Felix Salonga (Khalil Ramos) is a friendless teenager from a poor background. His life is pretty much devoted to becoming the top of his class, thereby elevating his status.
Meanwhile, the handsome yet mysterious Magnus and Maxim Snyder (Ethan Salvador and Jameson Blake), half-American brothers, want nothing more than to escape from their life the Philippines and live in the USA.
As Felix develops a relationship with the brothers, he unearths desires within him that lead to unexpected and dangerous consequences.
Fresh, daring and playful 2 Cool 2 Be 4Gotten marks the promising directorial debut of Filipino director Petersen Vargas, an exciting new voice in Pinoy cinema.
18-year-old brothers Antoine and Quentin (played by real-life twins Alexandre and Victor Carrilare) live with their father and work as bakers in a bucolic French village.
When their estranged mother dies in Spain, they set off to attend the funeral, without telling their father. The journey turns out to be more difficult than either had anticipated and a rift threatens to split the brothers apart.
Soon, Antoine and Quentin must struggle to accept each other as individuals, and to find their places in an uncertain world.
Inspired by road movies of the ’70s, Give Me Your Hand earned rave reviews when it was released internationally in 2008. TimeOut New York said it was “richly atmospheric.” Shadows on the Wall called it “a fascinating exploration of identity.” And LondonView called it “a beautifully made, thought-provoking and ultimately moving film.”
Jacques is an older writer from Paris. Arthur is a young student in Rennes. They instantly fall in love. But they’ll have to face rejection and sickness to keep it that way. ‘Sorry Angel’ is available to watch now on Dekkoo!
Produced in 1967, this amazing 22-minute short film introduces us to four transwomen who are subjected to a six-month psychological project and then grilled about their personal lives. This unique exploitation documentary offers a rare and provocative glimpse into pre-Stonewall queer life. ‘Queens At Heart’ is available now on Dekkoo!
Knowing your queer history is essential, and the award-winning ‘When The Beat Drops’ offers an immersive deep-dive inside the growing culture of bucking—an energetic, hyper-athletic, dance phenomenon cultivated by queer people of color in the Deep South. Watch ‘When the Beat Drops’ on Dekkoo!
Jesse, a mixed race transgender teen, arrives from Switzerland for a cross-country road trip with her estranged father Marcus. They strike a weighty deal, one with serious repercussions for their relationship and their trip. ‘Jesse’ is now playing on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: Arturo and Alessandro have been a couple for 15 years. When their friend leaves her children in their care, their tired routine is turned upside down.
For contemporary LGBT viewers, Queens at Heart offers a vivid and compelling lens on how far we have come as a movement while also giving a deep (and wildly entertaining) understanding of what it was like to be transgender at a very different time in history. There are very few filmed images by or about LGBT people before the Stonewall Riots of 1969. There were especially few portrayals of trans lives and experience in this era. The two other films that come to mind from this period are: the remarkable feature documentary, The Queen (1968) and the short documentary portrait of an African American trans woman, Behind Every Good Man (1967). (While the 1970 dramatic feature, The Christine Jorgenson Story is at least somewhat well intended, it primarily comes across as lurid and sensationalist.)
Produced in New York City in 1967, this amazing 22-minute short introduces us to Misty, Vicky, Sonya and Simone — four courageous trans women who candidly discuss their personal lives with a lurid male interviewer who claims to have spoken to “thousands of homosexuals” (and who clearly doesn’t understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity). The film offers an extremely rare and poignant glimpse into pre-Stonewall queer life as it takes us to a New York City drag ball and follows the women through their daily lives. They talk about their double-lives — going out as women at night but living as men during the day, and about how they take hormones and dream of “going for a change.” One talks about avoiding the draft, another about her fiancé and another about the torment of childhood as an effeminate youth.
“We know that homosexuality is a psychological aberration that should be treated,” proclaims the interviewer as the film ends. Shifting to a surprisingly sympathetic tone he then concludes with the provocative challenge, “but what about those who don’t want to change? Who are we to judge?” This flip-flop perfectly encapsulates the film’s schizophrenic combination of attitudes as it alternates between luridness and validation, judgment and empathy.
Of course it is extremely significant for us to be able to look back and see this rare portrait of four wonderful trans women being so candid and courageous in the years before Stonewall. Queens at Heart is especially remarkable for how candid and brave the women are in expressing themselves so vulnerably when we can tell that the film was produced more as an exploitation film than as a serious documentary.
As a film historian and archivist I’ve unearthed many films over the years. Queens at Heart is the most significant on every level. It is a film that had been essentially lost to us — with nothing having previously been written about it in LGBT film literature. As a glimpse at pre-Stonewall queer life it is remarkable: from the wonderful footage of the drag balls and gay men dancing together to the provocative interviews with transgender women which are truly jaw-dropping in their candor. The power of this film for bringing us face to face with our forebears (and queer life in 1967) is absolutely incredible, and the film is of even greater interest in this era of increased trans awareness and activism.
