New This Week – 7/30/21

Jamie re-encounters his old school friend, Kevin, who has been suffering from depression and must make a choice between following his heart or society. ‘I Miss You When I See You’ is available now on Dekkoo!

Though Nev is happily situated with his family in Los Angeles, he has yet to reveal his secret to his old school Jewish parents who are coming over to visit their new grandson for the first time. Watch ‘Paradise Apartments – Generation Clash’ now on Dekkoo!

One month and $10,000 is “not enough” to put on an off-Broadway musical, but first-time director Rob Gould attempts it anyway, and takes us along for the ride. Taking his script for ‘Little House on the Ferry’ and making it a reality isn’t smooth sailing. From casting and table reads to costuming and rehearsal, Theality TV follows the creative process step by step until the final performance itself. ‘Theality TV’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!

Nude male dancers explore dark, primal energy and ritual in the dance documentary Bare

For about 25 years, Belgian choreographer Thierry Smits has asserted an artistic approach that is well off the beaten path, and frequently controversial.

Alternating pure dance productions with more performative pieces, his work explores our relationship to the body – as an object of desire, pleasure and finiteness – which Smits considers, today more than ever, as a political space, the only free territory left to us.

In Anima Ardens, based on the experience and singularity of each dancer, Smits creates a piece about the intuitiveness of the body and bodies together, reminiscent of the evolution of a hurricane which, starting from nothing, attains wild strength, both violent and fascinating, before dissipating and returning to silence.

In between breathtaking dance sequences, the revealing new documentary Bare reveals the artistic collaboration and conflict between Smits and his company – eleven male dancers performing nude – as they build this new avant-garde piece steeped in dark, primal energy and ritual.

With the creation they address questions of body politics, gender, censorship and taboo aesthetics. A creative exploration of the underrepresentation of the naked male form in performing arts, the film documents the arduous process of auditioning, rehearsing and opening Anima Ardens.

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

Now Available: The Circuit

The Circuit is a new digital series that explores the underground circuit community through the personal lives of different players within the scene.

The cast of The Circuit – DJs, dancers, a party producer and an adult entertainer – take us on a wild ride through the inner workings of the New York City gay dance party subculture.

Explore the eponymous “circuit” parties as the cast juggle career, love and the thrilling events themselves until a global pandemic and a series of unfortunate decisions turns their world on its head.

Featuring Nina Flowers, Sam Gee, Joe Pacheco, Jake Resnicow, Dan De Leon, Alec Brian, Ian Frost, Shane Jackson, Shane Marcus, Manuel Skye, Ugene, Trey Sherman, Darius Glover and more, The Circuit offers a frank look at a thrilling LGBTQ+ subculture.

Watch the trailer for The Circuit below. The first season is now available on Dekkoo.

Kuntergrau: Season 3 is Now Available

In the German series Kuntergrau, coming out is part of the past while sex and love is mundane. A group of five gay friends between seventeen and twenty-four years old deal with everyday problems and experience the meaning of love, sex, and friendship.

The show focuses on Leopold (Marcel Meyer) who does not want to identify himself through his sexuality and Noah (Daniel Printz), whose BDSM fetish challenges his ex-boyfriend, Jan (Fabian Freistühler), to the point where their relationship begins to break. Along with them are the promiscuous Marcel (Moustafa Tarraf), who works as a banker and is learning to live day-by-day as HIV positive. Last but not least, Lukas (Daniel Kosic) moves from the country to the big city to get away from his controlling parents… somewhat unsuccessfully.

The lives of these five men soon become intertwined and what results is a story that encapsulates what it means to be a young gay man in a big city.

Season 3 of Kuntergrau is now available on Dekkoo! Catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 as well!

https://www.dekkoo.com/kuntergrau

New This Week – 7/23/21

DJs, dancers, a party producer and an adult entertainer – take us on a wild ride through the inner workings of the New York City gay dance party subculture. Explore the eponymous “circuit” parties as the cast juggle career, love and the thrilling events themselves until a global pandemic and a series of unfortunate decisions turns their world on its head. ‘The Circuit’ is available now on Dekkoo!

“Who’s on Top?” (narrated by George Takei) is the emotional story of members of the LGBTQ community who challenge stereotypes about gender and sexuality and demonstrate their diverse journeys in overcoming physical and figurative mountains. Stream ‘Who’s On Top?” now on Dekkoo!

After emigrating from Israel, Noam, a young transgender artist, is now happily living in New York with an older woman, but things change when an old friend from Tel Aviv comes to town for a visit. ‘The Friend From Tel Aviv” is now available on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Love sick and longing in Hong Kong.

