New This Week – 7/15/22

When Paulo, a young pianist, meets Ilir, a bass player, they quickly fall in love. The pair soon end up living together, but when Ilir leaves town for a concert and ends up in jail, their relationship faces almost insurmountable obstacles. From prolific writer-director David Lambert, ‘Beyond the Walls’ is a heartbreaking examination of the thrills, sacrifices and disappointments of falling in love. Watch ‘Beyond the Walls’ on Dekkoo!

During a seaside vacation, ten-year-old Remi finds himself becoming increasingly fascinated by Stephane, the father of one of his friends. This confusing new feeling proves quite powerful. Nobody seems to know what Remi is going through…least of all his handsome new crush. ‘The Swimming Trunks’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

A conservative professor at a Christian college goes undercover, passing himself off as a gay man in order to stop the launch of a homeless shelter for LGBTQ youth in his small town. But as he gets closer to the local gay community, he sets out on a journey of truth and compassion, learning that life and love are not as black and white as he once thought. Stream ‘At the End of the Day’ now on Dekkoo!

New This Week – 6/3/22

An exceptional and inspirational documentary, Oriented follows the lives of three gay Palestinian friends confronting their national and sexual identity in Tel Aviv. Determined to change their reality, the three best friends form a non-violent, cultural resistance movement, fighting for gender and national equality. ‘Oriented’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Matt, a stereotypical hetero cis white male, feels he has life figured out. All he has to do is keep following the status quo. This all changes, however, when he meets Ryan and the illusion of his idyllic life begins to crumble. ‘Ticking Boxes’ is a tense new nine-minute short film from director Robert Metson.

The seventh installment of this hit worldwide comedy-mystery series finds our favorite gay bears in more danger than ever when they’re targeted by a mysterious stalker while vacationing in sunny Palm Springs. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, someone is out to sabotage the “Mr. Bear America Pageant” where Reggie is serving as a celebrity judge. Watch ‘Wear The Bears Are 7’ now on Dekkoo!

__________________________

Coming next week: A film that follows the life and impact of iconic German New Wave director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Now Available: A Wake

A Wake is an affecting new drama about a family coping with the death of a teenage boy named Mitchel. Questions linger about the nature of Mitchel’s death, but no one seems to want to talk about it.

Mason (Noah Urrea), Mitchel’s identical twin, is desperate to reach his brother by any spiritual means in an effort to assuage his relentless guilt. Precocious preteen Molly (Sofia Rosinsky) presides over the ceremony, determined for it to go smoothly, but finds herself in over-her-head. And older sister Megan (Megan Trout), fueled by anger and alcohol, insists on asking the questions everyone’s been ignoring.

When Mitchel’s secret ex-boyfriend, Jameson (Kolton Stewart), shows up to the wake unexpectedly, the family is forced to confront realities about Mitchel’s life.  When the children clash with their elders over how to handle the situation, family members left torn apart look for solace in places they least expected it.

Watch the trailer for A Wake below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 7/2/21

***SEASON 3 IS NOW AVAILABLE***

In Kuntergrau, coming out is part of the past while sex and love is mundane. A group of five gay friends between 17 and 24 deal with everyday problems and experience the meaning of love, sex, and friendship. Watch season 3 of ‘Kuntergrau’ now on Dekkoo!

A young man’s tragic death at Beirut’s seaside causes his friends to grapple with loss and to partake in his community’s rites and ceremonies, exposing the city’s schisms and its society’s fault lines. ‘Martyr’ is available now on Dekkoo!

Akif, who has to look after his diseased father, is a draft dodger. He has no one to entrust his father to. There is only one way to avoid compulsory military service. He gets close to Ugur who is exempt from military service. ‘Akif’ is available now on Dekkoo!

_____________________

Coming next week: A film that explores all-consuming emotion with beguiling restraint, adding up to a delicately understated character study fueled by the power of love. 

Short Film Spotlight: Brothers

Winner of ten different jury and audience awards at various film festivals, the new short film Brothers follows a Muslim Arab boy who realizes he is different. Fortunately, he has an older brother who stands by him and encourages him to always be himself, even in the face of bias and adversity.

Written and directed by Mike Mosallam, the acclaimed filmmaker behind the series All-American Muslim and the recent gay romantic comedy hit Breaking Fast, this short film aims to shed light on LGBTQ+ oppression in a familial, religious space that has yet to be portrayed on screen.

Watch the official teaser trailer for Brothers below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 6/18/21

When Annamaria, a longtime friend of Alessandro and Arturo, ask the couple to take care of her children, the relationship between the two men reaches a point of no return. ‘The Goddess of Fortune’ is available to stream on Dekkoo!

