Martin (Paul Delbreil), an aspiring young filmmaker, arrives in Paris in a desperate attempt to reunite with his first love, Lea (Adele Csech). Though lively, cultured and curious, Lea is not very happy. Although she doesn’t quite know what her future is going to look like, she’s pretty sure that it won’t include Martin as a romantic partner.
Reluctantly, Martin begins to accept the fact that their relationship is truly over. Now he must find a way to rebuild his life from scratch. He’s just starting to do that when, much to his surprise, he ends up falling head-over-heels in love… with another man.
Sexy, romantic, funny and poignant, Love Blooms takes a sensitive look at sexual discovery, young love and trying to find yourself, while struggling to become a mature adult.
You can watch the trailer for Love Blooms below. The full film is now available on Dekkoo.
Kevin James Thornton—the creator of How to Get From Here To There—is a man of many talents. From writing to directing to even scoring the film, Thornton used his diverse skill set to produce this emotionally visceral amalgam of a movie that seems to fall into the categories of drama, experimental, and sci-fi all at once. As our protagonist—known as Commander—deals with the loss of his mother, he also struggles with his past decisions that have left him alone and defeated. But what if our destinies aren’t set in stone? An encounter with a make-believe time machine from his childhood will allow Commander to explore just that.
Tell us a little bit about who Kevin James Thornton is:
My life has taken a lot of weird tangents. I moved to Nashville about two decades ago with my band to pursue a record deal. We succeeded and toured for many years. I spent a little while doing comedy in Los Angeles and even wrote for the Huffington Post. Eventually, I started taking portraits and making short films and music videos. Today, I consider myself a full-time filmmaker. It really brings all of my life experiences together into one medium.
What was your main source of inspiration for the events that take place in this film?
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea that we create our own destinies. I wanted to make a movie about that. I also wanted to make a film that represented gay people in a way that didn’t just focus on the struggle of being gay. There’s a lot of my life in it, of course. I was in a bad relationship with an alcoholic. My mother is alive and well, though.
A major theme in this film is time and how you can’t go back to the past but you can change the future. What does this mean to you specifically as a person?
It just resonates with me. Every single day, we all have limitless choices we can make stepping into tomorrow. For me, this theme carries a hopeful message.
The film’s protagonist is a gay man, yet you didn’t seem to waste much time on themes of gay shame or the coming-out experience. Was that a deliberate choice?
Representation is important and necessary. I love all the films about the queer struggle from Brokeback Mountain to Boy Erased to Philadelphia. But I also want myself and other filmmakers to begin to add to the dialogue. There’s so much to explore, and I’m excited that it’s starting to happen and that I get to be a part of it.
This film takes its audience on a roller coaster of emotions to different worlds well beyond that of reality through the lens of a toy that the protagonist made as a boy. Why do you think breaking away from reality into the realm of metaphor was important to telling this story?
I love using childhood imagination to show adult emotion. It makes the film more moving. Toy Story 3 is a great example of that. It reaches into an innocent part of us and resonates in a different way.
Another unique aspect of the film is its use of actors that don’t fall into the stereotypical “Hollywood twink” category. What do you think queer viewers will gain from seeing these realistic men on screen as opposed to the glamorized, Hollywood versions we’ve all come to expect?
Wait. I’m not a twink? Kidding. That’s SO BORING. In my experience, a lot of gay men like big hairy man bodies and rugged faces. But eye candy is probably pretty clearly not the focus of this film. That said, you have to admit Daniel Mark Collins is pretty stunning.
As a musician, did you have a big part in sonically shaping the film?
I did. I wrote, performed, and recorded it all with the help of my band, Indiana Queen.
What would the Kevin James Thornton from fifteen years ago think after seeing this film?
Considering that I was on tour full-time with my band fifteen years ago, my first question would be, “Wait, does the record-deal thing not work out?” But then I’d get really excited about seeing all of my creativity come together in a film.
If you were given the option to either travel back in time or into the future, which would you pick?
With the way things are in the world right now, I’m a little scared of the future, so I’m going to pick the past. I’d go back to 1950s Manhattan, get a funky apartment in Greenwich Village, and hunt down James Dean to make him love me.
How does it feel to have How To Get From Here To There on Dekkoo? What do you think the platform will do for your film, and what do you think the film will do for Dekkoo’s viewers?
I am so thrilled to have my film on Dekkoo. Having my first feature on a legitimate platform is such a huge accomplishment for me. I hope the viewers love it. I really tried to make something outside of the box.
What are your future plans?
