Category: Pride

Pride Picks: Why Once A Year On Blackpool Sands Deserves a Place on Your Watchlist

Pride Month is the perfect time to celebrate LGBTQ+ stories that honor the courage, resilience, and love that helped shape our community. One of the standout titles in Dekkoo’s Pride Picks collection is Once A Year On Blackpool Sands, a moving British drama inspired by real events and set against the backdrop of 1950s England.

If you’re looking for meaningful gay movies to stream, powerful historical LGBTQ+ stories, or heartfelt gay romance movies, this hidden gem deserves your attention.

A Story of Love in a Time of Fear

Set in Blackpool, England in 1953, Once A Year On Blackpool Sands follows Tommy and Eddy, two Yorkshire miners who have spent years hiding their relationship from a society that viewed homosexuality as a crime. During their annual holiday away from home, they experience a rare sense of freedom and acceptance while navigating the challenges of living authentically in a hostile world. The film is based on the real-life story of Eddy Corkhill and Tommy Price and explores themes of love, identity, courage, and community.

The film offers a rare look at working-class LGBTQ+ life in post-war Britain, highlighting the risks gay men faced long before Pride celebrations became public events. Critics have noted its exploration of oppression, masculinity, and the search for freedom in an era when being openly gay could have devastating consequences.

Tommy and Eddy share a quiet moment together in Once a Year on Blackpool Sands, a historical LGBTQ+ romance film streaming on Dekkoo.

Why It’s One of Our Pride Picks

Pride is about more than celebration. It’s also about remembering the people who lived, loved, and fought for visibility when doing so carried tremendous risk.

Once A Year On Blackpool Sands reminds us how far we’ve come while honoring those who paved the way. Through Tommy and Eddy’s relationship, viewers witness the quiet acts of bravery that helped lay the foundation for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The film’s story of resilience and hope makes it a perfect addition to our annual Pride Picks collection.

More Than a Historical Drama

While the film is rooted in LGBTQ+ history, its themes remain deeply relevant today. Anyone who has struggled to be themselves, feared rejection, or searched for acceptance will find something meaningful in Tommy and Eddy’s journey.

Beautifully acted and emotionally resonant, Once A Year On Blackpool Sands is both a love story and a reminder of the importance of community, visibility, and pride.

Tommy cares for Eddy in a bath scene from Once a Year on Blackpool Sands, a historical LGBTQ+ romance film exploring love and resilience in 1950s England.

Watch More Pride Picks on Dekkoo

If you enjoyed Once A Year On Blackpool Sands, explore more LGBTQ+ stories across Dekkoo’s growing library of films, series, and exclusive originals.

Whether you’re revisiting LGBTQ+ history or discovering a new favorite romance, Dekkoo is proud to bring together stories that celebrate queer lives, past and present.

Stream Once A Year On Blackpool Sands Today

This Pride Month, take a journey back to 1950s England and experience a story of love, courage, and authenticity that still resonates today. Once A Year On Blackpool Sands is one of our Pride Picks for a reason—and once you’ve seen it, you’ll understand why.

STREAM ONCE A YEAR ON BLACKPOOL SANDS ON DEKKOO ->

Short Film Spotlight: Turn It Around

Set at a teen house party, the 9-minute short Turn It Around follows fifteen-year-old Bram (Valentijn Avé), a young man who is surrounded by his friends and draws the Turn It Around Captures the Heart-Racing Intensity of a Teenage Crush

What starts as an ordinary house party quickly becomes a life-changing night in Turn It Around, the tender and emotionally honest LGBTQ+ short film now streaming on Dekkoo.

At the center of the story is Bram, a shy teenage boy trying to blend into the chaos of a crowded party. While he attracts the attention of several girls throughout the evening, Bram’s heart is focused elsewhere. Across the room is Florian (Tonko Bossen), the effortlessly cool, denim-clad boy who instantly captures his attention.

As the night unfolds, the chemistry between the two boys becomes impossible to ignore. There’s just one complication: nobody at the party knows Bram is gay.

The tension slowly builds through stolen glances, awkward moments, and the overwhelming fear that comes with wanting to be seen for who you truly are. When a game of spin the bottle begins, Bram is suddenly faced with a choice that could change everything — not just for the night, but for the rest of his life.

Directed by Dutch filmmaker Niels Bourgonje and written by Paul Bontenbal, Turn It Around became an award-winning festival favorite thanks to its authentic emotional storytelling and heartfelt performances from its young cast. The film perfectly captures the nervous excitement, vulnerability, and longing of a first crush while exploring the fear and freedom that come with coming out.

Fans of emotional coming-of-age stories and romantic LGBTQ+ cinema will find a lot to love here. If you enjoy intimate queer dramas, you can also explore Dekkoo’s collection of gay romance movies and discover even more heartfelt stories on the platform’s LGBTQ+ movies collection.

Why Turn It Around Works So Well

What makes Turn It Around stand out is its simplicity. Rather than relying on melodrama, the short film focuses on small moments — eye contact across a crowded room, hesitation before speaking, and the anxiety of wondering whether your feelings might actually be returned.

