Category: New This Wekk

Pride Month Spotlight: Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine

On the night of October 6, 1998, two men lured Matthew Shepard, a gay freshman at the University of Wyoming, from a bar in Laramie, WY. He was kidnapped and driven to a field where he was tortured and tethered to a fence and left to die. Never regaining consciousness, Matthew succumbed to the severe injuries from the attack and died on October 12, 1998.

The murder of Matthew Shepard was a devastating tragedy that made countless headlines around the world. As people denounced the hatred and senseless violence that caused Matthewโ€™s death, a much-needed dialogue about hate crimes and intolerance against the LGBT community began and continues to this day.

Matthew’s tragic story brought the reality of inequality and vicious, irrational contempt into the public consciousness and set the stage for the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2009. 

The documentary Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine follows director Michele Josue, a close friend of Matt’s, as she travels to pivotal locations in Shepardโ€™s life, interviewing other friends and family members, and gaining insight into the beautiful life and devastating loss of Matthew Shepard.

While we’ve come a long way, LGBT inequality and hate crimes are still very real today, and parts of Matt’s story are unfortunately still very much a part of young people’s realities. Though framed through a very personal lens, Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine tells a universal story that highlights the responsibility we have now to make sure young people around the world are not at risk of falling victim to the same story ending Matt was.

Watch the trailer for Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 6/12/20

Three men struggle to save their relationship while traveling across country in search of a doctor they believe will make one of them well. ‘Kill the Monsters’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

Friends and family reflect on the life and death of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in a targeted homophobic attack in Wyoming in 1998. ‘Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine’ is available now on Dekkoo!

When Debbie comes home for Christmas, she and her mother Gayle are forced to confront the truth about their family’s past. Watch ‘He Could’ve Gone Pro’ on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Dekkoo Films presents the fun and sexy sequel to ‘The Handyman’!

Visit the fabulous, colorful world of Lucha Libre trailblazer Cassandro the Exotico

This stirring feature portrait of Lucha Libre star Cassandro in his waning years in the ring is less a swan song than a meteor shower rendered in Technicolor.

Famed as much for his flamboyant drag and sky-high pompadour as for his show-stopping kicks and flips, Cassandroโ€™s trailblazing ascent as one the industryโ€™s first openly gay wrestlers has resonated internationally for a quarter century.

Director Marie Losier captures the moving, at times humorous, and always colorful dualities of this legendary figure with her talent for forging intimacy with a subject while celebrating his individuality broadly.

Cassandro, a prize-winning fighter who reinvented a staunchly macho sport, exudes resilience of all kindsโ€”from the physical power to leave his opponents knocked out to an ability to revisit past trauma and cope with the scars of a body pushed to its limits. Cassandroโ€™s storyโ€”of an underdog and a queer icon, simultaneously fragile and mightyโ€”is ever more evocative as it unfolds on both sides of the Mexican-American border.

Losierโ€™s signature 16mm filming melds tender encounters and larger-than-life fight scenes into a stylish whole that reflects the vivid textures and hues of a dazzling life in sport.

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

New This Week – 6/5/20

Foster siblings Vincent and Krystal have been estranged for many years. When they are forced to reunite, their polar opposite paths in life lead to an explosive outcome where each is made to come to terms with their own faults. Watch ‘Escaping Freedom’ now on Dekkoo!

All Darren wants is to propose to his longtime boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong? ‘Engaged’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!

Joรฃo, a middle-class filmmaker, goes through a series of encounters with people like his long-time friend Irene; his boyfriend รlvaro; Matias, a young man he meets in the subway and has a sexual experience with, among others, some acquainted, others unknown. These encounters affect him and slowly begin to reveal a play of time frames which blends together life and creative process, present and memory. ‘Your Bones and Your Eyes’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Two high school friends, Caleb and Macon, are reunited after many years. During the tense reunion, Macon fights his tortured mind, wrestling with a dark secret that is the source of Caleb’s greatest pain. ‘Good Boy’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Three men struggle to save their relationship while traveling across country in search of a doctor they believe will make one of them well.

Pride Month Spotlight: Coby

In a small town deep in the American Midwest, Suzanna begins a gender transition and becomes a boy: Coby.

Cobyโ€™s transformation deeply impacts the lives of everyone who love him – and each member of this tight-knit family must confrontย  their own preconceived notions of gender and sexuality.

Combining excerpts from Cobyโ€™s video dairy with candid, heartfelt interviews from his closet friends and family – director Christian Sondereggerโ€™s debut feature is an intimate and sensitive look at timely subject.

Ultimately, Cobyโ€™s journey morphs into the transformation of a whole family compelled by love to modify their own perspectives.

Coby weaves together interviews with Coby himself, his girlfriend, parents, and brother – along with his transition timeline YouTube videos. This documentary offers up a deeply compelling real-life portrait of what it looks, sounds, and feels like to go through the transition process.

