Short Film – Discover great gay stories.

New This Week – 5/17/19

Robin Williams, in on of his final roles, plays a devoted husband in a marriage of convenience who is forced to confront his secret life. Stream ‘Boulevard’ now on Dekkoo.com!

Javi, a young man from East Los Angeles, is being harassed by his homophobic neighbor. As tensions escalate, he must decide whether to confront his tormentor or turn the other cheek. ‘Pitbull’ is available now on Dekkoo!

A young teacher Ernst falls head over heels in love with the transvestite star Robi Rapp and finds himself torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality. ‘The Circle’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: One woman, one man, a lot of weed, a little crying and absolutely NO sexual attraction whatsoever.

Thoughts on Writhing

HIV is the shadow that seems to lurk behind all gay men. Due to poor sex education in schools that all but ignore homosexual safe-sex practices, a lack of openness with parents in talking about sex to their queer youths, and other various reasons, HIV continues to be prevalent among gay men. According to a study the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ran in 2017, 66% of people with HIV obtained it from male-to-male sexual contact. For the younger generations who didn’t experience the onset of the AIDS epidemic firsthand, there’s often an attitude of “that couldn’t happen to me.” That is, until there’s a scare, and they end up in a doctor’s office waiting for the results of their antibody test.

This is the very scenario shown in Writhing, a beautiful short film that mixes contemporary dance and ethereal narrative to convey the agonizing feeling after your finger is pricked. Director and writer, Robert John Torres, has created a stunning and meaningful work of art that perfectly encapsulates the experience many gay men know all too well. The beauty of this film lies in the contrast between Everett (the main character) as he goes in to get the HIV test and the Red Man that twists and writhes in haunting shots that evoke feelings of pain and turmoil.

It seems that Torres’ concept of sporadic contemporary dance symbolizes both the gut-churning anticipation of waiting to find out your HIV status and the disease itself. The Red Man is painted head to toe in red and adorned with leather restraints including a mask, juxtaposing HIV and all of the stigma, fear, and tolls it takes on its bearer with the physical act of dancing.

For the majority of the short film, we see the dancer in a bed as Everett has quiet moments of fearful contemplation. The Red Man appears more and more as the film continues, the climax of his role appearing when Everett is sharing his fears with the counselor administering the test. It’s at this point when the Red Man is showcased in a strobing double-exposure where he looks as if he’s being tortured. It isn’t until the counselor gives Everett some kind words of support that the red figure is seen outside, dancing with more grace than we’ve previously seen and breaking free from his symbolic ties to the bed.

This short film is a mesmerizing foray into one man’s journey that dips in and out of reality, and we couldn’t recommend it more. You can view Writhing right here on Dekkoo, available for streaming now.

New This Week – 5/10/19

In 1969 police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city’s gay community. With this outpouring of courage and unity the Gay Liberation Movement had begun. June 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of these riots. In honor of that historical moment we present this emotionally potent documentary about how LGBTQ people became a vibrant and integral part of America’s family, and, indeed, the world community. Watch ‘After Stonewall’ now on Dekkoo!

Scott, a mild-mannered gay writer in Los Angeles, gets wrapped up into a world of bad boys and their crime-filled past after being adopted as their “Daddy Scott”, whether he likes it or not. ‘Bad Boy’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!

Kai and Tobi share one last night together, remembering a beautiful weekend they once had away from the oppression of Tobi’s homophobic mother – before the light of the world has been put out in this beautiful, romantic and heartbreaking end times drama. Stream ‘1 Last Chance at Paradise’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Robin Williams stars in one of his final performances.

New To Dekkoo – 5/3/19

At the suggestion of a straight friend, gay man Leo joins a men’s group, where he causes some upsets by declaring his attraction to one of its members. Watch ‘Bedrooms & Hallways’ now on Dekkoo!

A couple on the verge of separation explore the fear of being single. The gay short film ‘Circles’ is now available on Dekkoo!

This colorful and sexy feel-good musical comedy follows Paul and Eddie, two hot young actors staring in a stage play that adds a healthy dose of homo-eroticism to the story of Genesis. As the two young performers dive deeper into their roles, their love lives start to mirror the themes they’re dealing with in the play. Watch ‘The Big Gay Musical’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Required viewing for anyone who believes in equal rights for all. – The Apollo Guide

New This Week – 4/26/19

When Josef arrives at John’s apartment for a date, their prickly energy slowly gives way to genuine chemistry. But after swallowing a pill with mind-bending effects, Josef quickly slides helplessly down a rabbit hole of temporal sleight-of-hand, plunged into a surreal interrogation of everything he is. ‘The Skin of the Teeth’ is streaming exclusively on Dekkoo!

Avery D. Wilson is a confident and conscientious pillar of his community…but it wasn’t always that way. In this powerful short doc, Wilson reflects on his troubled childhood, reckoning with the conflicts between sexuality, faith and family and growing up to become “Mr. United States.” Stream the gay short, ‘Mr. United States’ now on Dekkoo!

Upon the death of his mother, a gay man in blue collar America returns to his childhood home. There he discovers a cardboard time machine that he made when he was a boy. As he uses it to get glimpses of his future, he ponders the weight of his life’s choices. Dekkoo Films is proud to present ‘How to Get From Here to There’ streaming now, only on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: “Seldom has blasphemy been so entertaining…” – Variety

Short Film Spotlight: Writhing

“I’ve been putting it off for so long, it’s almost funny how easy that was.”

“Yeah, I know, right? You think in the back of your head it’s gonna be this intense thing and it’s literally like 15 seconds.”

“Nobody tells you that.”

Part work of ethereal realism, part dance film, the twelve-minute short Writhing follows a young man facing the probability of a positive HIV diagnosis. Writer-director Robert John Torres (who also co-stars as a supportive clinic counselor) takes us through the process. While the film doesn’t provide any easy answers, it does offer a great deal of compassion.

Everett (Reed Alvarado), a young gay man, is “pretty certain” that he has contracted HIV. However, he has been mentally and emotionally unwilling to bring himself in for testing. Finally working up the courage, he confesses his fear to a friend (Elizabeth B. Bates). He wants to go alone, finally ready to face the truth.

Torres has a wide variety of visual tricks up his sleeve, perfectly deployed the convey Everett’s uneasy emotions. Vape smoke frequently crowds the frame, standing as a metaphor for the lead character’s hazy uncertainty. There’s also a man (Keanu Uchida), credited as “humanoid figure” who gives meaning to the film’s title. Clad in a leather harness with pink skin, he dances, contorts and literally writhes on Everett’s bed in a perpetual state of unrest. His presence creates a strange juxtaposition with the seemingly ordinary West Coast suburban neighborhood we see out the window.

Clearly, not everything is alright with Everett at this moment… but it will be again (regardless of the results of his test).

Writhing is now available to stream on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 4/19/19

This third and final film of the Falls trilogy revisits former Mormon missionaries Chris and RJ, six years after they first fell in love and were disciplined for it, as they formulate a plan to be together at long last. Stream ‘The Falls: Covenant of Grace’ now on Dekkoo!

Dekkoo Films presents a short film that is one part work of ethereal realism and one part dance film. This contemporary-set film follows a young man facing the probability of an HIV+ diagnosis. ‘Writhing’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: After his date takes a shocking turn, a man is plunged into a surreal interrogation of just who and what he is.