The result is a deeply relatable story for anyone who remembers the intensity of a teenage crush or the fear of revealing a hidden part of themselves.

The chemistry between the leads gives the film its emotional core, helping transform an ordinary party setting into something unforgettable.

Watch Turn It Around on Dekkoo

Turn It Around is now streaming exclusively on Dekkoo, home to a growing library of award-winning queer cinema, romantic dramas, international LGBTQ+ stories, and original series.

Looking for more emotional and romantic stories? Browse Dekkoo’s collections of:

Watch the trailer for Turn It Around below and experience this touching coming-of-age short for yourself.

Watch Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero on Dekkoo

An animated drag musical adventure filled with heroes, villains, lip sync battles — and fabulous transformations

Official artwork for Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero, an animated LGBTQ+ musical fantasy now streaming on Dekkoo

What if becoming your true self meant becoming a superhero?

Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero is a colorful animated musical fantasy that combines drag performance, comedy, action, and heart into one unforgettable adventure. Featuring the voices of Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Laraine Newman, and fan-favorite queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race including Valentina, Rosé, Monét X Change, and Jinkx Monsoon, this vibrant animated feature celebrates self-expression with plenty of spectacle along the way.

Now streaming on Dekkoo.

Watch the Trailer

Why Watch Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero

  • A one-of-a-kind animated drag superhero story
  • Featuring legendary RuPaul’s Drag Race queens
  • Musical numbers, comedy, and high-energy lip sync battles
  • LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters at the center of the story
  • A celebration of identity, confidence, and community

What Is Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero About?

Simon (Grant Hodges) spends his days working as a barista at the Pink Unicorn Café alongside his lifelong best friend Jae (Erika Ishii). But on his 21st birthday, everything changes when he discovers an unusual pink wig with extraordinary powers.

With one transformation, Simon becomes Maxxie LaWow — a dazzling drag super-shero ready to take on evil in style.

But danger is already brewing.

Entrepreneur and cosmetics mogul Dyna Bolical (Terren Wooten Clarke) has uncovered a shocking secret: drag queen tears may hold the key to eternal youth. Determined to build a beauty empire, Dyna begins abducting queens to power her latest creation.

When Maxxie becomes her next target, the stage is set for an unforgettable showdown.

If you enjoy bold, camp, and larger-than-life LGBTQ+ storytelling, explore more Dekkoo Originals & Exclusives or browse our collection of gay movies.

Can Maxxie rescue the missing queens, stop Dyna’s plans, and save the day in a spectacular aerial lip sync battle?

You’ll have to watch to find out.

Cast & Creators

Directed by: Anthony Hand
Written & Produced by: Anthony Hand

Featuring voices from:

  • Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman
  • Laraine Newman
  • Grant Hodges
  • Erika Ishii
  • Valentina
  • Rosé
  • Monét X Change
  • Jinkx Monsoon

Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero marks Anthony Hand’s feature directorial debut and introduces a bold new animated world centered on drag heroes and villains.

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Ready for a superhero story unlike any other?

Watch Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero now on Dekkoo and discover a world where saving the day has never looked this fabulous.

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Exploring Allen Ginsberg’s Howl: A Cinematic Journey

From Academy Award-winning documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, filmmakers behind celebrated queer classics like The Celluloid Closet and The Times of Harvey Milk, the 2010 docudrama Howl bends genres to depict the story behind the literary revolution that was Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.”

James Franco stars as a young Ginsberg on the precipice of making waves with his incendiary, culture-shifting poem.

The film takes us to a famous reading of “Howl” at the Six Gallery, a recreation of an unpublished interview allegedly given to Time in 1957 and the poem’s infamous obscenity trial.

We’re also witness to the beginnings of Ginsberg’s relationship with lover, Peter Orlovsky, played by “Gossip Girl” alum Aaron Tveit. Featuring an impressive supporting cast – including David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels, Treat Williams and Mary-Louise Parker – Howl offers up a fascinating and idiosyncratic portrait of an epic literary work and its iconoclastic creator.

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

Exploring LGBTQ+ Life in Singapore: People Like Us Season 3

Following the lives of four gay men, People Like Us, a short-form series from creator Leon Cheo, offers up a poignant reflection and insightful look at being gay in modern-day Singapore. The characters drift into one another’s worlds – and beds – as they navigate love, lust and life in the big city.

Picking back up with our central group, Season Three finds Joel (Josh Crowe) dealing with grief, struggling with the dating scene and binge-eating his feelings. Meanwhile, Ridzwan (Ifran Kasban) distracts himself with work and sex as Isaac (Steven Lim) falls deeper into his substance addiction. Finally, post-‘honeymoon phase,’ Rai (Hemant Ashoka) and Haniff (Syaheeran Othman) are facing new and unexpected challenges as a serodiscordant couple, one being HIV+ and one HIV-.

