Discover great gay stories.

Cinema Spotlight: Queens & Cowboys

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.

Still photo from Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo

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.

New This Week – 7/5/19

A DEKKOO EXCLUSIVE!

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

Now Available: Closet Monster

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.

Now Available: Knife + Heart

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.

Knife + Heart is available now on Dekkoo. Watch the trailer below.

Short Film Spotlight: Walk for Me

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.”

Walk for Me is now available on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 6/20/19

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!

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Coming next week: The second season of ‘Woke’!

Pride Month Spotlight: Drag Heals

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.

Pride Month Spotlight: Naz & Maalik

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.

Kerwin Johnson Jr. and Curtiss Cook Jr. in Naz & Maalik

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.

Pride Month Spotlight: Queercore

Started in the 1980s as a fabricated movement intended to ‘punk’ the punk scene, ‘Queercore’ quickly became a real-life cultural community of LGBTQ music and movie-making revolutionaries.

From the start of the pseudo-movement to the widespread rise of pop artists who used queer identity to push back against gay assimilation and homophobic punk culture, the poignant new documentary Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution is just that: a how-to-do-it guide for the next generation of queer radicals.

Directed by Yony Leyser, this doc features an impressively extensive participant list Included are Bruce LaBruce, G.B. Jones, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, John Waters, Justin Vivian Bond, Lynn Breedlove, Silas Howard, Pansy Division, Penny Arcade, Kathleen Hanna, Kim Gordon, Deke Elash, Tom Jennings, Team Dresch, and many, many more.

Watch the trailer for Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution below. One of our Pride Month selections, the film is now available to watch on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 6/14/19

In this Dekkoo-original short, Ryan meets Nathan and they fall in love over the course of their first date. It’s only later, as their relationship progresses, that Ryan starts to wonder: is my boyfriend who I thought he was? Am I who I thought I was? They experience joy and pain together, trying to overcome the painful fear of whether or not you can truly know another person. Watch ‘Faces’ now on Dekkoo!

Set in Mumbai, India, this romantic drama is a contemporary take on the life and relationships of a single professional gay man – his understanding of his identity, missed opportunities, and personal choices. ‘Avsar’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

An actor unlucky in work, money and love goes back home to the deep south to help out during a family crisis and is inspired to find his true voice as his mother is finally finding hers. Stream ‘Counting for Thunder’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: “Its neon drenched mix of slasher, fantasy and 70s porn delivers all the trimmings needed for a cult audience” – Scream Queens