Category: Performing Arts
Filmmaker Victoria Linares Villegas explores personal family history in this unique docudrama
A revelation about her family connection to an influential figure sets filmmaker Victoria Linares Villegas on her own path of playful self-discovery in this fascinating and deeply personal new docudrama.
It Runs in the Family begins when Villegas discovers she is related to Oscar Torres, a little-known Dominican director. She soon embarks on a cinematic excavation of his role in Caribbean fiction and leftist movements during the authoritarian 1940s.
Through her research, she pieces together a portrait of his creative and political legacy while breaking down the boundaries between his story and her own ambitions as an image-maker. She brings Torres’ work back to life through a series of elaborate re-stagings of his unproduced screenplays, with members of her family stepping in as actors.
Through this process of playful discovery, Villegas poses questions about the Dominican Republic’s political history, transgenerational memory and queer erasure.
A film full of heart, It Runs in the Family is a bold first feature from an exciting new voice in nonfiction filmmaking.
Watch the trailer for It Runs in the Family below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
Author and performer E. Patrick Johnson challenges Southern stereotypes in the documentary ‘Making Sweet Tea’
Giving voice to a population too rarely acknowledged, researcher and performer E. Patrick Johnson’s 2008 novel “Sweet Tea” collected more than 60 life stories from black gay men who were born, raised and continue to live in the South.
Based on two years of ethnographic research, the book offered a window into the ways black gay men negotiate their identities, build community, maintain friendship networks and find partners – often in spaces that appear to be anti-gay.
A hit at countless film festivals around the country, the profoundly moving new documentary Making Sweet Tea follows Johnson as he travels to North Carolina, Georgia, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. in an effort to come to terms with his past and reconnect with some of the men he interviewed for the book. Johnson also transformed the book into several staged plays over the course of a decade.
Making Sweet Tea combines performance footage with interviews of the men, showing how they have changed since – and been changed by – their depictions in his book and plays. The film covers the subtle complexities of Johnson’s relationships with these men, with his family and with his hometown in North Carolina. It also restages Johnson’s performances of the men’s narratives in their homes, in their churches and at their jobs, sometimes with them directing him or even participating in the scene.
Blurring the line between art and life, Making Sweet Tea offers a glimpse into the lives of people not often given a platform to speak and demonstrates how research, artistry and real life converge.
Watch the trailer for Making Sweet Tea below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
Activist and LGBTQ influencer Yves Mathieu East dances his way through ‘NYC Dreams’
Filmmakers J. Arcane and Paul Erskine focus on telling stories that push boundaries and encourage audiences to challenge their preconceived ideas. After completing numerous shorts, they began making feature films on their own as a crew of two.
Their sophomore feature, NYC Dreams, stars noted Black Lives Matter activist and LGBTQ influencer Yves Mathieu East as Theo, a gifted but struggling dancer in New York City who uses his daydreams to escape and search for love.
As he literally dances his way through the city that never sleeps, he experiences betrayals at the hands of lovers, is unexpectedly embraced by strangers and learns to start coping with the memories of an abusive childhood.
Beautifully photographed and with immersive music and impressive physicality, NYC Dreams eschews any traditional narrative structure. Instead, using minimal dialogue, it builds a rich tapestry of emotions mostly through movement while telling a profound story of memory and longing.
Check out the poster for NYC Dreams below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Director Rodrigo Bellott’s ‘Tu Me Manques’ is a riveting and unforgettably emotional must see
With films like Sexual Dependency and Who Killed the White Llama, writer-director Rodrigo Bellott established himself as one of the driving forces behind Bolivia’s nascent film industry. Not only is he an accomplished director in his own right, but he also oversees La Fabrica, Bolivia’s first official film school, where he shepherds emerging young talents through the filmmaking process.
In 2019, Bellott released his most acclaimed film to date, the moving and cathartic Tu Me Manques. We can’t recommend it more highly.
Accomplished Argentinian actor Oscar Martinez stars as Jorge, a conservative Bolivian father who receives news that his son, Gabriel , has committed suicide. Weeks after the tragedy, he finds his son’s laptop where he discovers he had a romantic relationship with Sebastian (Fernando Barbosa), another young countryman who lives in New York City, where his son was studying.
