academy Awards.

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

Short Film Spotlight: The Pier Man

Theo (Hubert Girard) is a young dock worker who is starting to find only monotony in his day-to-day life. When he meets the alluring Giuseppe (Youssouf Abi-Ayad) a disillusioned sailor spending some time ashore, things begin to change.

Through Giuseppe, Theo starts to imagine a potential new life for himself – one far more exciting than the one he is living. Soon, he musters up the courage to face the waves, escape his dull existence and get closer to Giuseppe by joining his crew.

From Swiss writer-director Loïc Hobi, The Pier Man is a sexy, stylish and thought-provoking 20-minute short film. Using an almost 1980s-style synth score and spare, careful cinematography, the film takes a look at what life is like in an only-male world out at sea – and how, for some, that could be either a blessing or a curse.

The Pier Man is available now on Dekkoo.

Beach Rats star Harris Dickinson drives men wild in the vibrant Postcards from London

Jim (played by Harris Dickinson – the star of Beach Rats and the upcoming The King’s Man) is so beautiful you might think a Greek sculpture had just come to life.

His future in the cultural-desert that is his small Cumbrian town would consist of working at the local nuclear power plant Sellafield, socializing at his local, and going to bingo as a treat. So like many before him, Jim journeys to the great Metropolis that is London to seek fame, fortune, culture and excitement. The epicenter of all this activity is of course Soho, with its bright neon lights, street life, and bars catering to every gender and whim.

From writer-director Steve McLean, Postcards From London tells the story of this remarkably beautiful teenager as falls in with The Raconteurs – a gang of unusual high class male escorts who specialize in post-coital conversation.

From shy novice to sought after escort and eventually artist’s muse, Jim would be the toast of the town if it wasn’t for his annoying affliction. He suffers from Stendhal Syndrome, a rare condition which causes him to hallucinate and faint when he encounters real works of art. But when Jim is roped into the world of detecting art forgery, could his condition bring about his downfall?

Watch the trailer for Postcards from London below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: A Cemetery of Doves

“Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation.” – Rumi

From Nigerian writer-director Adé Sultan Sangodoyin, A Cemetery of Doves is a thoughtful and deeply poetic coming-of-age short film about love, heartbreak and navigating the world as a queer individual.

Though the film features no dialog, the feelings are present. The filmmaker also employs subtitles to give us an idea of the young protagonist’s inner dialog.

What story exists in the film concerns a young Nigerian teenager’s misguided declaration of love for an older man. When his sentiments are met with rejection, he subsequently struggles with heartbreak and fear for his safety and future in a society which is intolerant of the LGBTQ community.

Adé Sultan Sangodoyin studied English Literature and Journalism at the University of Buckingham in England. His films, Different Plains and Eyimofe have screened at film festivals all over the world. His short stories, “A Language of the Unconscious”, “Dad Attempted Many Things and Failed” and “The Charred Flower” have been published in the Kalahari Review and Agbowo Magazine, respectively. A Cemetery of Doves marks him as a visually gifted filmmaker to watch.

Watch the trailer for A Cemetery of Doves below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

The Short Films of Robert Gray are now available on Dekkoo!

Robert Gray is a talent to watch in the world of Queer cinema.

Originally from Prince Rupert, British Columbia, he taught screenwriting at the Vancouver Film School in the early 2000s, has published two serialized novels, written six short films and directed two.

His story collection ‘Entropic’ won the 2016 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and his short film Choke Hold (included in this collection) was nominated for the prestigious Iris Prize.

Choke Hold follows two friends who discover that sometimes you have to go too far to know your own strength. Zack & Luc utilizes a split-screen to tell two different versions of of a relationship from each person’s side. Aidos tells the story of a deceased man who had twenty-one different people profess their love for him before he passed. Finally, Bed: A Short Documentary examines what our choices in beds and mattresses say about ourselves, our relationships and our histories.

Dekkoo is proud to present The Short Films of Robert Gray – all available now!

Watch the award-winning documentary Memories of a Penitent Heart

Combining a wealth of recently discovered home movies, video and written documents with artfully shot contemporary interviews and vérité footage, Memories of a Penitent Heart is a documentary that cracks open a Pandora’s box of unresolved family drama.

The intimate lens of the film refracts on a wider cultural context: the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, and in particular, how families treat their LGBTQ members in a Latin American cultural and religious context.

A story about the mistakes of the past and the second chances of the present, Memories of a Penitent Heart is a cautionary tale about the unresolved conflicts wrought by AIDS and a nuanced exploration of how faith is used and abused in times of crisis.

Watch the trailer for the film below. It’s now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Khata

Young Kamal (Akram Tanna) is trapped in a seemingly endless circle of male prostitution fueled by his brother Hatim (Nizar El Manouzi) and pimp Danny (Chris Peters).

After weeks of few jobs and low revenue, Kamal accepts a call from Jacob (Tobias Nierop). Hatim soon begins to feel an attraction towards Jacob, and what once was simply business now has become so much more. Hatim must now try to escape his world of blackmail and danger while trying to pursue a budding relationship with Jacob.

Khata never shies away from showing the gritty details of male prostitution. The audience is forced to bear witness to violence, drug use, and a particularly violent depiction of sexual assault. The film lays everything bare and forces it’s audience to confront the sometimes violent word of sex work head on.

Khata is streaming on Dekkoo now.

New episodes of Bad Boy are available now!

Sort of like The Odd Couple with the fast-paced sensibility of 30 Rock, the series Bad Boy  – with new episodes now available on Dekkoo – explores the dynamic between Mack (Tony Harth), a young, dumb-ish “bad boy” with a crazy past, and Scott (Artie O’Daly), a straight-laced man Mack has chosen to adopt as his “Daddy”… much to Scott’s frustration.

Both characters are gay (Artie is in real life; Tony, sadly, is not) and gay themes and undertones are woven into the comedy.  Plus, there is a hell of a twist in store.

After releasing the first episode online, Bad Boy garnered hundreds of thousands of views. With limited resources, the creative team behind the show set out to complete what were clearly in-demand new episodes.

The lead actors originally met doing a play in Los Angeles. Artie, who also directs the series, is a prolific actor who has been on shows such as “Modern Family”, “Silicon Valley”, “The Big Bang Theory” and “General Hospital.” He also co-created the web series Successful People (which you can also watch now on Dekkoo). Tony is a recent arrival to L.A. from the state of Wisconsin and has already appeared in multiple commercials and sketches.  Together, they made Bad Boy, which took on a life of its own. Now they’re chasing it wherever it goes!

The first sixteen episodes are all available now on Dekkoo.