Queens at Heart is a tremendously valuable archival portrait of pre-Stonewall trans women — their candor and courage are a true gift and this is a must-see film for anyone interested in transgender history.
About Jenni Olson: Jenni Olson is an LGBT film historian, archivist and filmmaker based in Berkeley, California. Her work as a film historian includes the Lambda Award nominated The Queer Movie Poster Book (Chronicle Books, 2005) and her many vintage movie trailer presentations (Homo Promo, Trailer Camp, etc.). She is on the Advisory Board of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBT Moving Image Preservation.
Drawn This Way is a one-hour documentary which dives into the pages of gay comic book characters and their creators.
In the studio, in the comic book shops, at the fan-crazed conventions and at home with the artists, author-actor-producer-director Charlie David finds out what it means to be a “Doorq,” how to come out of the closet as a HGN (hot gay nerd) and where our drawn adventures will take us next.
When did all this “g(art)” start? Is it a sexual turn-on? How did the artists get their start? What do their families and friends think? Is it pornography? Why the obsession with these fantastical stories and characters? Are they taken seriously in the mainstream comic world? All these questions and more are answered in this frank and fascinating new doc.
Watch the trailer for Drawn This Way below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
In this new Dekkoo-original series two very different young men come together in an episodic series that follows their relationship – from beginning to end. Watch the official trailer now!
When Lucas travels to visit his sister he meets Antonio who works as a boatswain in a local fishing boat. An intense romance blossoms between the two of them, and with it their strength, their independence and their adulthood become immovable with the ebb and flow of the tide. ‘The Strong Ones’ is available now on Dekkoo!
Felix is a friendless achiever in high school whose life changes after the arrival of the half-American Snyder brothers, entangling him in their dark ambitions. Watch ‘2 Cool 2 B 4Gotten’ now on Dekkoo!
Bernardo is an old Art History teacher recently retired and widowed from his wife Cecilia. One day he runs into Víctor, a piano player and long lost love from Bernardo’s past that he hasn’t seen in almost 40 years. ‘Chords’ is available now on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: “Both sprawling and intimate, it tells a story dealing with life, love, friendship, mortality and, yes, AIDS, in a manner that is relentlessly and deliberately unsentimental in tone but which nevertheless proves to be quite affecting.” – rogerebert.com
How do you love someone if you don’t show who you are?
Twenty-year old Lukas (Rick Okon) is a prisoner in his own body. As a pre-op trans person, he is constantly finding himself trapped in uncomfortable, compromising positions.
His best friend, Ine (Liv Lisa Fries) introduces him to the gay scene in Cologne where he meets the confident and gorgeous, Fabio (Max Befort). The two develop a romantic relationship that tests the boundaries of love.
Originally released in 2011, this critically-acclaimed debut feature from German writer-director Sabine Bernardi forgoes stereotypes and conventions to offer an honest and humorous examination of the most basic of human conditions: friendship, sex, and love.
Watch the trailer for Romeos below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.
Two men who have an unacknowledged relationship five years ago meet each other during the pandemic. Will they finally have a happy ending or a mother’s love get in the way to protect her son? Watch ‘Memories of Forgetting’ now on Dekkoo!
Ryan (screenwriter Chris McNeany) and Taya (Helena-Alexis Seymour) have a happy and loving marriage. When they go on a routine staycation, Ryan instantly connects with a man (Julian Fletcher) at the hotel pool.
Conflicted by this attraction, Ryan explores a part of himself that he has long suppressed. This encounter opens up the chance for a whole new level of honesty between Ryan and Taya, if they are willing to explore bisexuality and an open relationship.
From director Fiona Dawson, the new 13-minute short film More Than He Knows examines the complexity of human connections; our self-awareness, awareness of others, the spectrum of sexuality and models of marriage.
“I had been wanting to write a film with my friend Robert Andrew Perez… we came up with a general concept after watching Andrew Haigh’s movie Weekend. We were also really inspired by Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. We wanted to make a movie that kind of jumped ahead in terms of gay storytelling – get past the marriage, and look at now. What happens when a gay marriage, a gay relationship, falls apart – because its sort of been normalized now since marriage equality passed.” – Stone Fruit director Brandon Krajewski
When long-term couple Manny and Russ (Matt Palazzolo and Rob Warner) decide to call their marriage quits and get a divorce, they also – quite strangely – decide to celebrate the occasion together. The pair head to the Central Coast of California for some wine, sun… and more wine! When Byron (Thomas Hobson), their close friend, joins up with them, an unexpected threesome ensues and the trip becomes the post-divorce party to end all post-divorce parties.
Stone Fruit is a witty, sharply-written new film that gives freshness to the classic break-up movie by bringing in a queer perspective and exploring the complicated similarities that many couples, both queer and straight, face throughout their love stories. It’s a charming new “anti-romantic comedy.”
Watch the trailer for Stone Fruit below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
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