After an initial angry confrontation with Sebastian on Skype, Jorge decides to go to New York to look for answers about his son’s death. He soon learns that Sebastian has channeled his own grief into a bold new play in honor of his lost love, in which Gabriel’s inner turmoil is transformed into an eye-popping gay fantasia… and the result will change Jorge’s life forever.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at L.A. Outfest and the Audience Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Tu Me Manques is a smart, stylish and ultimately life-affirming exploration of three men’s struggles to reconcile identity and heritage.
Watch the trailer for Tu Me Manques below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
The nude musical revue ‘Naked Boys Singing’ has come to shed its clothes on Dekkoo!
Imagine inviting ten gorgeous, intelligent, creative and completely naked men into your living room for an evening full of entertainment! That’s what you get with Naked Boys Singing, a superb filmed performance of the famed musical revue.
After 2,500 performances worldwide since 1998, they staged the piece for the cameras to give audiences an opportunity to see this wonderful review in the comfort of their own homes.
Originally released in 2007, the film is back to slay on Dekkoo. With catchy songs strung together like Christmas lights, we’re confident that musical theater queens will love this film as much as we do.
Perfect for parties, (or family gatherings if your family is into nude gay men) Naked Boys Singing has more adorable naked men than the latest CockyBoys movie – and you can actually watch this one with your sister. It’s a wonderful musical cast made up entirely with hot naked men… what’s not to love?
Click the link below to watch the original (not safe for work) trailer for Naked Boys Singing below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
The charming comedy ‘Nate & Margaret’ examines a May-December friendship
Natalie West, an accomplished Chicago theatre actress best known for her recurring role as Crystal on the original incarnation of ‘Roseanne,’ delivers an incredible under-the-radar performance in Nate and Margaret, a charming indie comedy from writer-director Nathan Adloff.
West plays the titular Margaret, an aspiring comedian in her fifties who lives alone, works at a coffee shop by day, works on stage skills at open mics by night and shares an unusually deep friendship with her neighbor, a much younger gay film student named Nate, played by Tyler Ross.
When Darla, an audacious classmate played by Gaby Hoffman, sets Nate up on a date with an eager young suiter named James (played by Conor McCahill), everything starts to change.
Swept up in feelings of young love, Nate suddenly has less time for his middle-aged friend and a bittersweet tension grows between them.
With shades of the Hal Ashby classic Harold and Maude, Nate and Margaret is a heartfelt and smartly observed comedy-drama about two very particular people who are each coming-of-age… despite the considerable difference of those ages.
Watch the trailer for Nate and Margaret below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
Dekkoo Digest – 097
Take a trip back to the ’80s with the hilarious high school drag comedy ‘First Period’
Featuring an impressive ensemble – which includes many sketch and improv ringers who got their start at The Groundlings in Los Angeles – First Period is a hilarious, candy-colored drag tribute to 1980s teen comedies… and the films of John Hughes in particular.
Cassie Glen (Brandon Alexander III), a new girl at school, arrives with the goal of finding a hunky boyfriend and finally becoming popular. Running afoul of the school’s top-tier mean girls, she decides to befriend Maggie (Dudley Beene), a social outcast and sometimes literal coat rack.
Together, these two new besties become convinced that the best way to reach their goal of becoming popular is to enter – and win – the annual talent show and steal the bitchy girls’ himbo boyfriends along the way.
Writer-director Charlie Vaughn did his ‘80s movie homework, tipping a hat to iconic flicks like Pretty in Pink and lesser-known cult favorites like Teen Witch while adding a dash of Romy and Michelle for good measure. The result is campy, funny and often surprisingly poignant as it delivers the tried and true message that being yourself is always the best course of action.
Watch the trailer for First Period below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
‘Every Act of Life’ celebrates the career and friendships of legendary playwright Terrence McNally
Through six groundbreaking decades in the theatre, four-time Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally became a living legend, both on stage and off.
He launched the careers of some of Broadway’s biggest stars, was a pioneer in the fight for LGBTQ rights, triumphed over addiction, found love and inspiration at every age and continually showed the power of art to transform society.
Featuring interviews with Nathan Lane, Patrick Wilson, Edie Falco, Rita Moreno, Christine Baranski, F. Murray Abraham, Bryan Cranston and many more, Every Act of Life is an intimate and illuminating documentary that celebrates McNally’s life and relationships while examining his incredible legacy of work.
Watch the trailer for Every Act of Life below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Discover great gay stories. 