Category: New This Wekk

Two up-and-coming gay songwriters get a little too close to screen legend Gloria Swanson in ‘Boulevard: A Hollywood Story’

For Gloria Swanson, the iconic star of Sunset Boulevard, both the movie and the character of Norma Desmond provided a renewed spotlight.

Swanson strategically began efforts to parlay her success into a musical stage adaptation of the film. Enter, Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, two struggling songwriters-in-love looking for their big break.

Enamored by the idea of helping Swanson step into the next phase of her career, Stapley and Hughes found themselves whisked away by Swanson to a sumptuous house in Palm Springs, where the trio started creating the musical.

As the days wore on, an unusual love triangle began to take hold. Hughes and Stapley found their intimate relationship intruded upon by Swanson.

Boulevard: A Hollywood Story is a fascinating documentary about three individuals who attempted to share a melody… and how the music of that moment defined the rest of their lives.

Watch the trailer for Boulevard: A Hollywood Story below. The full documentary is now available on Dekkoo.

Zachary Quinto stars in director Sam Max’s chilling short thriller ‘Chaperone’

Starring Zachary Quinto and Russell Kahn, the provocative 16-minute short film Chaperone is a genre-bending queer thriller that will keep you guessing to the bitter end – and linger with you long after the credits roll.

Without giving too much away, the film follows an unnamed figure (Quinto) who picks up a young man (Kahn) in his car. As the two drive away together and settle into an austere rental house in the country, the details of their arrangement become disturbingly clear.

The first filmmaking project of promising writer-director Sam Max, Chaperone had its world premiere in-competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, playing in the Midnight Shorts category to great acclaim from critics and audiences alike. The film was also shortlisted for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

Haunting, formally assured and chillingly acted by Kahn and Quinto, this film marks Sam Max as a director to watch.

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

A closeted young Jewish man explores his sexuality in this thoughtful drama set in 1980s Brooklyn

A closeted young man struggles to reconcile his strict Russian-Jewish upbringing with his burgeoning sexuality in director Eric Steel’s Minyan, a contemplative coming-of-age drama set in Brighton Beach during the 1980s.

Samuel H. Levine stars as David, a Yeshiva student who dutifully follows religious strictures, but itches to explore yearnings beyond his insular community.

When he moves in with his widowed grandfather, played by Ron Rifkin, and befriends two elderly gay neighbors, they open his imagination to new possibilities.

David begins to explore gay life in the East Village, just as the threat of AIDS looms in the background.

A sexy and thoughtful critically-acclaimed drama, Minyan is a must-see, telling a powerful story of rebellion, self-discovery, sexual and spiritual awakening – and survival.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Two Words

British actors Henry Goodman and Sophia Myles deliver deeply emotional performances in the short drama Two Words.

The film follows Gavin (Goodman), a man in his mid-60s who is determined to finally be true to himself.

In order to do so, Gavin must reveal to his adult daughter (Myles) that he had been living a lie, concealing his sexuality throughout his 35 years of marriage.

From screenwriter David Blacker and director Jesper Emborg, Two Words tells a heartbreaking story of family, grief and self-realization.

Watch a short clip/trailer for Two Words below. The full 23-minute short film is now available on Dekkoo.

BOY CULTURE: GENERATION X – Now available to rent or own!

From creators Q. Allan Brocka and Matthew Rettenmund, this massively exciting Dekkoo-original follows up the 2006 gay indie hit Boy Culture!

The brand-new Boy Culture: Generation X picks up ten years after the original, following hard-working male escort X as he finds himself up against a much younger generation – who have gained a competitive edge on the market.

X is soon taken under the wind of Chayce, a barely-legal twink who is ruthlessly up to speed on how to sell himself to clients in the digital age. As he struggles to keep his aging body fit and his unusual roster of kinky clients happy, he is also dealing with the realities of living with his ex-boyfriend Andrew, who is aiming to move on from the former romantic entanglement.

Returning to the format of the novel, on which the original Boy Culture was based, each episodic segment of this sexy new installment features a trick from which X learns – or specifically fails to learn – a lesson. Derek Magyar and Darryl Stephens, the stars of the original film, are back and surrounded by many new faces.

Older, wiser and more incisive than ever, Boy Culture: Generation X has a lot to say about love, sex, relationships and aging gracefully in a culture that often values youthful good looks above all else. It’s also hysterically funny!

Boy Culture: Generation X is now available to rent or buy on Dekkoo.com and from all major VOD platforms. It will be available on Dekkoo as part of the subscription plan in 2024! Check out the trailer below.

A seemingly straight guy comes to terms with his sexuality in the indie drama ‘That is All’

From writer-director Mark Weeden, That is All is an understated indie drama about a man trying to come to terms with the reality of who he is.

Sharing an apartment with his laidback roommate Paul (Daniel Bossenberry) and working a dull job that barely passes the time, Ryan, played by Joel Ballanger in a thoughtful and nuanced lead performance, finds himself consumed by loneliness as he enters his thirties.

What those around him don’t know is that Ryan is secretly struggling with his sexuality and finding comfort in online encounters with men.

At a birthday party for his friend Brad (Dan Tait Brown), Ryan meets Brad’s boyfriend Sam (Al Braatz) and the two hit it off. Ryan and Brad quickly become close and embark on an affair. At the same time, however, Ryan is stringing along Maya (Sara Hinding), a girl that has a crush on him.

Can Ryan come clean to himself and his friends about his sexuality? And, if so, can he do it without hurting anyone else in the process?

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

Not all is as it seems (or as it’s remembered) in the new French romance ‘Rosodium’

Suffering from severe panic attacks, introverted young engineer Noah (Thibaut Cattelin) has been looking for a way to re-live only his happiest moments. He’s been working on a complicated neurological experiment – a project which connects memory storage and immersive reality, allowing you to experience your best moments over and over again.

During an eventful road trip with his two best friends, he meets Lohan (Jules Bahloul), a bad-boy tattoo artist, and invites him along for the final week of their journey.

An attraction quickly develops between the two young men. Along the way, they experience all the exhilarating moments of first love. As their bond grows stronger, Lohan’s “live for the moment” attitude challenges Noah’s control, teaching him that in order to create happy memories, you need to take risks, make yourself vulnerable and be willing to experience some painful moments as well.

From French director Theodore Tomasz, Rosodium is a tender romance that plays with time and structure in unexpected ways.

Watch the trailer for Rosodium below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo along with a 20-minute “making-of” documentary.