Category: Performing Arts

Three fugitives make a road movie in the edgy queer thriller ‘You Can’t Escape Lithuania’

After his star actress, Indre (Irina Lavrinovic), is suspected of murdering her mother, rich-kid filmmaker Romas (Denisas Kolomyckis) plans her escape from Lithuania. His sexy Mexican boyfriend Carlos (Adrian Escobar) helps them reluctantly.

On the road, Romas begins shooting an improvised experimental film of their harrowing trip with his smartphone. As events take an unexpected turn, their secrets, memories and emotions make this journey wilder than any film Romas could have imagined.

Stylish and supremely sexy, the gripping gay road thriller You Can’t Escape Lithuania comes Romas Zabarauskas, the prolific queer artist and filmmaker behind Porno Melodrama, The Lawyer and We Will Riot – who loosely based it around some of his own real-life experiences.

Zabarauskas funded the movie though Kickstarter… even going so far as to get naked on camera for donors in order to raise the necessary money (something, you’ll be happy to know, his incredibly attractive cinematic counterpart also does in the film).

Watch the trailer for You Can’t Escape Lithuania below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Incomplete

From talented actor, writer, director and dancer Sasha Korbut, the new 15-minute short Incomplete examines feelings of loneliness in a crowded world that’s simultaneously connected and apart.

A young man, alone in a phone booth on a New York City street corner, holds a hand-written letter that expresses his longing and desire for a man he’s yet to meet. As we hear the letter read aloud, we’re invited to watch his fantasies of connection in quick bits of dance with random men – pairings that instantly come and go, never quite right.

Each of the three main dances in the film explore different aspects of connection – intellectual, physical and spiritual. Finally, in a crowded square, the young man begins to dance on his own. His movements become a scream of desperation, a way to be seen and heard. Soon, he finds an inner peace that he never imagined and learns that he’s not really as alone as he thought.

A heady experimental film with gorgeous production values, Incomplete asks the question: do we need another person in our lives to feel complete, or are we really missing a connection within ourselves?

Watch a short trailer for Incomplete below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

We guarantee you’ve never experienced anything quite like ‘Enter the Drag Dragon’

Get ready for a ‘Drag-Fu’ odyssey filled with face-crunching action, corset-busting comedy, gut-munching horror and soul-touching musical numbers.

We guarantee you’ve never experienced anything quite like Enter the Drag Dragon, a brand-new action-comedy-horror-musical from the people who brought you Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter.

Enter the Drag Dragon follows Crunch (Jade London), a part-time amateur detective and a full-time drag queen. His lifelong best friend is Jaws (Beatrice Beres), a roller skating entrepreneur and fast-food delivery girl.

The oddball pair – no strangers to fast times, adventure and action – have been through a lot together. They spend their days working hard and their nights watching kung-fu flicks in the abandoned movie theatre they’ve lived in since childhood.

Their popcorn-devouring bliss is cut short, however, when Crunch takes on the biggest case of his career. Tracking down a stolen panting that might reveal the mythical treasure of the Aztec Mummy, he discovers that he has much more to fear than the supposed undead army that guards the legendary loot.

He soon finds himself over his head dealing with corrupt cops, zombies, dangerous mobsters, a lost puppy, ninjas, ghosts, androids and, of course, a budding romance! With mounting obstacles, Crunch realizes that he can’t handle this one on his own, and must team up with Jaws if he wants to survive, let alone solve the case.

Ready-made for the “Midnight Madness” crowd, Enter the Drag Dragon offers up a truly twisted mix of Troma films, John Waters and Bruce Lee.

Watch the trailer for Enter the Drag Dragon below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The critically acclaimed romantic gay drama ‘And Then We Danced’ returns to Dekkoo!

A passionate tale of love and liberation set in modern-day Georgia, writer-director Levan Akin’s beloved coming-of-age drama And Then We Danced follows Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani), an ambitious young dancer who has been training from an early age to earn a spot in the National Georgian Ensemble with his partner, Mary (Ana Javakishvili).

His world is suddenly turned upside down with the arrival of Irlaki (Bachi Valishvili), a charismatic, naturally gifted newcomer who becomes both his strongest rival and the object of his secret desires.

Within the highly gender-conservative, traditional world of Georgian dance, Merab must navigate his newfound feelings of attraction while competing for his lifelong goal. But as the two young men grow closer together and their mutual longing comes to the surface, they may unleash a floodgate that will pit them against the country’s outdated culture.

Initially screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival, And Then We Danced offers a riveting and visceral examination of dance, identity, gay longing and everything in between.

The film earned massive critical acclaim when it was first released in 2019 and was even chosen as the Sweden’s entry for the Best International Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Watch the trailer for And Then We Danced below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Family Affair

From writer-producer Ernest Anemone and director Julio Dowansingh, Family Affair is a heartwarming 15-minute queer comedy short about the secrets we keep, the friendships we make and, as the title would suggest, the families we’re born into.

Bear D’Angelo stars as Tanner, a high school senior who seems to have everything going for him. He’s smart, he’s athletic and he’s popular… but there’s something – or rather someone – taking up his time lately. And Tanner feels that, at all costs, he must keep it a secret from his mother.

We don’t want to give away any more of the plot because there are some delightful surprises in store for viewers who aren’t sure where the story is going.