I’m in pre-production for a series I wrote called Stranger Hearts. It’s about several diverse LGBTQ people whose lives all cross and connect in profound ways. We’re shooting it in July, and it’s going to be really good!
Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo chronicles a complete season of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Roping and riding across North America, the IGRA’s courageous cowboys and cowgirls brave challenges both in and out of the arena on their quest to qualify for the World Finals at the end of the season. Along the way, they’ll bust every stereotype in the book.
Founded in 1985, the group currently has over 5000 members in 27 chapters all around North America. The association puts on massive rodeos across North America using only volunteers — and all their proceeds go to charity.
The film tells the story of five members of the International Gay Rodeo Association. From Wade Earp, a descendant of cowboy legend Wyatt Earp and one of the best competitors on the circuit; to Char Duran, a female bull rider who’s never won a buckle but seems determined to die trying; Queens & Cowboys weaves the stories of its protagonists over the course of an entire rabble-rousing year.
An unprecedented look at the strength it takes to be gay in the rural west, this film explores the many struggles threatening the IGRA and the LGBTQ community at large, how far society has come on the subject of LGBTQ equality, and how far we still have to go.
“I was originally doing research for a scripted television show I hoped to develop, a show about salt-of-the-earth rodeo cowboys roping and riding through the American west. It all stemmed from a trip to a Cody, Wyoming rodeo with my dad when I was only three years old. Since then, rodeo has always been a fascinating subject for me,” said director Matt Livadary. “The goal of this film is to start a conversation. Not about the differences in our sexuality, but in the commonalities that unite us.”
Queens & Cowboys is about passion, belonging, tradition — it’s about finding your bull and having the courage to, as Wade Earp puts it, “get up, dust yourself off, and keep going”. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
When Martin arrives in Paris to reconnect with his first love Lea, he is forced to accept that their relationship is over. But when Martin sets out to rebuild his life with dreams of being a film director he suddenly falls in love with another man. ‘Love Blooms’ is a poignant, sensitive look at young love and the struggle to become an adult. ‘Love Blooms’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!
Love and Sebastian meet by coincidence in the street on the Swedish summer night. They happen to share the same secret, but their encounter will have severe consequences for them both. Stream ‘My Name is Love’ now only on Dekkoo!
Tired of the religious zealotry and anti-gay bigotry in their Texas town, sisters Latrell, LaVonda, and Aunt Sissy decide to protest an “Anti-Equality Rally” which aims to forbid any same sex weddings in their county. ‘A Very Sordid Wedding’ is available to stream on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: “Writer-director Matthew Montgomery and his co-writer Stephen Twardokus have found fruitful dramatic ground between the nervous excitement of cruising and the danger of venturing deep into the woods.” – The Los Angeles Times
Oscar Madly (“Locke & Key” and “American Crime” star Connor Jessup) is an imaginative “only-child” in St. John, Newfoundland, whose closest friend is a pet hamster named Buffy (voiced by Isabella Rossellini). If his life wasn’t challenging enough being caught in the middle of his parents’ turbulent divorce, Oscar is viciously catapulted into adulthood when his father teaches him about a shocking hate-crime involving a young gay man.
Fearing that he too might be gay, Oscar is driven to suppress his femininity. But when Oscar comes of age, his resistance to his sexuality weakens as he forms a tenuous friendship with a tattooed co-worker from Montreal who opens his eyes to a whole world of new possibilities. However, as Oscar begins to reclaim his identity, he experiences confusing sexual fantasies about his new friend that are fueled by fear.
When Oscar finally confronts and triumphs against the fear instilled by his father, the result is an explosive spectacle of human empowerment unlike anything Oscar could have ever expected.
A raw and emotional coming-of-age coming-out story, Closet Monster leaves a strong impression. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
A stylish throwback to the giallo thrillers of the 1970s (with a decidedly gay twist), Knife + Heart is one of the year’s most acclaimed LGBTQ films. It earned numerous raves from critics, including Katie Walsh of the Los Angeles Times who said “this magical, erotic, disco-tinged horror-thriller is like cinematic candy.”
Set in Paris during the summer of 1979, the film follows Anne (Vanessa Paradis), who produces third-rate gay porn. After her editor and lover Lois (Kate Moran) leaves her, she tries to win her back by shooting her most ambitious film yet with her trusted, flaming sidekick Archibald (Nicolas Maury). But when one of her actors is brutally murdered, Anne gets caught up in a strange investigation that turns her life upside-down.
Shot on 35mm and featuring a terrific retro score from M83, Knife + Heart is an ultra-stylish and blood-soaked ode to the 1970s horror-thrillers of Brian De Palma, Dario Argento, William Friedkin and more. The film was directed by Yann Gonzalez and co-stars Félix Maritaud and Romane Bohringer.
