Category: Religion
Short Film Spotlight: Conditional Desire
Tunisian director Houcem Slouli’s award-winning 15-minute short film Conditional Desire follows Ahmed and Salma (Slim Dhib and Imene Ghazouani) , two young gay adults who, despite residing in a society that values conformity, strive to remain honest with themselves.
Unfortunately, they find that they must grapple with a heart-wrenching psychological burden as they sacrifice their happiness to meet the expectations of others.
Having found one another, they married for convenience – seeking the freedom to pursue their passions while masquerading as a heterosexual couple.
With secret lovers representing their true identities, they navigate emotional challenges, questioning the sacrifices they’re forced to make to preserve their secret.
A stirring short drama, Conditional Desire explores identity, love and the effort it takes to stay true in a deeply restrictive world.
Watch the trailer for Conditional Desire below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
A conservative politician keeps a boyfriend on the side in the erotic thriller ‘The Senator’
Brazilian Senator Arthur Alencar leads a double life. To the media and his constituents, he is a conservative champion of morality whose embrace of traditional family values has led to a surge in popularity.
Renan, his younger, long-suffering secret gay lover, gets to see a much different side of the charismatic politician – and it’s not always pretty.
Torn between his politics and his heart, Renan’s predicament intensifies when he starts falling in love with Victor, an ambitious journalist who is determined to expose the senator’s hypocritical life. But as the truth inches closer to the surface, it begins to spell grave danger for everyone involved.
From Brazilian filmmaker Mauro Carvalho, who co-directed About Us and Cousins with collaborator Thiago Cazado, The Senator is a sly and subversively sexy erotic thriller that doubles as a wicked satire of conservative politics.
Check out the poster for The Senator below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
A father goes to great lengths to protect his son in the gripping drama ‘You’ll Never Be Alone’
Accomplished Chilean actor Sergio Hernández stars in You’ll Never Be Alone as Juan, the quiet, introverted manager of a mannequin factory who is hoping to be made partner after 25 years of devoted service.
At home, his 18-year-old son, Pablo (Andrew Bargsted), has dreams of stardom, studying dance at a respected art school. In addition to teaching neighborhood children choreographed dance numbers and clubbing with his best girlfriend on the weekends, Pablo’s life revolves around performing, auditioning and occasionally sneaking around to sleep with another boy from the neighborhood.
While Pablo and his widowed, hard-working dad don’t have a whole lot in common, neither seems to let that get in the way of caring for each other. Everything changes, however, when Pablo is brutally attacked by a group of homophobic kids.
With legal action and medical insurance proving costly, Juan makes the desperate decision to start seeking out his own form of justice.
Based on true events, this impressive debut film from musician Alex Anwandter tells a gripping story of betrayal and redemption. You’ll Never Be Alone is a stirring testament to a father’s love and a powerful treatise on Chile’s generational divide.
Watch the trailer for You’ll Never Be Alone below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Short Film Spotlight: Two-Headed Calves
The 29-minute short Two-Headed Calves follows bride and groom Johannes and Marie (Andreas Hammer and Jennifer Sabel).
At the beginning of the film, a torrential downpour breaks out in the middle of their outdoor wedding reception… and that turns out to be the least of their problems.
The biggest issue is that Johannes has been keeping a secret from Marie for the entirety of their relationship. He’s gay. He always has been, and he always will be. But that hasn’t stopped his meddling, conservative parents from trying to fix what they perceive as a problem.
Working with an unorthodox personal conversion therapist, Johannes momentarily believes he has overcome his own sexuality and can bring happiness to every disapproving person in his life – even if it comes at the cost of his own.
But when everything that can go wrong does go wrong during the wedding, it seems like a sign that he needs to start being open and honest – especially with his new bride.
Using a found footage aesthetic, German director Benjamin Kramme crafts a painfully funny family comedy that also brilliantly skewers the entire notion of conversion therapy.
