Based on the original short film San Cristóbal, which won the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015, writer-director Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo’s The Strong Ones tells a moving story of love and bravery at the end of the world.
Lucas (Samuel González) travels to visit his sister in a remote town in southern Chile. In front of the ocean and the fog, he meets Antonio (Antonio Altamirano), a boatswain in a local fishing crew.
When an intense romance grows between them, their strength, their independence and their adulthood become immovable in front of the tide.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best International Narrative Feature and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at OutFest Los Angeles in 2020, The Strong Ones is a film about two young men who are looking for their place in the world, that celebrates the love that they live, without reservations. It is also a political gesture, that talks about their freedom, their autonomy, and their resilience.
‘Brothers’ follows a Muslim Arab boy who realizes he is different, and is fortunate to have an older brother who stands by him and encourages him to be himself, in the face of bias and adversity. ‘Brothers’ is now streaming on Dekkoo!
In the wake of the Birmingham protests against LGBTQ+ relationship education in primary schools, a team of queer community reporters of colour challenge homophobia and call out racism in LGBTQ+ spaces. Watch ‘Pride & Protest’ now on Dekkoo!
Desperate for connection and longing for a fresh way to find it, Bruce decides to explore his trusted dating app with a unique search for a new mate. Watch ‘Huckleberry’ now on Dekkoo!
Felix Salonga (Khalil Ramos) is a friendless teenager from a poor background. His life is pretty much devoted to becoming the top of his class, thereby elevating his status.
Meanwhile, the handsome yet mysterious Magnus and Maxim Snyder (Ethan Salvador and Jameson Blake), half-American brothers, want nothing more than to escape from their life the Philippines and live in the USA.
As Felix develops a relationship with the brothers, he unearths desires within him that lead to unexpected and dangerous consequences.
Fresh, daring and playful 2 Cool 2 Be 4Gotten marks the promising directorial debut of Filipino director Petersen Vargas, an exciting new voice in Pinoy cinema.
18-year-old brothers Antoine and Quentin (played by real-life twins Alexandre and Victor Carrilare) live with their father and work as bakers in a bucolic French village.
When their estranged mother dies in Spain, they set off to attend the funeral, without telling their father. The journey turns out to be more difficult than either had anticipated and a rift threatens to split the brothers apart.
Soon, Antoine and Quentin must struggle to accept each other as individuals, and to find their places in an uncertain world.
Inspired by road movies of the ’70s, Give Me Your Hand earned rave reviews when it was released internationally in 2008. TimeOut New York said it was “richly atmospheric.” Shadows on the Wall called it “a fascinating exploration of identity.” And LondonView called it “a beautifully made, thought-provoking and ultimately moving film.”
Jacques is an older writer from Paris. Arthur is a young student in Rennes. They instantly fall in love. But they’ll have to face rejection and sickness to keep it that way. ‘Sorry Angel’ is available to watch now on Dekkoo!
Produced in 1967, this amazing 22-minute short film introduces us to four transwomen who are subjected to a six-month psychological project and then grilled about their personal lives. This unique exploitation documentary offers a rare and provocative glimpse into pre-Stonewall queer life. ‘Queens At Heart’ is available now on Dekkoo!
Knowing your queer history is essential, and the award-winning ‘When The Beat Drops’ offers an immersive deep-dive inside the growing culture of bucking—an energetic, hyper-athletic, dance phenomenon cultivated by queer people of color in the Deep South. Watch ‘When the Beat Drops’ on Dekkoo!
Jesse, a mixed race transgender teen, arrives from Switzerland for a cross-country road trip with her estranged father Marcus. They strike a weighty deal, one with serious repercussions for their relationship and their trip. ‘Jesse’ is now playing on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: Arturo and Alessandro have been a couple for 15 years. When their friend leaves her children in their care, their tired routine is turned upside down.
For contemporary LGBT viewers, Queens at Heart offers a vivid and compelling lens on how far we have come as a movement while also giving a deep (and wildly entertaining) understanding of what it was like to be transgender at a very different time in history. There are very few filmed images by or about LGBT people before the Stonewall Riots of 1969. There were especially few portrayals of trans lives and experience in this era. The two other films that come to mind from this period are: the remarkable feature documentary, The Queen (1968) and the short documentary portrait of an African American trans woman, Behind Every Good Man (1967). (While the 1970 dramatic feature, The Christine Jorgenson Story is at least somewhat well intended, it primarily comes across as lurid and sensationalist.)
Produced in New York City in 1967, this amazing 22-minute short introduces us to Misty, Vicky, Sonya and Simone — four courageous trans women who candidly discuss their personal lives with a lurid male interviewer who claims to have spoken to “thousands of homosexuals” (and who clearly doesn’t understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity). The film offers an extremely rare and poignant glimpse into pre-Stonewall queer life as it takes us to a New York City drag ball and follows the women through their daily lives. They talk about their double-lives — going out as women at night but living as men during the day, and about how they take hormones and dream of “going for a change.” One talks about avoiding the draft, another about her fiancé and another about the torment of childhood as an effeminate youth.
“We know that homosexuality is a psychological aberration that should be treated,” proclaims the interviewer as the film ends. Shifting to a surprisingly sympathetic tone he then concludes with the provocative challenge, “but what about those who don’t want to change? Who are we to judge?” This flip-flop perfectly encapsulates the film’s schizophrenic combination of attitudes as it alternates between luridness and validation, judgment and empathy.
