A queer filmmaker visits a sleepy seaside village in the French rom-com ‘My Life with James Dean’

Still pining for his ex-boyfriend, aloof filmmaker Géraud (Johnny Rasse) has travelled to a seaside town along the North Coast of France to present his newest experimental feature.

The only person keen on seeing Géraud’s new film, however, is Balthazar (Mickaël Pelissier), the local theater’s young projectionist, who becomes increasingly more smitten by the handsome director.

With charm, sex appeal, a fondness for slapstick humor and a subtle homage to the films of Eric Rohmer, this sophisticated romantic comedy from writer/director Dominique Choisy follows several different characters through hotel rooms and nearly empty movie theatres across Normandy as they go to ridiculous extremes in the name of passion. With great reserves of optimism and hope, they keep chasing their romantic feelings, even when the results aren’t entirely what they expected.

Watch the trailer for My Life with James Dean below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Two slacker best buddies start to wear out their welcome in the new queer comedy ‘Rent Free’

Best friends since childhood, Ben and Jordan (Jacob Roberts and David Trevi̱o) are two young men living in a rapidly changing Austin, Texas Рwhere they navigate low-paying jobs, fraught relationships and their own emotionally codependent relationship.

When they suddenly lose their apartment, they come up with a last ditch plan to spend the rest of the year ‘rent free.’

The boys soon set out on a tragicomic journey across the couches, floors and guest rooms of their friends while desperately trying to save up enough money to leave behind a city they no longer recognize and flee for the promised land of New York City.

Made with effortless humor, sharp timing and a talented ensemble cast, Rent Free is a high-anxiety comedy about a generation on the edge, as well as a poignant exploration of male friendship and a city in flux.

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

‘This is Ballroom’ takes a backstage look at the Brazilian drag and queer performance scene

Conceived in New York during the 1960s, when two Black queens left the white-dominated pageant contests behind to create their own scene, ballroom culture has long been a space of freedom, expression, and transgression.

Some fifty years later, the ballroom scene in Brazil is thriving, with houses across the country teaching the art of shade.

Directed by queer Brazilian artists Juru and Vitã, This Is Ballroom stages a real-life ball in a city warehouse. Riotously soundtracked, the film only pauses for breath to illuminate the lives of its trans-led cast. Away from the glitz of the dance floor, these interviews reveal simmering racial and gender tensions.

Capturing the spirit of a new, emerging generation, This Is Ballroom celebrates this energetic subculture as a bounteous and transformative space for queer people of color.

Watch the trailer for This is Ballroom below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the gripping, sexually-charged new Dekkoo Exclusive ‘The Pleasure is Mine’

Antonio (Max Suen), a streetwise hustler and small-time drug pusher, wanders through Buenos Aires in search of money and sex.

His morals tossed aside, Antonio weaponizes his charisma, conjuring sexual relations with a laundry list of clientele… and stealing from them as they sleep. Only his tempestuous mother provides the force that may one day push him to leave the city in search of a new way of life and alternative forms of happiness.

An irreverent, compelling and sexually charged debut feature from Brazilian writer-director Sacha Amaral, The Pleasure is Mine offers up a searing, slow-motion portrait of hedonism and discovery.

Watch the trailer for The Pleasure is Mine below. The film is now available exclusively on Dekkoo!

Short Film Spotlight: Never Too Old

Directed by Morgan Martini and written by Rolando Zee, the 17-minute short Never Too Old is a life affirming testament to love

Florio and Jesse (Gregory Niebel and screenwriter Rolando Zee) have lived together as lovers for over 45 years. Florio had expressed a desire to get married once same-sex marriage had been legalized, but Jesse held firm to his decision never to tie the knot.

Jesse’s mind starts to change when the law does, however, and he proposes. A small, intimate wedding follows. In their married life they will, of course, face the challenges that come with old age, but they will do so as a committed couple.

Entering marriage in their eighties, the two men offer up a testament to hope and a statement of courage and love.

Watch the trailer for Never Too Old below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Studio One Forever’ takes a deep dive into a unique time and place in queer history

From 1974 to 1993, Studio One and its adjoining live music venue, The Backlot, became symbols of hope and community for gay men during tumultuous times.

Amidst the rise of gay rights, disco’s heyday and the devastating AIDS crisis, the club offered sanctuary from rampant homophobia and police oppression. Studio One was where legends like Chita Rivera and Eartha Kitt performed, and rising stars like Roseanne Barr and Rosie O’Donnell ignited their careers.

