Category: Performing Arts

Now Available: Crutch

An autobiographical film taken from the experiences of writer-director Rob Moretti, Crutch is a coming-of-age tale about a young man’s struggle with family problems and substance abuse.

Behind a façade of suburban middle class perfection, David (Eben Gordon) finds that his home life is falling apart. As he tries to cope with the impossible situation, the troubled and impressionable teenager falls under the spell of Kenny (played by writer-director Moretti), an attractive thirty-something has-been actor turned theater coach.

When Kenny’s “support” escalates into seduction, David slowly descends into an abyss of drinking and drug addition from which he must escape if he is to survive.

Originally released in 2004, this gay indie tells a dramatic tale about the confusion of youth and the difficulties in finding oneself.

Crutch is available now on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the award-winning, critically-acclaimed Kanarie

Johan Niemand (Schalk Bezuidenhout) is a fashion-loving gay teen in small-town South Africa in 1985, a time of apartheid, religious conservatism and war – an era when not even his idol Boy George had dared to come out publicly as gay yet. 

When Johan is called up to serve his compulsory two-year military training, he escapes the border war by joining The South African Defence Force Church Choir and Concert Group, known as Die Kanaries (The Canaries), where he discovers his true self through hardship, camaraderie, first love and the liberating freedom of music.

A winner of over 15 different international awards, Kanarie earned rave reviews from critics. It currently has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Los Angeles Times called it “A rich, poignant and finely observed musical drama.” Michael McNeely in theBUZZ said “Every once in a while comes a film that is filled with so much joy, human connection, and emotional turmoil, you know that as long as it sticks the landing, it is a masterpiece.”

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

Now Available: Tucked

A tender LGBTQ drama, Tucked follows an 80-year-old drag queen who forms and unusually deep relationship with a much younger up-and-coming performer. Though the two come from different backgrounds and have wildly different day-to-day experiences both struggle with their own issues of gender identity and mortality – and find comfort, support and much to learn in one another.

Set in Brighton, Tucked is a classic British ‘slice of life’ story that pays homage to celebrated works like Kinky Boots and The Dresser. A story about love, loss and friendship with a great charm and sense of humor, the film earned rave reviews from critics all around the world and spotlights two fantastic performances from lead actors Derren Nesbitt and Jordan Stephens.

Watch the trailer for Tucked below. The film is available 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.

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.

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.

Theality TV follows the making of an unusual Off-Broadway musical

Hosted by iconic journalist Michael Musto, Theality TV is a brand-new reality show about an Off-Broadway musical’s efforts to see the light of day.

The series follows Rob Gould, a musical-loving writer-director who is trying to stage his piece “Little House on the Ferry.” After years of effort, his dreams may finally be coming true. An investor gives him a chance to produce the project, with two major catches: he only has one month and ten thousand dollars with which to work.

Even on this shoestring budget, Rob leaps at the opportunity to state his masterpiece. But it won’t be easy. The casting process is insane, the actors are divas, the crew is difficult and there is always another challenge or roadblock around each and every corner. But Rob is determined to make his dream a reality at any and all costs.

Watch the trailer for Theality TV below and follow the whole journey now on Dekkoo.

Nude male dancers explore dark, primal energy and ritual in the dance documentary Bare

For about 25 years, Belgian choreographer Thierry Smits has asserted an artistic approach that is well off the beaten path, and frequently controversial.

Alternating pure dance productions with more performative pieces, his work explores our relationship to the body – as an object of desire, pleasure and finiteness – which Smits considers, today more than ever, as a political space, the only free territory left to us.

In Anima Ardens, based on the experience and singularity of each dancer, Smits creates a piece about the intuitiveness of the body and bodies together, reminiscent of the evolution of a hurricane which, starting from nothing, attains wild strength, both violent and fascinating, before dissipating and returning to silence.

In between breathtaking dance sequences, the revealing new documentary Bare reveals the artistic collaboration and conflict between Smits and his company – eleven male dancers performing nude – as they build this new avant-garde piece steeped in dark, primal energy and ritual.

With the creation they address questions of body politics, gender, censorship and taboo aesthetics. A creative exploration of the underrepresentation of the naked male form in performing arts, the film documents the arduous process of auditioning, rehearsing and opening Anima Ardens.

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

Now Available: The Circuit

The Circuit is a new digital series that explores the underground circuit community through the personal lives of different players within the scene.

The cast of The Circuit – DJs, dancers, a party producer and an adult entertainer – take us on a wild ride through the inner workings of the New York City gay dance party subculture.

Explore the eponymous “circuit” parties as the cast juggle career, love and the thrilling events themselves until a global pandemic and a series of unfortunate decisions turns their world on its head.

Featuring Nina Flowers, Sam Gee, Joe Pacheco, Jake Resnicow, Dan De Leon, Alec Brian, Ian Frost, Shane Jackson, Shane Marcus, Manuel Skye, Ugene, Trey Sherman, Darius Glover and more, The Circuit offers a frank look at a thrilling LGBTQ+ subculture.

Watch the trailer for The Circuit below. The first season is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 7/16/21

A voyeuristic, behind-the-scenes look as celebrated choreographer Thierry Smits and his team go through the auditions, rehearsals and eventual premiere of his controversial dance piece Anima Ardens. ‘Bare’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

Clement and Alex are looking for a new gay roommate. And they find Leo, a charming student who is in deep trouble to find a place to sleep. Leo will do anything to get that room, whatever it takes. ‘Clément, Alex et tous les autres’ is available on Dekkoo!

A drug addicted hustler, in the middle of a binge, encounters someone from their past. Watch ‘Adam (In Fragments)‘ on Dekkoo!

Today is a day unlike any before. Today is the day Kalthoum and their girlfriends imagine their revenge. Stream ‘Terror Sisters’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A series that explores the underground circuit community through the personal lives of different players within the scene.