In addition to the sexual escapades and relationships that unfold between these characters, People Like Us explores themes of acceptance, community support, the challenges of dating, substance abuse and HIV awareness in the local LGBTQ+ community.

Watch the trailer for the newest season below and catch up on all the drama of People Like Us on Dekkoo. All three seasons are available now.

A Big Gay Hairy Hit: Celebrating Bears in Hollywood

A hilarious and deeply touching documentary feature, A Big Gay Hairy Hit (also known as Where the Bears Are: The Documentary) tells the story of how three older gay ‘bears,’ working in Hollywood and tired of having their gay-themed ideas rejected by the mainstream, decided to self-produce their own independent web series.

Blending “The Golden Girls” with “Murder She Wrote,” the comedy series they created centers around three bear roommates who solve crimes.

Against all odds, Where the Bears Are became a sensation with gay audiences, running for seven seasons while becoming one of the most successful scripted web series of all time.

Featuring lead actors and creators Rick Copp, Joe Dietl, and Ben Zook, this retrospective documentary examines ageism, body-shaming, sex-positivity, the creative process and how friendship can deliver a finished product that is beloved all over the world.

Watch the trailer for A Big Gay Hairy Hit below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Front Cover: A Heartfelt LGBTQ+ Love Story

Ryan (Jake Choi) is a handsome fashion stylist living in New York City. He openly rejects his traditional Asian-American upbringing, fearing that it will prevent him from enjoying his life as an openly gay man.

Everything starts to change, however, when Ryan is given an assignment and begins working with Ning (James Chen), a famous and alluring Chinese actor.

Despite a rocky start, an unlikely romance develops between the two, leading Ryan to re-examine his roots and consider an enticing new path for his career, as well as his love life.

With Front Cover, Ray Yeung, the acclaimed director behind Cut Sleeve Boys, All Shall Be Well and Twilight’s Kiss, crafts a tender and entertaining look at clashing cultures and the ultimate triumph of romance, guaranteed to make you swoon.

Watch the trailer for Front Cover below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing’ looks at how far gay rights have come in the UK

After decades of attempts to reform archaic laws that criminalized male homosexual acts as “gross indecency” – and to expunge the records of many convicted men – a new bill was finally passed in British Parliament. Narrated by Ben Whishaw, Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing tells the story of that long struggle.

A wave of post-WWII prosecutions compromised thousands of men, including the brilliant World War II computer pioneer and code-breaker Alan Turing. In 1967, a new “Sexual Offenses Act” partly decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults in England and Wales, but was not fully enacted until 2003, when the homophobic law was finally repealed. Full, unequivocal pardons for those convicted under the old law were still awaited.

In this riveting and informative documentary from director Rosemarie Reed, six different men tell individual stories of how Britain’s anti-gay laws impacted their lives while also examining the much-deserved Royal Pardon that was posthumously given to Alan Turing in 2013.

Watch the trailer for Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing below. The documentary is now available on Dekkoo.

A grieving lover seeks revenge in the tense Lithuanian thriller ‘The Activist’

Twenty-something printing house worker Andrius (Robertas Petraitis) is skeptical about the activist work of his boyfriend Deividas (Elvinas Juodkazis) and fears that they may soon become the targets of neo-Nazis.

Deividas is the head of “Rainbow Kaunas,” a group organizing the first Pride celebration in the second biggest city of Lithuania. One night, after coming back from a fight, Andrius finds that Deividas has been murdered.

Seeing indifferent reactions from the police – and from Lithuanian society at large – Andrius takes on a new mission: to infiltrate the local neo-Nazi organization, find his boyfriend’s killer and serve his own brand of justice.

The third and final entry in a new queer film trilogy from prolific writer-director Romas Zabarauskas – following 2020’s The Lawyer and 2023’s The Writer – The Activist is a stylish thriller with a strong sociopolitical message, celebrating the brave activists who stand up against threats to liberal democracy around the world.

Watch the trailer for The Activist below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo along with previous trilogy entries The Lawyer and The Writer.

Head to the beach with ‘The Best Friend,’ a sexy, vibrant and romantic new gay musical!

Set at a bright and beautiful Brazilian beachside, The Best Friend follows Lucas (Vinicius Teixeira), a handsome young architect who is in a crisis with his boyfriend. On vacation, he spots Felipe (Gabriel Fuentes), an alluring former school crush who is now working as a local tour guide.

Hidden desires are soon re-awakened. In this musical paradise, Lucas surrenders to the pursuit of liberating intimacy while Felipe loses himself in colorful nights and a variety of willing partners.

Will these two men find happiness and love together under the scorching Brazilian sun? As nostalgic pop music of the 1980s and ’90s fuel spontaneous song and dance, the pair explore reconciliation, jealousy, and self-discovery.

From writer-director Allan Deberton, The Best Friend is a vibrant gay musical, blending romance and rhythm within the coastal paradise of Brazil while celebrating gay love with lighthearted charm and infectious energy.

Watch the trailer for The Best Friend below. The film is now available exclusively on Dekkoo!