‘Avant-Drag!’ gets intimate with a tight-knit group of Athens-based drag performers

With police brutality and homophobic violence against LGBTQ+ individuals in Greece on the rise, the new documentary Avant-Drag! offers an exhilarating look at ten Athenian drag performers who deconstruct gender, nationalism, belonging, and identity while facing transphobia and racism.

As entertaining as it is thought-provoking, this new film from Greek director Fil Ieropoulos challenges societal norms and reshapes perceptions about LGBTQ+ culture by capturing the intimate lives of a tightly-knit group of drag performers, proving that being ‘othered’ has never felt so familiar.

The film captures the vibrancy of Athens’ underground drag scene and its role in pushing boundaries and expressing dissident identities. It goes beyond the mainstream representations of drag, focusing on more radical, explicitly political, and raw performances.

Juxtaposing magical realism, political commentary, and outrageous performances, Avant-Drag! is a love letter to Athens – a city that can be as oppressive as it can be a refuge for art freaks and a hot-bed for creativity.

Watch the trailer for Avant-Drag! below. The documentary is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Netuser

Award-winning stage and screen veteran Denis O’Hare stars in the tense 15-minute thriller Netuser as Peter Sardovski, a writer who has become obsessed with political assassinations.

Peter can’t seem to shake this recurring nightmare that a current LGBTQ+ political candidate is at risk of being targeted. Despite warnings to the contrary, Peter decides to post a video comparing his dream to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.

The video, which ignites a media firestorm, faces fierce and brutal backlash almost immediately. With his husband and two-year-old son in protective hiding, Peter must confess the secret that has led to him being canceled – a revelation that quickly threatens his marriage and his future.

Watch a short trailer for Netuser below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.

A man tries to win back the love of his parallel life in the romantic comedy-drama ‘Second Chance’

A romantic blend of fantasy and drama, the new Dekkoo Exclusive Second Chance follows Alan and Daniel (Luigi Calduch and Caio Fliper), an attractive young couple celebrating their five-year wedding anniversary.

When a romantic dinner doesn’t go according to plan, a vicious lover’s spat ensues. Daniel, in a moment of anger, suggests that maybe the pair should never have married in the first place.

During the night, fate intervenes to teach him a lesson. Daniel wakes up in the morning to find himself in an alternate universe where he and Alan’s relationship ended half a decade ago.

Suddenly alone and confused, Daniel begins to realize how much he took for granted and sets out on a mission to win back the love of his parallel life.

Taking inspiration from It’s a Wonderful Life, this new film from Mauro Carvalho, the prolific Brazilian director behind The Senator, Cousins and About Us, tells a charming and sexy story about two men who get a second chance at first love.

Watch the trailer for Second Chance below. The film is now streaming exclusively on Dekkoo.

The second season of ‘He’s with Me’ is now available on Dekkoo!

The second season of He’s with Me, the award-winning original comedy series from creator and star Jason Cicci, is now available on Dekkoo!

The show follows the unlikely friendship between Ted (Bradford How), who is straight, and Martin (creator Jason Cicci)… who isn’t. Together, the two come to learn how little they know about being modern men.

A wildly popular short comedy series with naturally charismatic stars and a sophisticated style of storytelling, He’s with Me grew out of a well-received stage show, based Cicci’s real-life experiences.

Examining his friendships with straight men, he realized how often funny and amusing situations arose from this particular gay/straight male dynamic – opening a conversation about how comfortable men are (or should be) with being available to one another emotionally.

Make sure to check out the first season as well. All episodes of He’s with Me are now available on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: People (Who Need People)

From screenwriter Eric Grant and director Omid Iranikhah, the short film People (Who Need People) follows former partners Alex and Raj (Patrick Sprague and Adron Duell), who are in the middle of a bitter divorce.

Raj has packed up most of their belongings and has one foot out the door, but Alex is nowhere near ready to move on. When Alex attempts to steal back a copy of Barbra Streisand’s album People, which was given to him as an anniversary present, it sets a major conflict into motion.

As the couple begin to argue, they discover that there are unresolved issues at the heart of their relationship… and not all of them revolve around Barbra.

Featuring game performances from the two lead actors, People (Who Need People) is a clever and bitingly funny 8-minute break-up comedy.

Check out the poster for People (Who Need People) below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.

Director Ray Yeung’s critically acclaimed ‘Twilight’s Kiss’ is now available on Dekkoo

From Ray Yeung, the accomplished filmmaker behind Front Cover, Cut Sleeve Boys and All Shall Be Well, Twilight’s Kiss tells a gut-wrenching tale of forbidden love between two married men in their golden years.

The film follows Pak (Tai Bo), a Hong Kong cab driver on the verge of hanging up his keys, and Hoi (Ben Yuen), a divorced retiree. The pair find themselves drawn into a secret affair, stealing moments of intimacy in the steam-shrouded sanctuary of the local gay bathhouse.

In a society where same-sex love is still very much taboo, the two men have to keep their trysts on the down-low. But when genuine feelings start to bubble up, their carefully compartmentalized lives threaten to boil over. As the Pak and Hoi navigate an increasingly intimate relationship, they begin to wonder whether they’ve aged out of the possibility of happily-ever-after.

Yeung, who crafted the screenplay from real-life stories, shines a light on the isolation and heartache faced by those who dare to love outside the lines, delivering a powerful and unforgettable portrait of a love that refuses to be denied.

Profoundly moving, Twilight’s Kiss is the kind of film that stays with you long after the end credits roll.

Watch the trailer for Twilight’s Kiss below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

A musician’s spark is ignited by a young trans man in the Australian drama ‘Unsound’

When guitarist Noah (Reece Noi) finds himself growing disillusioned, he quits his band and returns to his mother’s home in Sydney, Australia.

Clashing with his mother over old wounds, Noah seeks solace elsewhere and soon finds himself swept up in the vibrant, passionate life and of a young trans-man named Finn (Yiana Pandelis), who runs a local center and nightclub for his deaf community.

Together, the pair traverse new ground, sharing their languages – Noah’s music and Finn’s sign language – with one another. They move carefully, as this is Finn’s first relationship while he is on the precipice of diving into his trans journey.

Noah offers to help aid the club any way he can, but as the two become closer, and with no shared language to fall back on, they risk hurting each other as they learn to be true to themselves.

From screenwriter Ally Burnham and director Ian Watson, Unsound is a thoughtful and romantic queer drama that takes great pride in its conversational awareness of both the LGBTQIA+ and deaf or hard of hearing communities.

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

Short Film Spotlight: The Singing Telegram

Matt (Eddie Grey) is an aspiring young musician from Sydney, Australia who is living with his boyfriend Daniel (Andrew Chappelle) in New York City.

Not quite living the cosmopolitan American lifestyle he’d imagined, he’s found himself stuck delivering singing telegrams in an effort to make ends meet.

Blinded by his desire to succeed, Matt risks losing the one part of his life he needs most… until a surprise telegram changes his perspective.

Starring, written and co-directed by up-and-coming Broadway actor Eddie Grey, The Singing Telegram is an adorable, colorful and ultimately uplifting romantic musical comedy short about learning to be grateful for what you have while never giving up on your dreams.

Watch a short teaser clip from The Singing Telegram below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.