Through personal accounts, the new documentary Studio One Forever delves into the nightclub’s history, examining how the backdrop of a progressing gay liberation clashed with 1980s conservatism and the escalating AIDS nightmare.

A testament to an important era, this unique and insightful new doc from director Marc Saltarelli immortalizes the club’s legacy for future generations.

Watch the trailer for Studio One Forever below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Opposites attract in ‘Norwegian Dream,’ a romantic drama from the frozen shores of Scandinavia

Set in and around a fish factory in Trondheim, Norway, director Leiv Igor Devold’s Norwegian Dream follows two young men with completely different backgrounds and life experiences meet and fall into a cautious flirtation.

The men in question are Robert (Hubert Miłkowski), a hard-working Polish immigrant, and Ivar (Karl Bekele Steinland), the charismatic, adopted son of a wealthy business owner.

Amidst the conveyor belts, an unexpected relationship develops. Robert struggles to save his mother from financial troubles, while Ivar dreams of a life different from what his family expects of him. However, when Robert realizes that his growing bond with Ivar affects his standing among the other Polish workers, who are considering a strike, he begins to distance himself.

Can their growing love compete against the forces conspiring to keep them apart?

A heartwarming romantic drama from the frozen shores of Scandinavia, Norwegian Dream thoughtfully explores themes of cultural alienation, economic inequality, the search for sexual identity and the ways that opposites sometimes attract.

Watch the trailer for Norwegian Dream below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: The Call

At almost 15 minutes, The Call – a moving short film produced in partnership with the UK-based charity Switchboard LGBT+ – is not to your typical advertisement or PSA.

Directed by Jordan Rossi, the film is a carefully balanced work that shows the breadth of support the charity offers, while tenderly touching upon the experiences faced by many young queer people today.

Adam Ali stars in The Call as Amir, a prospective university student struggling with their sexuality. They end up calling Switchboard for advice and connection at three crucial moments.

With each phone call, we see Amir take steps on their own personal journey towards self-acceptance. The film also shows some of the vital work that helpline volunteers undertake daily while exploring contemporary themes surrounding LGBTQ+ culture and unravelling truths about the community from a wide range of topics.

Watch a short teaser for The Call below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

‘Hearstone’ is a beautiful and affecting drama about two boys coming-of-age in Iceland

The years-long friendship between two pre-teen boys is threatened when they strike up romantic relationships with a pair of local girls in this in the affecting and beautifully crafted coming-of-age drama from Icelandic director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson.

Set in a small village in rural Iceland, Heartstone follows Thor and Christian (Baldur Einarsson and Blaer Hinriksson), best friends whose home lives are unsatisfactory, to say the least.

Thor is ruthlessly mocked by his elder sisters, while his mother can’t be bothered to hide her frustration at having to sacrifice her pleasure for the sake of her children. While Thor suffers from absentee parenting, Christian’s drunken and abusive father is, unfortunately for him, all too present. The events that follow threaten to destroy the longest and most meaningful connection of their young lives.

Evincing a real feeling for how kids relate to one another, Heartstone is a piercingly honest portrait of adolescent sexuality that effortlessly and evocatively portrays small-town life in Iceland.

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

A Halloween party takes some wild turns in the gay romance ‘Love Bites’ – a Dekkoo Exclusive!

Just out of their teens, Liam and Anatole (Lyad Smain and Roman Freud) were in the throes of an exciting new relationship… until they had a small fight and Anatole ended all contact.

With Anatole having almost completely disappeared, Liam finds himself confused and heartbroken. He simply can’t accept the breakup. And, since his boyfriend doesn’t reply to his calls or text messages, he decides to sneak into a Halloween party organized by one of Anatole’s friends to try and patch things up.

The wild night that ensues will test the true feelings of both young men while forcing them to confront some hard inner truths once and for all.

Winner of the Memorial Award for ‘Best Love Story’ at the ReelOut Film Festival, Love Bites – originally titled Dracula is in Love – is a winning comedy-drama from French director Lameo Flores. It’s also one of the rare Halloween-set movies that delivers tons of seasonal fun and aesthetics without all those pesky scares.

Watch the trailer for Love Bites below. The film is now streaming exclusively on Dekkoo.