Category: Pride

Get ready to go ‘Deep in Vogue’ with this documentary about the Manchester ICONS Ball

Over the course of one year, British documentary filmmakers Dennis Keighron-Foster and Amy Watson developed relationships with the house mothers and members of the local Manchester drag community – charting the buildup to the wild and wonderful ‘Manchester ICONS Vogue Ball.’

Deep in Vogue celebrates the colorful, emotional, political and deeply queer stories of the vogue scene in the United Kingdom and the many talented people involved in the community.

Synonymous with the gay ballrooms of ‘80s New York, this documentary asks why we need Vogue in Manchester now more than ever. While focusing their cameras around the Manchester ICONS Vogue Ball, the filmmakers examine important themes – like the disenfranchisement of black youth and the often reductive ways in which gay subcultures become commercialized.

Offering a deep and candid look at one welcoming community, Deep in Vogue is ultimately about people coming to love and accept themselves while finding a new family – and putting on a hell of a show in the process.

Watch the trailer for Deep in Vogue below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A personal video sparks a media firestorm in the acclaimed Singaporean drama ‘#LookatMe’

When twin brothers Sean and Ricky are invited to attend church with Sean’s girlfriend, they are treated to an Evangelical rock concert capped by a searing anti-gay sermon.

Incensed by what he’s seen, Sean, a Youtuber, decides to drop an outrageous video lampooning the megachurch’s pastor, but soon finds himself widely condemned – and even prosecuted – for flouting Singapore’s strict laws on public expression.

As Sean descends into near-madness in prison, Ricky gains prominence as an LGBTQ+ activist. Both find themselves at the heart of a culture war that spills out from social media into the real world.

Featuring an impressive lead performance by Yao (sometimes credited as Thomas Pang), an up-and-coming Singaporean actor who plays both brothers, #LookatMe blends together a wide variety of moods and genres, veering from deadly serious to colorfully camp without ever losing sight of its humanity.

Banned from screening in Singapore during a particularly ironic moment of life imitating art, director Ken Kwek’s acclaimed film tells a morally essential fable about social media celebrity, cancel culture and the erosion of basic human rights.

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

‘Jump, Darling’ showcases a knockout performance by the late, great Cloris Leachman

The late, great Cloris Leachman delivers one of her finest late-career film roles in the moving, critically-acclaimed comedy-drama Jump, Darling.

Thomas Duplessie stars in the film as Russell, a struggling actor who moonlights as a drag queen under the name of Fishy Falters. Finding himself at crossroads in both his career and personal life, he escapes to the country and into the arms of Margaret, his aging grandmother (played by Leachman).

The pair soon find themselves in a mutually beneficial arrangement. As Margaret fights to avoid being put in an assisted living facility, Russell decides to move in and help. He also takes to the stage once more, using a local bar to showcase his glamorous skills and strike up a new romance with an attractive young bartender.

Leachman’s unparalleled comic timing and grounded pathos are used to great effect in writer-director Phil Connell’s intimate, genuinely heartfelt story, which features show-stopping musical numbers and profound truths about family dynamics.

An award-winning crowd-pleaser with humor and heart to spare, Jump, Darling is a true must-see about love, family and maintaining your dignity – no matter what your age is.

Watch the trailer for Jump, Darling below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Logan Miller stars in the gripping gay indie family drama ‘Take Me to the River’

Writer-director Matt Sobel’s assured directorial debut Take Me to the River tells the story of an artsy, confident and proudly gay California teen who is reluctantly heading to Nebraska with his parents for a for a family reunion.

Logan Miller, the charismatic, scene-stealing young character actor from Love, Simon, Escape Room and countless indie gems, stars as Ryder, the gay teen in question. Though his parents are supportive, there is some question over how the rest of their extended family will react to his lifestyle.

After planning to come out to his conservative relatives, he agrees to hold off at his mother’s request. Nevertheless, he makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and eye-catching shades.

No one seems particularly impressed – except for a 9-year old cousin named Molly (played by Ursulla Parker), who follows him around adoringly. When they go to the barn to look for birds in the rafters and she comes back screaming and inconsolable, Ryder comes under suspicion from the rest of the family. In the process of clearing his name, he learns that some family secrets are better left in the dark.

Co-starring Robin Weigert, Richard Schiff and Josh Hamilton, Take Me to the River is a gripping, thoughtfully layered and superbly well-acted drama about clashing cultures, buried secrets and the ties that bind us.

Watch the trailer for Take Me to the River below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Mikey’s Army

When you are facing a crisis, who goes to battle for you?

In a time when queer kids face unprecedented attacks and hostility from lawmakers, educators and even their own families, writer Eric Ulloa and director Andrew Keenan-Bolger set out to make a short film that puts the beauty – and even magic – of queerness at center stage.

Mikey’s Army stars Markie Aquirre as Mikey Alvarez, a 16-year-old who finds himself at a pivotal moment. He must decide whether or not to be open and honest about his sexuality.

Not quite ready to come out on his own, Mikey unwittingly conjures a trio of guides who appear in an explosion of glitter and glitz. Backed up by a drag queen, an international pop star and an action film heartthrob, he finally finds the courage and confidence he needs to be honest about his feelings.

Featuring a cast of Broadway-regulars like Claybourne Elder and Krystina Alabado – alongside ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ alum Shuga Cain – Mikey’s Army is a thoughtful and touching film that aims to remind us that our differences can be superpowers – and that we’re never alone on the battlefield.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Mikey’s Army below. The 10-minute film is now available on Dekkoo.