Set in present day New York City, the new twelve-minute short film Walk for Me is a contemporary coming out story that packs an emotional punch.
A conflicted teenager (newcomer Aaliyah King) is torn between their devotion to their mother and their desire to be their authentic self.
When their mother (“The Chi” and “The Get Down” star Yolanda Ross) finds women’s underwear and a flyer to a Gay Ball in their bedroom, she decides to track down her child and confront them. Arriving at the ball, the mother is shocked to find that her child has been taken under the wing of an adoptive Ball mother, Paris Continental (Brenda Holder), and assumed the identity of Hanna.
The mother is confronted by a choice: deny her child or accept her for who she really is.
Winner of the 2017 Mexico International Film Festival Gold Palm Award, Walk for Me has earned stellar reviews. Emilie Friedlander of Thump said “Walk For Me isn’t just a ballroom story. It’s also a story about motherhood, and the complexities of family life for queer teens like Hanna. Through a delicate choreography of loaded glances and small hand gestures, it captures Hanna’s struggle for acceptance from her biological mother, as well as her discovery of a second support system.”
In Shadow and Act, writer Aramide A. Tinubu said “Director Elegance Bratton highlights one of the most pivotal moments in a young trans person’s life… It is the exact instant that will either lead to final rejection or acceptance from her mother.”
A masked madman stalks a gay porn set in 1979 Paris while its producer Anne, (French pop star Vanessa Paradis) tries to win back her editor and lover Lois by shooting her most ambitious film yet with her trusted, flaming sidekick Archibald. Shot in 35mm and featuring a killer retro score from M83, KNIFE+HEART is an ultra-stylish and blood-soaked ode to ’70s-era De Palma, Argento, and Friedkin. Watch ‘KNIFE+HEART’ now on Dekkoo!
Pour yourself a milkshake and experience the magic, music, and mirth of the all-time favorite camp-tastic classic: ‘Can’t Stop the Music!’ This (highly fictionalized) story depicting the creation of disco icons The Village People provides the framework for an outrageous musical extravaganza as only producer Allan Carr (Grease, Grease 2) could deliver. Stream ‘Can’t Stop the Music’ now on Dekkoo!
A chance meeting changing attitudes and lives. With a hint of Woody Allen in style and feel. A simple story of 2 strangers brought together by a dog. It delves into the ideas of solitude and loneliness and how a simple human act of kindness can instill hope. ‘The Definition of Lonely’ is available now on Dekkoo!
Produced and directed by prolific writer/director/actor/author Charlie David, Drag Heals is a terrific new documentary series that follows men who have never worn heels or make-up but have always dreamed of letting their inner drag queen out to play.
These men, and aspiring queens, enter Canada’s first-ever drag class to explore how to create a compelling drag persona based around their own personalities and life experiences. Deeply persona and raw, these queens tackle prickly issues like gender identity, mental illness, heartbreak and feminism to better understand themselves and their queer experience in an otherwise straight world.
RuPaul brought “Drag Race” into the homes of millions and made the once-taboo art form mainstream. This newfound renaissance has inspired a new generation to explore the art of drag and challenge the constructs of gender.
While “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is a competition, Drag Heals is much more of a journey. For most of the participants, this experience is akin to a second coming out process – and the workshops end with a public performance where they each have to face down their fears of stepping into the limelight.
The show gives viewers unparalleled access to the creation of a performance that is more than just your average lip sync. The classes are structured so that the men must reveal their true selves in preparation for their public performance. In order to do it, they must be brave and vulnerable. As performance time draws near, the urgency to create a compelling piece forces them to face down their nerves and personal demons in order to deliver a quality performance for people who have shelled out money to see just that.
The full first season of Drag Heals is now available on Dekkoo! It’s one of our Pride Month Selections for June 2019. Check out the trailer below.
In this riveting dramatic tale, gay teens Naz and Maalik are friends, classmates, business partners and lovers. As the two closeted Muslim teens go about their regular daily routine on a Friday afternoon in Brooklyn they arouse the suspicions of an undercover FBI agent who begins to track them.
This complex tale of race, religion and sexuality features a pair of tremendous performances from lead actors Kerwin Johnson Jr. and Curtiss Cook Jr. Intimate and meditative, Naz & Maalik examines the mysterious forces that animate teenage minds.
An exceptionally well-crafted drama, and an auspicious feature debut from writer-director Jay Dockendorf, Naz & Maalik is now available on Dekkoo – one of our Pride Month selections. Check out the trailer below.
Discover great gay stories. 