Category: New This Wekk

The wild Icelandic horror-comedy Thirst comes to Dekkoo for Halloween!

The wild new Icelandic horror-comedy Thirst has already earned an enthusiastic cult audience internationally, as well as rave reviews from genre-savvy critics.

Directed by Gaukur Úlfarsson and Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, the film takes place in a small town where evil is lurking around and strange crimes and brutality frequently occur.

Drug addict Hulda (Hulda Lind Kristinsdóttir) is suspected of having something to do with her brother’s death and is being investigated by the police. After being released due to insufficient evidence, she crosses paths with Hjörtur (Hjörtur Sævar Steinason), a lonely, old gay vampire who helps her bring her brother back to life.

This brings unforeseen consequences, in addition to their ongoing battle with a bunch of televangelists who want them dead.

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

A fascinating fluid life is chronicled in the documentary Electroboy

Jimmy Cliff once sang “You can get it if you really want.” If this sentence applies to anyone, then it most definitely applies to model, snowboard pioneer, advertising whiz, author, party organizer and composer Florian Burkhardt, who managed to talk everyone around him out of their own goals and into achieving his own.

A documentary by Swiss filmmaker Marcel Gisler (Mario, Fogi is a Bastard), Electroboy tells the breathtaking true life story of a young man who leaves his claustrophobic Swiss surroundings for the wide world in search of fame and recognition.

In a series of success stories he reinvents himself time and again, changing settings and careers like other people change their shirts. Yet Florian’s life on the fast track turns into an escape from his own biography, which finally catches up with him at full force.

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

Now Available: From Afar

Winner of the Golden Lion Award (the “Best Film” award, essentially) at Venice Film Festival, Alfredo Castro (The Club, The Prince) stars in this gripping and complex drama from Venezuela.

Wealthy, middle-aged Armando (Castro) lures young men to his home with money. He doesn’t want to touch them – or to be touched. He simply wants to watch from a strict distance. Armando’s first encounter with a young street thug named Elder (played by newcomer Luis Silva) is violent, but this doesn’t discourage the lonely man’s fascination with the tough handsome teenager.

Financial interest keeps Elder visiting Armando regularly. Despite their taboo arrangement, an unexpected intimacy begins to emerge between the two mismatched men. However, Armando’s haunted past looms large, and Elder soon ends up committing the ultimate act of affection on Armando’s behalf.

From Afar is available now on Dekkoo. Watch the trailer below.

Short Film Spotlight: I Am Norman

The new 18-minute short film I Am Norman opens with a warning. “You may find the following scenes upsetting, but that doesn’t always mean you should turn away.” The film then follows a man, a conversion therapy survivor living in his car, who takes a filmmaker into the woods to share a dark and disturbing secret.

From director/star Arron Blake and co-director Darius Shu, I Am Norman was filmed over three days during lockdown. The filmmakers challenged themselves to create a visually beautiful short with provocative storytelling using only a two-man crew.

Featuring an exceptional lead performance from Blake, the film has earned rave reviews from critics. Voice Magazine called the film “silently masterful,” Film Threat called it a “refined piece of work,” and Culture Fix called it, rightfully, “unsettling.”

Watch the trailer for I Am Norman below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Thicker Than Water

Longtime best friends Joaquín (played by writer-director Benjamín Cardona) and Carol (Isabel Arraiza) are engaged in a deeply codependent relationship. Both of these young friends find themselves trapped, lacking a clear vision of where their lives are headed.

While Joaquín’s sexuality drives a wedge between himself and his conservative family, Carol juggles multiple unfruitful relationships that keep her caught inside a stagnant loop.

Realizing that his perception of love has been greatly affected by his broken upbringing, Joaquín struggles to finally move forward, delicately balancing his tried-and-true connection with Carol against the arrival of a new romantic partner. He’s soon forced to question all of his expectations of happiness in the process.

A stylish, bittersweet and refreshingly honest examination of friendship and personal evolution, Thicker Than Water (originally titled Más que el agua) marks the arrival of a major talent in writer-director-star Benjamín Cardona.

Watch the trailer for Thicker Than Water below. The film is available to stream now on Dekkoo.

Director Marco Berger’s The Carnival is an erotic feast for the eyes!

Marco Berger, the maverick Argentinian filmmaker behind Absent, Young Hunter, Taekwondo, The Blonde One and many more, turns his unparalleled eye for the male form to one of the world’s largest displays of masculine bodies- a traditional South American Carnival.

Using two men as our primary guides, we watch the men of the town prepare and, eventually participate, in parade like no other.

The sensual joy of watching the men of Gualeguaychú transform in to Dionysiac figures via costumes, glitter and feathers is the perfect canvas for Berger’s talents.

A visual, erotic feast for the senses, The Carnival is not to be missed.

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

Short Film Spotlight: If I’m Good

A brand-new Dekkoo Films original short film from director Jonathon Pawlowski and screenwriter Madison Hatfield, If I’m Good is a touching short film about grief and finding a light at the end of the tunnel.

Sam (Jono Mitchell) isn’t in a great place. He lost his husband, unexpectedly, only twelve days ago. As anyone who has been through the grieving process knows, it takes a while, and Sam is at just about the point where the reality of his loss is beginning to sink in. Though his sister (Jordan Blair Mangold Brown) wants nothing more than to help, there isn’t a whole lot she can do to mend her brother’s broken heart.

When Sam takes a trip to the pharmacy, he meets Jorge – pronounced “George” – (Daniel Annone). Self-described as “the worst pharmacy associate,” Jorge breaks the rules and decides to flirt with his cute new customer. While Sam is nowhere near ready to start a new relationship, Jorge’s attention brings him just a tiny glimmer of hope – and a reminder that, no matter how difficult things may seem, there are always new opportunities around the corner. The two end up spending a little time together, and Sam soon turns an important corner.

A sweet, smart and gently emotional short film, If I’m Good is now available on Dekkoo.

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.