Of course it is extremely significant for us to be able to look back and see this rare portrait of four wonderful trans women being so candid and courageous in the years before Stonewall. Queens at Heart is especially remarkable for how candid and brave the women are in expressing themselves so vulnerably when we can tell that the film was produced more as an exploitation film than as a serious documentary.
As a film historian and archivist I’ve unearthed many films over the years. Queens at Heart is the most significant on every level. It is a film that had been essentially lost to us — with nothing having previously been written about it in LGBT film literature. As a glimpse at pre-Stonewall queer life it is remarkable: from the wonderful footage of the drag balls and gay men dancing together to the provocative interviews with transgender women which are truly jaw-dropping in their candor. The power of this film for bringing us face to face with our forebears (and queer life in 1967) is absolutely incredible, and the film is of even greater interest in this era of increased trans awareness and activism.
Queens at Heart is a tremendously valuable archival portrait of pre-Stonewall trans women — their candor and courage are a true gift and this is a must-see film for anyone interested in transgender history.
About Jenni Olson: Jenni Olson is an LGBT film historian, archivist and filmmaker based in Berkeley, California. Her work as a film historian includes the Lambda Award nominated The Queer Movie Poster Book (Chronicle Books, 2005) and her many vintage movie trailer presentations (Homo Promo, Trailer Camp, etc.). She is on the Advisory Board of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBT Moving Image Preservation.
Drawn This Way is a one-hour documentary which dives into the pages of gay comic book characters and their creators.
In the studio, in the comic book shops, at the fan-crazed conventions and at home with the artists, author-actor-producer-director Charlie David finds out what it means to be a “Doorq,” how to come out of the closet as a HGN (hot gay nerd) and where our drawn adventures will take us next.
When did all this “g(art)” start? Is it a sexual turn-on? How did the artists get their start? What do their families and friends think? Is it pornography? Why the obsession with these fantastical stories and characters? Are they taken seriously in the mainstream comic world? All these questions and more are answered in this frank and fascinating new doc.
Watch the trailer for Drawn This Way below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.
In this new Dekkoo-original series two very different young men come together in an episodic series that follows their relationship – from beginning to end. Watch the official trailer now!
When Lucas travels to visit his sister he meets Antonio who works as a boatswain in a local fishing boat. An intense romance blossoms between the two of them, and with it their strength, their independence and their adulthood become immovable with the ebb and flow of the tide. ‘The Strong Ones’ is available now on Dekkoo!
Felix is a friendless achiever in high school whose life changes after the arrival of the half-American Snyder brothers, entangling him in their dark ambitions. Watch ‘2 Cool 2 B 4Gotten’ now on Dekkoo!
Bernardo is an old Art History teacher recently retired and widowed from his wife Cecilia. One day he runs into Víctor, a piano player and long lost love from Bernardo’s past that he hasn’t seen in almost 40 years. ‘Chords’ is available now on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: “Both sprawling and intimate, it tells a story dealing with life, love, friendship, mortality and, yes, AIDS, in a manner that is relentlessly and deliberately unsentimental in tone but which nevertheless proves to be quite affecting.” – rogerebert.com
Two very different young men come together in Here Comes Your Man, a brand-new Dekkoo Original Series that follows their relationship, from beginning to end.
When Jordan (Calvin Picou) and Aaron (Jason Alan Clark) meet in person after exchanging pics and pleasantries on a hook-up app, it’s nervous attraction at first sight. Their initial tryst is fraught with the kind awkward tension that suggests they might not be a perfect match.
On top of that, Aaron is unaware that Jordan is, for all intents and purposes, “straight.” Confused about his sexuality and faking his way through a hetero relationship, Jordan blocks Aaron’s number. When they run into each other in a gay bar weeks later, the truth comes out… and they both find that there is something undeniable about their strange romantic chemistry.
A charming, funny, sexy and refreshingly realistic new 5-episode Dekkoo Original Series from creator/director Omar Salas Zamora, Here Comes Your Man takes us through the entirety of Aaron and Jordan’s tumultuous relationship, jumping father forward in time with each successive episode to show us the most pivotal moments.
The full first season of Here Comes Your Man will be available on Dekkoo starting June 24th. As an extra special sneak peak, we’re giving you a look at an extensive collection of behind-the-scenes photos below. Make sure to mark your calendar for the series debut and keep checking back for more updates and exclusives!
How do you love someone if you don’t show who you are?
Twenty-year old Lukas (Rick Okon) is a prisoner in his own body. As a pre-op trans person, he is constantly finding himself trapped in uncomfortable, compromising positions.
His best friend, Ine (Liv Lisa Fries) introduces him to the gay scene in Cologne where he meets the confident and gorgeous, Fabio (Max Befort). The two develop a romantic relationship that tests the boundaries of love.
Originally released in 2011, this critically-acclaimed debut feature from German writer-director Sabine Bernardi forgoes stereotypes and conventions to offer an honest and humorous examination of the most basic of human conditions: friendship, sex, and love.
Watch the trailer for Romeos below. The film is available now on Dekkoo.
Discover great gay stories. 