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

 

Don’t miss the heart-warming and inspiring romance Morgan

Morgan (Leo Minaya) comes home after a tragic accident in a bikers race leaves him paraplegic, binding him to wheelchair use for the rest of his life. He tries to stay positive, not letting the accident end his life, but deep-rooted feelings of uselessness make him wish, at times, that he has not survived.

Rolling out for beer, he meets the handsome, charismatic Dean (Jack Kesy), and the two strike up a friendship that quickly develops into a romantic connection. Morgan wants to participate in the biking race again, more so because of his competitive nature than to prove his ability. Everyone is against it, even Dean, leading to differences that begin to show between the two for the first time.

A powerful and moving story about love and overcoming even the toughest of life’s obstacles, Morgan is a deeply touching romantic drama from writer-director Michael Akers – featuring terrific performances from the two leads.

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

New This Week – 5/29/20

Following four gay men in Singapore, “People Like Us” is a poignant reflection and insightful look into the lives of Joel, Ridzwan, Rai, and Isaac navigating lust, love and life. Season 1 and 2 are available to watch now on Dekkoo!

The long-distance relationship of two men is tested during the Covid-19 crisis. ‘Same Time Tomorrow’ is streaming now on Dekkoo.

In the village of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, 21 year old Coby leads a normal life, surrounded by his family and partner. In a very intimate way, this documentary tells the story of the journey that led him to live a life according to his true gender identity, but also the commitment of his close surrounding. An incisive, tender and ironic portrait of a transgender man and his family seeking for freedom. ‘Coby’ is streaming now on Dekkoo.

‘Cold Coffee’ is a punchy and heartfelt rom-com following the fragmented relationship of two people who cannot be together and yet cannot be without each other. Break-ups are never easy. Stream ‘Cold Coffee’ now only on Dekkoo!

Coming next week: An estranged brother and sister attempt to reconnect after choosing very different paths in life.

Now Available: My Big Gay Jewish Conversion

Is Israel really the best place in the world to be gay? And is Judaism the one mainstream religion that accepts homosexuality? Meet Simon, a gay Catholic man from the West of Ireland on a quest to find out.

Simon has never truly felt accepted by his own church, a problem that Matthew, his Jewish boyfriend from North London, has never had to face. Simon begins to wonder if the grass may be greener, and considers converting. He starts with a trip to the local Rabbi where they chat, among other things, about getting ‘snipped’, but Simon is itching to get to Judaism’s homeland: Israel. He hops on a plane and first hits the streets of Tel Aviv, ‘the gayest city on Earth’, where he meets gay people from all walks of life, including gay soldiers in the IDF. Then he heads to Jerusalem, where the story here is very different. Extreme views towards homosexuality are rife and Simon encounters this at an uncomfortably close proximity. Then, it’s crunch time. Faced with the facts, will Simon jump ship and become Jewish?

A deeply personal, cross-cultural documentary from filmmaker (and subject) Simon Atkins, My Big Gay Jewish Conversion looks at love, relationship and religion with an intelligent and introspective eye.

Watch the trailer for My Big Gay Jewish Conversion below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Now Available: Siberia & Him

Brothers-in-law Sasha, a meek farmhand, and Dima, a policeman, have always had a fraught relationship. When the two set out on a trip together through the desolate, wide-open country of Siberia in an effort to reach a troubled relative, things begin to change.

Along their journey, unspoken truths are uttered and a deep intimacy is built. The pair soon become not only travel companions, but secret lovers – spending their days hiking and hunting for food and their nights in one another’s arms. Although they may be far from the peering eyes of their oppressive society, their relationship teeters on a dangerous precipice.

Selected and supported by the IFP Filmmaker Lab and destined to evoke both the breathtaking landscapes and forbidden romance of Brokeback Mountain and the tragedy of a Dostoevsky novel, writer-director Viatcheslav Kopturevskiyโ€™s auspicious debut drama is an elliptical and much-needed examination of internalized homophobia, repression, and identity in a remote Siberian town.

Watch the trailer for Siberia & Him below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Consequences is a hard-hitting coming-of-age drama about youth in detention

Based on Slovenian filmmaker Darko ล tanteโ€™s own experiences working with youth in a correctional facility, the debut feature Consequences follows a troubled teen who must adapt to the harsh hierarchy of a youth detention center and come to terms with his sense of self and developing masculinity. Centered around a powerful performance from charismatic newcomer Matej Zemljic, the film takes an unflinching look at the raw impulses of adolescence and the insecurity that lies beneath.

Troubled Andrej (Zemljic) has reached the end of adolescence and of his parentsโ€™ patience. He is summoned before a court judge for his anger, violence, and deceit. Sentenced to attend a youth detention center, the handsome and muscular teen is thrown into the correctional facilityโ€™s intimidating and testosterone-fuelled hierarchy.

Holding strong against its violent initiations, Andrej finds his anchor of approval and companionship in ลฝeljko (Timon Sturbej), the aggressive leader of the center’s gang, which he soon joins in a carefree spiral of sex, drugs, and violence. Yet Andrejโ€™s tough posturing belies an intimate fragility. Revealing this would unravel everything around him.

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