Category: Short Film

Short Film Spotlight: Conditional Desire

Tunisian director Houcem Slouli’s award-winning 15-minute short film Conditional Desire follows Ahmed and Salma (Slim Dhib and Imene Ghazouani) , two young gay adults who, despite residing in a society that values conformity, strive to remain honest with themselves.

Unfortunately, they find that they must grapple with a heart-wrenching psychological burden as they sacrifice their happiness to meet the expectations of others.

Having found one another, they married for convenience – seeking the freedom to pursue their passions while masquerading as a heterosexual couple.

With secret lovers representing their true identities, they navigate emotional challenges, questioning the sacrifices they’re forced to make to preserve their secret.

A stirring short drama, Conditional Desire explores identity, love and the effort it takes to stay true in a deeply restrictive world.

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

Short Film Spotlight: (Un)Free Will

Prepare to have your spirits lifted thanks to the 24-minute comedy short (Un)Free Will.

In the world of the film, gay men are guided by forces stronger then themselves – namely, gay guardian angels!

Before he leaves for a two-week trip, Hunter (Gavyn Michaels) shows up to meet with his dog-sitter Alex (Ross Hutter). Despite their differences, there is an undeniable spark between the two young men. The only problem is that their unseen guardian angels (Brent Roberts and Derek DeVault) have a complicated history. When they’re not meddling in the affairs of their subjects, they’re bickering with one another.

Can these two lost souls put their personal differences aside in the name of good old fashioned human love? From writer/director Robby Kendall, (Un)Free Will is a clever anti-rom-com about learning to love yourself… even if it takes some divine intervention.

Watch a short trailer for (Un)Free Will below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

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.