Category: Pride

‘The Radical’ introduces Muhsin Hendricks, the world’s first openly gay Imam

Four years in the making, The Radical offers up an intimate portrait of Muhsin Hendricks, a Capetonian former dress designer who came out in 1996 and became the world’s first openly gay Imam.

Today, even under the threat of death, he leads a devoted group of queer Muslims through the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, an organization that supports the LGBTQ+ community and runs various educational and empowerment programs that help Muslims reconcile their sexuality with their faith.

Filmmaker Richard Finn Gregory follows Hendricks to East Africa to film his work with queer Muslim activists in the countries where their very identity is still outlawed.

The film provides first-person accounts of growing up queer as a South African Muslim in a society caught between the liberalism of its constitution and the conservativeness of its cultures and history, chronicling individual journeys to queer acceptance and the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights across the entire continent of Africa.

Watch the trailer for The Radical below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: First Kiss

The new short film First Kiss follows Andi (Julio Bohigas-Couto), a shy teen living in a small commuter town who has yet to experience his first kiss with another boy.

The only person that even knows he’s gay is his straight older brother Raúl (Álvaro Lucas), who, though supportive, makes a sport of teasing him about losing his virginity. Today, though, Andi feels as if everything is about to change. He has his first official date with Néstor (Aritz Itoiz), a city-boy his own age whom he met on Instagram.

After traveling to Madrid on the train, he meets up with the adorable Néstor and his eyes are soon opened to a whole new world of acceptance. The pair peruse the literary offerings at a colorful queer book store, enjoy some penis-shaped pastries at a gay-friendly bakery, open up to one another about their coming-out experiences and finally, blessedly, find themselves locking lips before it’s time to say goodnight.

Their moment of joy is cut short, however, by the arrival of some less-than-tolerant passersby who haven’t learned how to mind their own business. By the end of the night, Andi has learned numerous lessons – some wonderful, some despicable – about openly gay urban life.

From writer-director Miguel Lafuente, First Kiss is a deeply heartfelt coming-of-age short about opening up to the people who love you and standing firm in who you are, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Watch the trailer for First Kiss 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.

Two men’s marriage plans cause a media firestorm in the romantic drama ‘Mysterious Ways’

From Paul Oremland, the New Zealand-based filmmaker behind 100 Men, Surveillance 24/7 and Like It Is, Mysterious Ways tells the powerful and courageous story of two men who become torn between their faith, their families and their love for one another.

Anglican priest Peter (played by British actor Richard Short, from The Tragedy of Macbeth and the Canadian TV series ‘Mary Kills People’) and boyfriend Jason (played by newcomer Nick Afoa) want to get married.

For Anglicans, this is not allowed – and homosexuality itself is still taboo in Samoan culture. Samoan-Kiwi Jason has to deal with his family’s strict cultural beliefs while Peter clashes with the Anglican Church hierarchy.

When news of their marriage plans make headlines, it scandalizes the devout local community and unleashes a media storm that pushes the couple’s relationship to the limit.

A searing critique of the church’s attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community, Mysterious Ways is an impassioned and moving drama.

In the words of director Oremland, “Most religions still see being gay as sinful. This does huge harm to millions of people in terms of self-esteem, family rejection and legitimizing hatred. A love story where God is on our side is a powerful statement that is needed now more than ever.”

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

Short Film Spotlight: Life In Love with Nick and Kaiden

Meet new couple Nick and Kaiden. They’re navigating an unconventional work life and the politics of London’s queer community, as well as their blossoming partnership. Will their relationship, first built on sexual desire and lust, turn into the year’s sweetest love story?

Love should be a safe space, and Nick and Kaiden have spent the first few weeks of their relationship crafting that intimate, personal enclave. Shaving one another’s butts, talking about the complexities of sex work, and clubbing at queer parties in Leeds – it’s all there.

As we find out, their tentative first steps together reflect how important it is to stay raw and playful with each other.

Filmed as part of a docudrama series exploring Gen Z’s relationships, trysts and every encounter in between, Life in Love with Nick and Kaiden has been released as a stand-alone short film offering a glimpse into the most intimate moments of one young couple’s blossoming love affair.

Watch the trailer for Life in Love with Nick and Kaiden below. The short documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Paper Airplanes

A teen boy’s spiritual and sexual awakenings coincide in the poetic 17-minute short Paper Airplanes.

Santiago Cabrera stars in the film at Mateo, a young man who is living with his casually overbearing aunt while grappling with the loss of his mother.

In this vulnerable state, he finds himself unexpectedly connecting with the spiritual realm. Suddenly he’s being followed by the ghost of Enrique (Alex Orellana), a recently deceased classmate, who is rumored to have killed himself after his parents discovered that he was gay.

Comforted by Enrique’s spectral presence, the two grow increasingly closer. But is Mateo really experiencing supernatural visions – or is this his mind’s way of dealing with his own grief and repressed desires?

A meditative film from Ecuadorian writer-director Rob Mendoza, Paper Airplanes is a thoughtful and romantic queer ghost story, as well as a coming-of-age fable about growing into your own skin and learning to say goodbye.

Watch the trailer for Paper Airplanes below. The full short film is now available on Dekkoo.

It’s time for your next check-up! ‘Metro Sexual’ returns with a hilarious new season!

Metro Sexual, Australia’s first sitcom led by LGBTQ+ characters, is back with a brand-new season.

Filmed in a mockumentary style, the series stars Riley Nottingham and Geraldine Hickey as Langdon and Steph, two Melbourne-based sexual health doctors who have their work cut out for them.

In Metro Sexual: Season Two, their lives are turned upside down when a new dating app causes an explosion of sexually transmitted infections across the state.

While the first season featured a collection of short 10-minute episodes, Season Two has been expanded to become a proper half-hour sitcom. The longer episode format allowed the creators to tell more complex stories, add more main characters and write more nuanced season-long arcs, all while continuing their commitment to use the show to destigmatize sexual health issues.

Watch the trailer for the new season below. Both seasons of Metro Sexual are now available 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.

Ten men deliver ten different ‘Confessions’ in this intimate, genre-hopping anthology film

What secrets are to be found beneath the surface of the average gay man? Taking a peak behind numerous curtains, writer-director Mark Bessenger’s Confessions, aims to answer that very question.

An anthology film, featuring ten different disclosures from ten different men, Confessions goes deep inside the recesses of the gay male psyche.

We meet a young man who has to find the bravery to tell his parents that he’s a puppet, despite the fact they think that puppets are disgusting and abnormal. We meet another man who slowly undresses while revealing that he may have kidnapped someone and is holding him hostage in his basement.

In another segment, a hot young guy talks about what he’s really looking for as he lies in the arms of another man. And in perhaps the most interesting of all the vignettes, a man slowly shaves off his beard, changing his appearance and finding a new persona that allows him to explore the fact that, despite being with a woman, he has strong desires for men.

Spanning themes that are dark, sexy, intense, funny, romantic and shocking, Confessions turns a spotlight on characters you don’t often get to see – but will not want to turn away from.

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