Short Film Spotlight: Touchscreen

Brian (Kelly Miller) drifts through life using a computer monitor as his window to the world outside. He hooks up with men online, remotes into his office, and FaceTimes with family, unable to connect meaningfully with the people on the other side of his screen.

After an online encounter with the charming Dom (Jose Joaquin Perez), Brian is faced with an unusual request: a virtual sleepover.

Brian succumbs to Dom’s proposition, and is transported (then spooked) by the sweet hints of intimacy that permeate the laptop screen.

Later, when Dom asks to meet him in person, Brian conjures an alternate reality; one in which he shatters his long-lived inhibitions to claim the warm touch of another human being. Dom persists until Brian replies: a small step for man – with momentous implications.

From writer-star Kelly Miller and Arthur Halpern, Touchscreen is a smart new short film about one man’s self-imposed isolation, and how the technologies and social platforms meant to connect us – to lovers, to family, to work – are misused to reinforce that isolation. The film was chosen as a selection at countless film festivals all over the globe.

Watch the trailer for Touchscreen below. The full 15-minute short is available now on Dekkoo.

Don’t miss the taut gay thriller Last Ferry

Joseph (Ramon O. Torres), a young lawyer living in Harlem, makes a pilgrimage to the fabled Fire Island, desperately seeking romance and community. Only trouble is, it’s April, the thick of the off-season, and the island is dead.

Joseph does meet a cute boy – but only to realize he is a mugger who has drugged him to steal his belongings.

During his impaired state, he witnesses a murder and narrowly escapes the grasp of the murderer. He awakes in The Pines, under the care of Cameron (Sheldon Best) and his friends.

As Joseph integrates into the group and begins to fall for Cameron, he forgets about what he witnessed when he was drugged – only for the murderer to reemerge right under his nose.

Shot on location with gorgeous cinematography, Last Ferry is a taut thriller with a distinctly gay sensibility.

Watch the trailer for Last Ferry below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.

New This Week – 7/16/21

A voyeuristic, behind-the-scenes look as celebrated choreographer Thierry Smits and his team go through the auditions, rehearsals and eventual premiere of his controversial dance piece Anima Ardens. ‘Bare’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo!

Clement and Alex are looking for a new gay roommate. And they find Leo, a charming student who is in deep trouble to find a place to sleep. Leo will do anything to get that room, whatever it takes. ‘Clément, Alex et tous les autres’ is available on Dekkoo!

A drug addicted hustler, in the middle of a binge, encounters someone from their past. Watch ‘Adam (In Fragments)‘ on Dekkoo!

Today is a day unlike any before. Today is the day Kalthoum and their girlfriends imagine their revenge. Stream ‘Terror Sisters’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A series that explores the underground circuit community through the personal lives of different players within the scene.

LOVE SICK AND LONGING IN HONG KONG

COMING SOON TO DEKKOO: I MISS YOU WHEN I SEE YOU

Director Simon Chung’s film, I Miss You When I See You, tells the story of a man’s struggle to find himself again after a battle with depression and the dangers of unrequited love. 

We are first introduced to Jamie (played by Bryant Mak) who comes to visit his old school friend Kevin (played by Jun Li) who’s been battling depression alone in Australia. After learning that Jamie is moving back to Hong Kong, Kevin is compelled to follow him. 

Kevin soon finds work in Hong Kong as an English teacher and sparks a relationship with a troubled student. What follows is a story of sexual exploration and fear of conforming to society’s expectations which concludes with an emotional display at a highschool reunion.

The film shines in its small intimate moments.The film’s stronger elements are really showcased when we are given an opportunity to simply sit and observe delicate moments between characters.

The real heart of the film lies in actor Jun Li. Li delivers an incredibly understated and nuanced performance as a man who is longing for companionship but unknowing where to look for it. 

Watch the trailer here:

You can find I Miss You When I See You streaming on Dekkoo starting July 29

Now Available: The Goddess of Fortune

Arturo (Stefano Accorsi) and Alessandro (Edoardo Leo) have been a couple for over fifteen years. Even though their passion and love have formed a close and important affection, their relationship has been in crisis for a long time.

The sudden arrival of two children, left in their care for a few days by Annamaria (Jasmine Trinca), Alessandro’s best friend, could give an unexpected turn to their tired routine.

The solution will be a crazy departure for them both. But on the other hand, love is a state of pleasant madness.

Written and directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Steam: The Turkish Bath and His Secret Life, The Goddess of Fortune is a touching drama about finding family in an unlikely way.

Watch the trailer for The Goddess of Fortune below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.