Category: Religion
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: 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.
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.
An unexpected love triangle forms in Maryam Touzani’s acclaimed romance ‘The Blue Caftan’
Set in one of Morocco’s oldest medinas, The Blue Caftan follows husband and wife Halim and Mina (Saleh Bakri and Lubna Azabal), who run a traditional caftan store, specializing in hand-sewn, made-to-measure garments.
Together, they share a love for the craft, the beauty of fabrics, the history of the artisans and the skills passed down through generations. Most days Halim can be found carefully crafting traditional caftans with detailed embroidery, committing historical significance to each enduring stitch.
Trying to keep up with demand, the pair hire Youssef (Ayoub Missioui), a soft-spoken young apprentice who is eager to learn everything he can from his new mentor. But when Youssef’s interest in Halim takes a romantic turn, it sets up a deeply complicated and unexpected love triangle.
Mina observes the two men with a mixture of jealousy and chagrin as their attraction to one another grows stronger. The dynamics among the three of them begin to evolve in surprising ways that reveal depths of understanding, generosity, and kindness – and illustrate the possibilities of love even under the most difficult circumstances.
With her second feature film, writer-director Maryam Touzani perfectly captures the intimacy and tenderness in human relationships. The Blue Caftan tells a story of unparalleled adoration, one centered on laughter and longing over the popular expectations of love.
Watch the trailer for The Blue Caftan below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
‘Perfect Obedience’ is a hard-hitting religious drama based on a shocking true story
A disturbing coming-of-age drama from Mexican filmmaker Luis Urquiza, Perfect Obedience follows Julián (Sebastián Aguirre Boëda), a naïve thirteen-year-old boy who travels from the arms of his loving family into the austere and secretly sinister halls of a local seminary.
Father Ángel (Juan Manuel Bernal), the institution’s leader, sees something special in young Julián. The priest singles him out as his own personal disciple, installing him in his palatial private quarters and even giving him a new name. He also teaches him about the concept of ‘perfect obedience,’ the cardinal rule of which is to never question a superior’s authority.
Over the course of one year, the two become unnaturally close, surrendering to the most intense, blissful and contradictory episode of their lives.
Years later, now older and wiser, Julián (played as an adult by Alfonso Herrera) begins to regret their relationship. After leaving the order, he decides to seek justice from his once all-too-powerful religious tutor.
Based on the shocking true story of Marcial Maciel, the “Legion of Christ” founder who was revealed to have a long history of carefully covered-up child abuse, this hard-hitting, award-winning film proves an intense and unforgettable drama, both chilling and heartbreaking in equal measure.
Watch the trailer for Perfect Obedience below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
An ancient creature spurs a young man’s sexual awakening in the stylish thriller ‘Carnal Sins’
After experiencing relentless bullying at school, Nino (Nicolás Díaz) and his family decide to spend the summer in a remote country house in Argentina.
This temporary home is situated in a conservative Catholic town and surrounded by a mysterious forest, supposedly haunted by ‘the Almamula,’ a monster that takes those who commit carnal sins and impure acts.
Unable to escape blatant homophobia and the suffocating grip of Catholic traditions, Nino wanders around the area and begins to see visions of the titular mythic monster.
With temptation and curiosity around every corner, he wonders how long it will take before this creature pushes his desires to their breaking point.
In Carnal Sins, promising first-time feature director Juan Sebastián Torales captures the turmoil of adolescence with a dark sense of humor and unflinching honesty, creating a truly beguiling narrative that takes hold of your imagination and never lets go.
Watch the trailer for Carnal Sins below. The film is now streaming exclusively 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.
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.
‘Supernatural’ is a heady sci-fi fantasia – an art film, political essay and erotic gay drama
One hundred years into the future, an unseen leader transforms Thailand into a strange new world where everything is orderly, citizens earn merit through good deeds and humans are forbidden from touching one another.
For the characters in Supernatural, nostalgia for the past, as well as the painful longing for some form of sexual intimacy, are starting to take their toll. Jumping backward in time, the past lives of three of these characters are revealed.
Packed with gorgeous imagery and sensual homoeroticism, Thai writer-director Thunska Pansittivorakul’s heady sci-fi fantasia amplifies the power of touch while telling an epic story with limited resources. Part experimental art film, part political essay and part erotic gay drama, the film tells individual stories that take place in both the past and the future while commenting on gay life in the present.
Watch the trailer for Supernatural below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
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