Category: Short Film

Short Film Spotlight: The Black Widow

While cycling through the streets of Marseille, Alfredo (Siro Pedrozzi), a young Italian student, crashes his bike. Seeking help, he stumbles upon a strange porno theater – seemingly imported from another time – during the screening of a mysterious film called La Vedova Nera (The Black Widow).

Once inside, reality begins to morph with the images on the screen, creating one single terrifying dimension. Consumed with thoughts of sadomasochism, murder and graphic gay sex, our protagonist finds himself trapped somewhere between fear and arousal as he looks to make his escape from this disorienting dream space.

A colorful homage to giallo films – and the work of Dario Argento in particular – this provocative, mind-bending 21-minute queer horror short from co-directors Fiume and Julian McKinnon is backed with bold and incredibly creepy cinematic imagery you won’t soon forget.

Watch a short teaser trailer for The Black Widow below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Thank You, Places

With numerous short films to their names, we have become big fans of collaborative filmmakers Jono Mitchell and Madison Hatfield. Their work is intelligent, heartfelt and unapologetically queer.

Thank You, Places, the latest short co-directed by Hatfield and Taylor Coriell and starring Mitchell, is a winning romantic comedy about a backstage breakup that comes at an inopportune time.

The 8-minute film follows actors Grant and Jimmy (Mitchell and Braian Rivera Jimenez), who fell for one another while working together on what they both admit is an absolutely dreadful community theater play.

Now that Grant has dumped Jimmy before the play’s run has ended, they have to find a way to make it through a performance without killing one another or potentially ruining their already terrible stage production further.

Thank You, Places is a love letter to theater, queer romance and the jaded and idealistic artists that are always at war inside each of us.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Thank You, Places below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Touching

A hidden secret borne of mutual self-discovery hides behind the bedroom door of brothers David and Marek (Herman Tajovský and Krystof Brand).

Though it all starts out as relatively innocent experimentation, Marek starts to feel that their curiosity has crossed the limits of brotherly love. When he begins to distance himself, the younger David struggles to understand why his beloved older brother’s attitude has suddenly shifted.

A mesmerizing 39-minute short film from Czech writer-director Dominik György, The Touching has a timeless quality that fits perfectly with the narrative’s boyhood coming-of-age themes. Filmed in black and white in a 1.33 aspect ratio, the film feels like it could have been made during just about any time over the last sixty years.

Handling deeply uncomfortable subject matter with intelligence, style and grace, the film earned numerous awards at festivals all around the world – and marked György as a distinct cinematic voice worth keeping an eye on. As of now, his resume only includes shorts, but we can’t wait to see what he’s able to do with a feature length film.

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

Short Film Spotlight: Skinny Fat

In Skinny Fat, a short Welsh comedy based on real events by writer-director Mathew David, a gay man confronts his insecurities in a store changing room, triggering him to relive a past trauma.

The filmmaker also stars as Mathew, a 33-year-old man shopping with his mom, Bernie (played by British comedy legend Ruth Madoc). Trying to find the perfectly fitting shirt proves difficult: the smalls are too small everything else is too big.

Mathew’s belly fat becoming the all-consuming focus of his attention causes his mother to be concerned about his behavior. Flashbacks to an abusive relationship with his ex-boyfriend only lead him deeper down the rabbit hole.

Being a loving mother, Bernie tries, through kindness and charm, to break him out of this dangerous path of self-sabotage. But can she pull him out of the darkness? Will Mathew find a way to be happy in his own skin? Or will he be destined to live in fear of his own body?

Watch a clip from Skinny Fat below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: That Dark Day

Fábio (Miguel Filpi) is a young trans man from Sao Paulo who works as a caregiver for the elderly. Mourning the end of a recent love affair, his memories and dreams offer a closer look at his coming-of-age and the dilemmas he faced while coming to understand his gender and sexuality.

Everything starts coming into focus for Fábio when he begins working for Louise (Isabelle Lenoble), an elderly cisgender woman who is living far away from any close friends or family. Slowly dying of a terminal illness, Fábio becomes her rock. As weeks go by, their relationship matures into one of abiding affection and deep understanding.

Living in a polarized society, fraught with political and financial turmoil, the pair begin to rely solely on one another and start learning how to say their goodbye – he to a cherished relationship and the person he used to be; and she to life itself.

From Brazilian writer-director Daniel Guarda, That Dark Day is a profoundly emotional 29-minute short film that will linger with you long after the credits roll.

Celebrated at screenings around the world, the film won the ‘Silver Rabbit Award,’ the Audience Choice for Best Brazilian Short Film, at MixBrasil Festival of Diversity Culture when it debuted in 2022.

Watch the trailer for That Dark Day below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.