Three teen outcasts band together in the Italian coming-of-age drama ‘One Kiss’

Young actors Rimau Ritzberger Grillo, Valentina Romani and Leonardo Pazzagli star in One Kiss as Lorenzo, Blu and Antonio, high school sophomores living in a small city in the North of Italy.

All three teens are outcasts, albeit for different reasons. Antonio is a jock, but gets picked on for his speech impediment. Blu has an unfair reputation in town for being promiscuous due to one prior indiscretion. Lorenzo is not afraid to be open about his sexuality, despite rampant homophobia.

Though they come from different backgrounds, the three share a strong bond and soon band together to fight against their oppressors. However, when Lorenzo starts making evident his attraction to Antonio, petty jealousies threaten to tear the trio apart.

Directed by Ivan Cotroneo, the prolific writer behind Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 international hit I Am Love, One Kiss plays around with the expectations of your typical teen coming-of-age movie. This is a film about friendship and emerging sexuality that isn’t afraid to go deep and show both the brightest and darkest moments of adolescence.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Jean Fell in Love

A pulse-pounding and ultimately heart-warming 20-minute short from French writer-director Romain Roellet, Jean Fell in Love follows events that take place during the final weeks of a heated rugby tournament.

Jean (Simon Rerolle), the star player of his team, is on the cusp of earning a much-coveted trophy. When he meets Ayoub (Tristan Zanchi), a newcomer from an opposing team, the spark between them is immediately apparent.

The pair make plans to get together for a walk through the park the following day. When Ayoub kisses Jean for the first time, however, they’re inconveniently spotted by Greg (Pierre Louis Laugérias), a less-then-supportive teammate whose over-the-top homophobia betrays a not-so thinly veiled jealousy.

News soon travels to the locker room, where Jean is forced out of the closet before he’s ready. Finally faced with the truth, he decides that it’s time to start winning on his own terms.

With terrific performances, a charming romance at its core and lots of hot athletic flesh on display, Jean Fell in Love is ready to make you swoon and break a sweat.

Watch a short trailer for Jean Fell in Love below. The film is now available to watch on Dekkoo.

‘A Little Lust’ tackles bullying, homophobia and hormonal urges with a vibrant and funny Italian sensibility

There’s nothing wrong with a little lust as long as you keep it in check.

For sixteen-year-old Rocco (Andrea Amato), that’s getting harder to do. His two hormonally-charged aims in life are to finally get laid and to go see his favorite pop star in concert with his best friends – sassy and tomboyish Maria (Carolina Pavone) and nerdy and quiet Mauri (Francesco De Miranda).

When a bullying incident at school forces Rocco to come out of the closet to his divorced, middle-class Italian parents, their liberal leanings are severely tested. Luckily, his two friends stand by him and quickly latch on to his impulsive plan to run away from home… in his parents’ stolen car, no less.

The three buds are planning to go see their favorite singer in concert. They don’t realize, though, that they’re being followed hot on the heels by Rocco’s neurotic mother and his eccentric grandma – to hilarious effect.

A vibrant and funny Italian family comedy from director and co-star Veronica Pivetti, A Little Lust is both immersive and heartwarming – plus there’s a sweet, romantic twist you won’t want to miss.

Watch the trailer for A Little Lust below. The film is now available to stream on Dekkoo.

Director Jared Watmuff’s award winning short film ‘Hey You’ packs a shocking and tragic punch

In April of 2017, over 100 different people were reportedly abducted, tortured and murdered by authorities in Chechnya as part of a heinous crackdown against the LGBTQ+ community. Some of these people were directly targeted and entrapped using dating apps. Ongoing prosecutions, mysterious disappearances and additional waves of attacks continued soon after.

Hey You, a shocking, but deeply important 4-minute short film from writer-director Jared Watmuff, explores this topic head-on.

At the start of Hey You, it seems that we’re watching an ordinary connection transpire between two men on Grindr. Soon enough, however, we realize that we’re seeing the experiences of two men from very different places – and how their simple pursuit of companionship plays out in wildly divergent ways.

A winner of numerous awards at film festivals around the globe, Hey You exposes how, with the convenience of social media and dating apps, our hard-fought rights and freedoms can be taken for granted – and how, for many others, the fight for those freedoms is far from over.

We do feel the need to warn you that the film contains scenes and imagery that most viewers will – and should – find deeply disturbing. This film does not shy away from the tragic reality of the situation.

Watch a short trailer for Hey You below. The full short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Things You Think I’m Thinking

An award-winning short film from director Sherren Lee, The Things You Think I’m Thinking stars Station Eleven regular Prince Amponsah as Sean, a gay man struggling with emotional insecurities and body image issues as he embarks on his first date with another man since being badly scarred and losing both his arms in a house fire.

Though Sean and his new date Caleb (played by Jesse LaVercombe, the film’s screenwriter) hit it off while flirting at the bar, things get tense when they return to Sean’s apartment and Caleb tries to take their budding relationship into the bedroom.

The two soon realize that they need to communicate honestly – and not, like on so many dates before, assume what one another are thinking.

LaVercombe wrote this 14-minute short as a tribute to Amponsah. An accomplished Canadian stage actor, The Things You Think I’m Thinking marked his first film role after returning to the stage in 2016, following his own real-life injuries in a 2012 apartment fire.

The film went on to win multiple awards – including the Jury Prize for Best International Short Film at Outfest in 2018, a Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Canadian Film Festival and the award for Best Canadian Short Film at the 2018 Inside Out Film and Video Festival.

Watch a short teaser clip from The Things You Think I’m Thinking below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.