‘Brothers’ follows a Muslim Arab boy who realizes he is different, and is fortunate to have an older brother who stands by him and encourages him to be himself, in the face of bias and adversity. ‘Brothers’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!

In the wake of the Birmingham protests against LGBTQ+ relationship education in primary schools, a team of queer community reporters of colour challenge homophobia and call out racism in LGBTQ+ spaces. Watch ‘Pride & Protest’ now on Dekkoo!

Desperate for connection and longing for a fresh way to find it, Bruce decides to explore his trusted dating app with a unique search for a new mate. Watch ‘Huckleberry’ now on Dekkoo!

_______________________

Coming next week: The Dekkoo-original series ‘Here Comes Your Man’.

Short Film Spotlight: Irish Goodbye

Two strangers from opposite ends of the earth meet in the City of Angels and embark upon an intense examination of trust, abandonment, tragedy and privilege in the new eighteen-minute short film Irish Goodbye.

Two strangers: a young, conflicted but devout Muslim refugee from Syria named Nizar and his night out with a quixotic Irishman, Eric. Along the way they will confront issues of trust, abandonment, tragedy, and privilege. The consequences of their adventure will haunt both men for long after the night is over.

Nizar (Abubakr Ali) is a young, conflicted but devout Muslim refugee from Syria. When he spends one unusually intimate night out with Eric (Jack Lowe), it quickly becomes clear that the consequences of their adventure will haunt both men for long after the sun has risen the following morning.

An official selection at countless LGBTQ+ film festivals, Irish Goodbye is the newest short film from prolific writer-actor-director-producer Adetokumboh M’Cormack. Born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, M’Cormack has been in the international entertainment industry for over 20 years. He has appeared in blockbuster Hollywood films like Captain America: Winter Soldier and Blood Diamond. His extensive television credits include appearances in TV shows like “Lost” and “NCIS” and has voiced characters like Nelson Mandela in True TV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” among many other projects both big and small.

Watch the trailer for Irish Goodbye below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 12/11/20

Second-generation Irani-German Parvis works at a refugee shelter where he meets brother and sister Irani refugees and develops a tenuous romance with Amon as his friends attempt refugee status. ‘No Hard Feelings’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Strangers from opposite ends of the earth: Nizar, a Syrian refugee and Eric an Irish tourist, meet in the City of Angels and embark on a journey of trust, abandonment, tragedy and privilege. Stream ‘Irish Goodbye’ now on Dekkoo!

Marcos lands in New York only to find out his layover flight to San Francisco has been canceled. Having nowhere to go, he ends up in his friend’s apartment with a complete stranger: Alan. ‘A Stormy Night’ is available now on Dekkoo!

______________________

Coming next week: Yet ANOTHER new release gay film comes to Dekkoo! You’re welcome!

Short Film Spotlight: Black Hat

At first blush, Shmuel (Adam Silver) is a pious Hasidic man leading a fairly simple life. By day he dutifully prays at the local synagogue and manages a busy dry cleaner. But when his wife and daughters leave town for a few days, Shmuel will step out of his simple daily life and into a more complex world lit by the night. When he misplaces his black hat along the way, Shmuel’s two lives will interconnect in a way he never expected.

The 15-minute short drama Black Hat follows twenty-four hours in the life of one Hasidic man that must wrestle with his own repressed identity. Through Shmuel’s story, writer Phillip Guttmann and director Sarah Smith raise the notion that these often mysterious and misunderstood religious individuals, typically only seen by the outside world on streets covered by hats and sheitels, are perhaps more complex – more like us – than we previously imagined.

Black Hat is “a story about loneliness and the feeling of being trapped between two worlds,” said director Smith. “Ultimately, this is a character study of a man searching for his place in the world, and our artistic approach will aim to support this main theme.”

Watch the trailer for Black Hat below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 11/27/20

A polyamorous male couple test the limits of a restrictive society when they become romantically entangled with a beautiful young woman. ‘The Taste of Betel Nut’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

A seemingly pious Hasidic man living a secret double life misplaces his black hat one night which will cause his two separate lives to collide in a way he never imagined. Watch ‘Black Hat’ now on Dekkoo!

John Curry transformed ice skating from a dated sport into an exalted art form. Coming out on the night of his 1976 Olympic win, he became the first openly gay Olympian in a time when homosexuality was not fully legal. Ferociously ambitious yet bent on self-destruction, Curry was an artist and an athlete whose body time and again – sometimes against his will – became a political battlefield. ‘The Ice King’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

_____________________

Coming next week – Dekkoo Films present a new original short film from the winner of our ‘Love & Distance’ short film competition!