Category: Short Film

Short Film Spotlight: (Il)legal Asterisk

Are we defined by how we see ourselves or how we’re perceived by the outside world?

An experimental, uniquely philosophical short from director Fabrizio Bancale, the 20-minute film (Il)legal Asterisk (originally titled Asterisco (Il)legale) employs three Italian actors (Bruno Petrosino, Orazio Rotolo Schifone and Mauro Toscanelli) to examine that very question.

Pulling from stories both personal and historical, the film playfully jumps around, introducing different settings and characters whose inherent queerness – and their ability to express themselves – has been either discouraged or outright destroyed by societal forces beyond their control.

Handling heavy topics with a light, charismatic touch, the film explores how expressing oneself, coming out and/or living life according to one’s own choices can cost dearly when the law of the land does not offers adequate protection.

With the fight for true freedom being far from over, (Il)legal Asterisk investigates our shared past while shedding a light on our present.

Watch the trailer for (Il)legal Asterisk below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: A Boy’s Dream

A Boy’s Dream is a beautiful, thoughtful, and stylish 30-minute relationship drama from up-and-coming Danish filmmaker Ludvig Christian Poulsen.

Elias has always dreamed of having children and starting a family. In contrast, his boyfriend Christian values their current free-spirited lifestyle – arguing that adopting children will cut into their time and resources to travel, make it difficult to purchase expensive designer furniture, and potentially interfere with their desire for one another.

Elias has managed to suppress his feelings for a long time. Once he takes a new job as a psychologist at a boarding school, however, the dam finally breaks. He realizes that he must come to terms with the fact that he and Christian may never be able to compromise on their separate visions of the future.

Watch the trailer for A Boy’s Dream below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Intermission

Life imitates art in Intermission, a 25-minute drama from Spanish writer-director Arnau Vilaró. The film follows David (David Selvas), a middle-aged actor who is preparing to star in a new stage production.

After rehearsing a dramatic monologue about nostalgia and melancholy, he receives an unexpected phone call that sends him on a journey of his own. Though we don’t immediately know why, David is suddenly compelled to seek out a former long-term partner named Gerard.

The news he has to share, concerning a mysterious matter set in motion years prior, has the potential to change both of their lives… as long as it’s not too late.

Deliberately paced and packed with mystery, Intermission is a stylish drama about aging, self-reflection, and the relationships that make us who we are.

Watch the trailer for Intermission below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Cure

Renal (Nikita Kochnev), a 17-year-old from Russia, is suffering at the hands of his abusive father (Aleksandr Dzuba), who feels his son does not live up to typical masculine ideals.

After a particularly violent incident, Uncle Dayan (Oleg Kamenshikov), his father’s well-meaning, but woefully ignorant brother, swoops in looking to save the day. In an effort to make a man out of Renal and prove his masculinity, he brings the shy, introverted teen to a small brothel where he can pay to lose his virginity.

Though he’d never dare say it out loud, Renal isn’t particularly interested in the sex workers that are offered to him.

A heartbreaking 12-minute drama from Ukraine-based director Taisia Deeva, The Cure features very little dialog, but manages to convey a lot of emotional subtext about growing up gay and struggling against the oppression of homophobia and toxic masculinity in modern-day Russia.

Watch a short teaser for The Cure below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.