Created by a cast and crew mostly consisting of queer and BIPOC creatives, Family Affair tells an uplifting story about one mother-son relationship while aiming to normalize and destigmatize queer identities across the board.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Family Affair below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The director of ‘Were the World Mine’ returns with the electrifying new musical ‘Glitter & Doom’

In a fantastical summer romance set to the iconic hits of the Grammy Award-winning, trailblazing Indigo Girls, Glitter & Doom follows the love-at-first-sight connection between carefree circus performer Glitter (Alex Diaz) and struggling musician Doom (Alan Cammish).

An undeniable spark throws the pair into a summer of camping trips, late-night conversations and innovative song-and-dance numbers – until the real world comes calling for them.

Their relationship is put to the test as Doom confronts the realities of finding success in the music industry and Glitter has an opportunity to run away to Paris as a circus performer.

Glitter and Doom soon find themselves struggling to make sense of their whirlwind summer while staying true to themselves and pursuing their dreams.

Directed by beloved Were the World Mine filmmaker Tom Gustafson and punctuated by a star-studded supporting cast – including Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro, “Drag Race” alum Peppermint, Ming-Na Wen, Missi Pyle and Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers themselves – Glitter & Doom is a creatively ambitious, visually stunning queer musical about the power of love – and, of course, the “Power of Two.”

Watch the trailer for Glitter & Doom below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The New Queer Cinema classic ‘Young Soul Rebels’ comes home to Dekkoo

Young Soul Rebels, a 1991 classic from maverick New Queer Cinema director Isaac Julien, has been restored to its original director’s cut in a stunning new 4K version overseen by Julien and director of photography Nina Kelgren.

Set in East London in 1977 – just days before Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee – the film revolves around underground DJs Chris and Caz, who find their worlds rocked when a close friend is murdered in a queer hook-up park.

Their tight-knit local Black community suspects potential right-wing involvement, while the police point fingers at Chris as the prime suspect.

Winner of the Critic’s Prize at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, Young Soul Rebels has gone on to earn even more critical acclaim in the time since its release.

With pulsating energy and an unforgettable soundtrack, Julien examines race clashes and the interaction between cultural youth movements – namely skinheads, punks and soul boys – along with the social, political and cultural tensions between them.

Still as relevant today, we’re thrilled to introduce Young Soul Rebels – back and looking better than ever – to a whole new generation.

Watch a trailer for the new restoration below. Young Soul Rebels is now available on Dekkoo.

Alexandra Billings stars in the endearing and inspiring comedy-drama ‘Queen Tut’

‘Transparent’ actress Alexandra Billings stars in the endearing comedy-drama Queen Tut as a trans stage veteran who takes an aspiring seamstress and drag queen under her wings.

Following the death of his mother, Egyptian-raised teen Nabil (Ryan Ali) reluctantly moves to Toronto to live with his traditionally-minded father. There he meets Malibu (Billings) who is on her own crusade to protect Mandy’s, her drag nightclub and queer haven, from demolition.

The shy Nabil, wanting to learn how to sew like his late seamstress mother, finds a drag mentor in the exuberant Malibu, who makes all her own dresses.

As the boy begins to find his true self, the local community’s fight to save their favorite nightclub quickly escalates, pitting Nabil against his architect father and drag queens and queers against the gentrification-minded establishment.

Funny, inspiring and packed with memorable performances, Queen Tut is a rousingly entertaining and insightful coming-out drag tale which has left audiences cheering at film festivals all around the globe.

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

Go on tour with the drag wrestling collective ‘Chokehole’ in this fabulous documentary

Chokehole: Drag Wrestlers do Deutschland tells the story of how one disenfranchised group of queer performers defeated all the odds to create a wildly compelling theatrical show.

One hot summer night in New Orleans, a popular drag collective decided to stage a wresting night. Dressing as their vibrant alter-egos, they proceeded to beat the living daylights out each other while the audience collectively lost their minds. That night, the wrestling collective ‘Chokehole’ was born.

From Yony Leyser, the filmmaker behind Desire Will Set You Free and Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution, this new 22-minute documentary follows the group as they take their show to Germany.

The film observes the artists both in and out of drag, sharing their larger-than-life and theatrical alter egos while displaying the unique vulnerabilities that lie behind each character. This film explores their loud, vibrant personas alongside their heart-breaking personal stories – and the adversity they’ve had to overcome.

We learn how each character copes with love, sex, transitions, post-trauma and socioeconomics while getting a glimpse into their fantastical, vividly realized world – which is as much an escape for the artists as it is for the audience.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Chokehole: Drag Wrestlers do Deutschland below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘The Schoolmaster Games’ is a wildly original and deeply homoerotic high school melodrama

Based on a novel by Swedish author Kristofer Folkhammar and inspired by both American high school movies and gay porn, the unusual genre hybrid The Schoolmaster Games brings to life a vibrant alternate reality where sexuality is freely expressed, but manipulative power games are always at play just beneath the surface.

Desires are running wild at Saint Sebastian, a high school populated entirely by gay men. At this school, everyone is completely free to express their sexuality however they choose.

At the start of the year, much-desired heartthrob Charles (Christian Arnold) enters into a secret sexual power game orchestrated by the strict schoolmaster (Johan Ehn) – who is tortured by memories of his own repression during a time before the erotic acceptance that currently prevails at the school.

When the competition for the prestigious “Winter Procession” tightens, friendships crack and their whole utopian existence begins to fall apart piece by piece.

From Swedish director Ylva Forner, The Schoolmaster Games is a colorful, original and thrillingly homoerotic high school melodrama like no film ever before.

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