Watch the trailer for Two-Headed Calves below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
‘The Harvesters’ explores sexuality, masculinity, and religion in a conservative farming community
The Harvesters follows Janno (Brent Vermeulen), a South African teen from a very particular type of family. His parents are deeply invested in religion, white Afrikaner solidarity and their farm. A sensitive boy, Janno’s interests lie elsewhere.
When his parents decide to bring a troubled, but charismatic kid named Pieter (Alex van Dyk) into the household, a struggle for dominance soon ensues.
As Pieter slyly draws various family members under his spell, Janno begins to sense that he’s being replaced as the favored son. The boys soon start a dangerous fight for power, heritage and parental love that will change both of their lives forever.
A stirring, subtly homoerotic take on the myth of Cain and Abel, The Harvesters explores repressed sexuality, religion and masculinity in the deep South African countryside. The feature-length debut of Greek-African filmmaker Etienne Kallosis, the film offers up tense and pitiless drama about the intersection of familial and cultural dynamics.
Watch the trailer for The Harvesters below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
Dekkoo Digest – 134
John Benjamin Hickey stars in beloved filmmaker Eytan Fox’s cross-cultural romance ‘Sublet’
Tony Award-winning theatre veteran John Benjamin Hickey stars in Sublet as Michael, a travel columnist for The New York Times who reluctantly goes on a trip to Tel Aviv to write an article after suffering a tragedy.
Leaving behind some unresolved relationship troubles with his husband, Michael just wants to do his research and fly back home as soon as possible. But when he sublets an apartment from Tomer, an incredibly attractive young film student played by newcomer Niv Nissim, he suddenly finds himself drawn into the life of the city.
The intense bond he forms with this casually seductive younger man ends up transforming both their lives in unexpected ways.
The newest feature from acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox, the writer-director behind Walk on Water and Yossi and Jagger, Sublet is sexy, charming, thought-provoking and ultimately life-affirming.
Watch the trailer for Sublet below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
An alluring stranger comes between three witchy siblings in the supernatural thriller ‘Cheat’
Originally produced by the Filipino network Hue TV, the new ‘Boys’ Love’ film Cheat is a campy psychological thriller with supernatural undercurrents.
A tale of stolen innocence, the film follows Vee (Daryll Rodriguez), an alluring and mysterious young man who comes from an unusually sheltered upbringing. When he befriends Dong, Jennifer and Jay (Migo de Vera, Allora Alcantara and Victor Relosa), a family of three siblings, along with their mother (Tuesday Vargas), who dabbles in witchcraft, his strange charms set off a series of events that will inflict devastating consequences.
As all three siblings begin to fall in love with the unusual stranger, jealously, lust and betrayal rear their ugly heads and Vee’s mere presence in the family’s life threatens to tear them apart.
With edgy supernatural soap opera vibes in the vein of ‘Supernatural’ or ‘Charmed,’ Cheat delves into the maelstrom of intimate relationships within a tightly knit family. It’s also got style and sex appeal to spare.
Watch the trailer for Cheat below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
A supernatural intervention brings closure to a complicated love affair in the Bollywood melodrama ‘Love is Love’
Taking inspiration from Ghost, the wildly campy Indian melodrama Love is Love tells the story of a complicated relationship that ended far too soon.
Jumping around in time, the film follows the romantic relationship that develops between childhood friends Aryan and Ashley (Kapil Kaustubh Sharma and Yuvraaj Parashar).
Though it took them a while to come to terms with their feelings – and caused much gossip within their tightknit circle of friends – the pair found their way into one another’s open arms.
When Ashley dies unexpectedly, it shakes Aryan to his very core. After two failed suicide attempts, an otherworldly intervention ensues. Ashley, aided by an older female sex worker with psychic abilities, reaches out to Aryan from beyond the grave in an effort to bring perspective and closure to their tragic love affair.
Originally created as part of a trilogy and re-edited for this U.S. release, Love is Love stirred up controversy in India as one of few Bollywood films to prominently feature gay characters and themes.
Watch the trailer for Love is Love below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
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