Short Film Spotlight: Adjustment

From director Mehrdad Hasani and screenwriter Farzad Ahmadi, this challenging new 16-minute drama tells a story about one child’s bravery in the face of major adversity.

Adjustment follows Shahrokh, a 9-year-old boy who isn’t afraid to play around with his gender expression, despite constant bullying from other kids and aggressive pressure from within his own deeply religious family.

Though he’s been humiliated, pushed aside and victimized, Shahrokh stands firm in his identity. He decides to come out to the people of his village. Having been through a variety or ordeals, Shahrokh shows up or school dressed in girl’s clothes.

While he has an uphill battle ahead, he finds an unlikely ally in his male teacher, learning that being yourself is always the right move – despite anyone else’s reaction.

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

Dekkoo Presents: The Summertime Sizzle Collection

Summer may be in full swing, but we’re about to turn up the heat even more!

With a diverse selection of feature-length films from around the globe, The Summertime Sizzle Collection is practically guaranteed to make you break a sweat.

Grab your swim trunks and get ready to hit the beach with these seasonally-appropriate gems – featuring men juggling their attractions, falling in love or getting straight-up down and dirty in gorgeous locales under the hot summer sun.

Included are the films Dry Wind, 8 Years, Gameboys: The Movie, Hawaii, He Loves Me, Jess & James, Longhorns, Orpheus’ Song, Screwed and These Peculiar Days.

The Summertime Sizzle Collection is available now to all Dekkoo subscribers!

Now Available: Holding the Man

Based on the beloved and hugely successful memoir and stage play of the same name, Holding the Man tells the warm, funny and achingly sad story of the love affair between Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo, who met when they were teenagers at Xavier College in Melbourne in the 1970s.

Tim (Ryan Corr) was an aspiring actor. John (Craig Stott) was captain of the football team. Their romance lasted 15 years and endured a good many trials. When John died of AIDS at 33, Tim was forbidden to speak at his lover’s funeral. He set out to write a memoir about their relationship that would show the depth of tenderness they shared.

Featuring moving performances by lead actors Corr and Stott, Holding the Man also includes some legendary Australian actors in supporting roles. Guy Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Fox, Geoffrey Rush and “Succession” star Sarah Snook are all on hand to lend their talent to this powerful true story.

Deeply romantic, even in its tragic denouement, Holding the Man is keenly in touch with the lived experience of its characters, offering a loving tribute to those we lost during the AIDS crisis while celebrating a relationship that blossomed and endured in the face of prejudice and adversity.

Watch the trailer for Holding the Man below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Watch the trailer for ‘Ranchlands,’ the newest gay romance from director David Lewis

David Lewis – a director who made a big mark on the LGBTQ film scene in the early 2000s with his films Under One Roof, Rock Haven, Redwoods, and Longhorns – is back with the brand new feature-length romance Ranchlands.

Ranchlands is a queer drama about an urbane, yet lost young gay man who was thrown out of his family house after coming out. Returning home to his estranged Christian family to care for his ailing brother, he finds an unexpected romance with a gay ranch hand. Unfortunately, when a family secret is exposed, it begins to complicate his new love affair and his journey of healing.

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

Two U.S. soldiers fall in love in the new romantic war drama ‘Love in Country’

Set in 1968, Love in Country is a romantic war drama starring Michael Southworth and David Garber as Johnny and Ian, two gay U.S. Army point men who have fallen in love during the Vietnam War.

Their relationship becomes an open secret, inspiring various levels of acceptance, conflict and rejection within their squad. When their Captain (played by Vincent van Hinte) seemingly loses his humanity and begins risking the safety of everyone around him, the pair are tasked with leading their fellow soldiers through a dangerous mission. Soon, they’re fighting not just for their country, but to keep their love alive.

From directors Kurt Braun and Richard Gayton, Love in Country is an ambitious indie film accomplishes a lot on a small budget while aiming to honor LGBTQ+ veterans – and all Americans – who have served in the military.

Watch the trailer for Love in Country below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Multiple characters intersect in the new eight-part British anthology series ‘Patterns’

There’s something for everyone in Patterns, an exciting new British anthology series.

Like a cross between Sex Education and Black Mirror, each episode of Patterns tells a full self-contained story, but they all take place in the same universe. A minor character in one episode may reappear as the lead in another and vice-versa. It’s an ambitious format, playfully executed by director Rex Glensy and writers Daniel Mannheim and Asad Moghal.

Stories include Reverse Catfish, about a hot young rugby player who finds that people only date him for his good looks and sets about trying to change their perception. SuperBen follows an imaginative boy who gets up close and personal with his superhero crush. Delivered is about a hungry young man on an oppressive diet who becomes unusually obsessed with his pizza delivery guy. And there are many more episodes where those came from.

Catch up on all the action in this charming and refreshingly sex-positive new comedy series. The full first season of Patterns is available now on Dekkoo and a second season is currently in the works! Watch the trailer below.

Dekkoo In Depth: Ross chats with Rex Glensy and Rufus Shaljean, the director and star of the new series ‘Patterns’

Telling a brand-new, self-contained story with each episode, Patterns is a brand-new British anthology series following numerous characters through various adventures as they search for love, sex and everything in between.

Ross sat down for a virtual interview with series director Rex Glensy and actor Rufus Shaljean – discussing the pandemic, the genesis of the show, the unusual format, the creation of the stories and how everything came together.

Watch the newest installment of Dekkoo In Depth below and make sure to catch Patterns on Dekkoo. All eight episodes are now streaming!