Must Watch: Pretty Boy (2015) Short Film

We are so glad the internet exists to bring us short films we might have missed when they were on the LGBT film festival circuit. The basic premise of Cameron Thrower's award winning film Pretty Boy is as follows:

Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality.

Obviously, the prostitute is on to him from the beginning and winds up being a mentor of sorts. While Dad is in the parking lot waiting in the car, the Sean and the hooker manage to help each other with their various issues. It's actually quite touching.

Give it a watch. It's worth thirty minutes of your time.

Must Watch: Bromance Episode #1

A new web series is exploring what happens when your overly flirtatious straight roommate sends mixed signals. Do things ultimately go to far? What happens in the aftermath if they do? Bromance is a pretty interesting take on this all too familiar situation. Writing/Directing team Nicholas Swatz and Alexander Norris are off to a great start in Episode 1 of this three part web series. We will definitely be on the lookout for Episode 2.

Must Watch: Just Tonight (2015) Short Film

Check out Just Tonight, a terrific four minute short written and directed by filmmaker Stephen Boyer. It's an exceptionally realistic depiction of what happens when two men meet via hook up app and they have very different expectations of how the night is supposed to go. As is often the case in real life, one is looking for sex, the other is looking for love. In just four minutes, Boyer manages to convey some fairly complex emotions and tackles this subject matter in a pleasantly mature and forthright manner. It's totally worth four minutes of your time.

You can check out Stephen Boyer's other work here.

Must Watch: AMIAS (2013) Short Film

Wonderful gay themed short film AMIAS has thankfully been released for public viewing after spending a year and half on the festival circuit. Written and Directed by Italian first time filmmaker John Giordano, AMIAS has been shown at numerous film fests throughout Europe and the US winning  Best Short Fiction at the 65th Montecatini Short Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Azores Fringe Festival.

The official synopsis is as follows:

Amias develops two subsequent relationships, one with Nina and the other one with Ariel. Only when his heart breaks twice, he realizes he has to look inside.
Its the journey of a boy from the priviledged point of view of his deepest unconscious.
The story catapults us into a dreamlike dimension somewhere between dream and reality, constantly torn between what is now, what was and what could be, not just for him but for each of us. A universal engaging theme but at the same time so intimate and private that by watching this short film one has the feeling of being elephants in a china shop breaking everything they touch within this delicate balanced triangle. A balance so precarious that it disintegrates in the moment of a race towards themselves, to nowhere, to the truth.
"Amias", he is what he seems to be, helpless and naked in front of us, he leaves the viewer free to get lost in the poetry that erupts in the images, from the composition of the shots to the gestures so simple yet so powerful. He allows thousands of different possibilities in interpreting the scenes.

AMIAS is way more fulfilling than most short films. At just nine minutes long, AMIAS is a quick watch that masterfully manipulates us into feeling like we have been part of a much longer film experience. It is very much worth your time.

Filmmaker John Giordano is currently in the early stages of his next short film A Deer Died Here and finishing up a Master’s Degree at the prestigious London Film School.

Must Watch: Teaser (2015) Short Film

If you have eight minutes, be sure to check out Adam Jones LGBT themed short film Teaser. It's a poignant and somewhat disquieting look into the surreal world of addiction and the road to seeking help. Those who have been through something like this will surely relate. Those who have never been afflicted by addiction may be left scratching their heads, but hopefully will still be able to take something away from this film.

Here's the description Adam sent us:

"Teaser" is an LGBT themed atmospheric 8 min silent short film, based on a young gay mans journey into the drug scene. The story is inspired by my experience in the gay scene and the path to destruction in a 9 month meth binge. The video captures the LGBT community in a darker light through montage and surrealism. I've been volunteering at local LGBT community centers and I know that a lot of young gay men are suffering from addiction. The message of " Teaser" is making a dark time of your life into something good and beneficial. Whether it be music, art, writing, film, or performing. There are so many outlets to making something great out of a shitty time. 1 year sober as of May 27th. I want to inspire our LGBT youth.

But, we wanted to know more, so we reached out to Adam Jones and he was kind enough to answer a few questions about his film.

Q: What was the breaking point that made you decide to get sober?
Adam: Like any other young man (gay or straight) we are searching to find ourselves. We all want to be happy, try new things, explore life with a care-free attitude at some point. In my road to discovery I ended up loosing touch with who I was. I came from a middle class family, life was good growing up. There was no reason why I chose to live in a crack house, or smoke meth everyday. I decided to get sober when I realized my mental state was becoming a problem. Physically and mentally I was very sick, I escaped to a beautiful world in Napa,CA and found myself again.

Q: Has making the film helped with your recovery?
Adam: It's therapeutic to me and has helped push me in a good direction. Its nice to go online and search "drug addiction in the LGBT community" and dozens of links to the short film appear. It's nice to get recognition for my success, it's personal... it represents my experience as a whole. The opening of the film we revisit an apartment complex I used to hang around a lot. Everything in the short film is symbolic and has a meaning. I created a video that represents my path to darkness, and redemption. My recovery turned into a creative video project that shaped me as an underground experimental filmmaker.

Q: What kind of feedback are you getting from others battling addiction?
Adam: To be honest, I'm blacklisted from most pages on Facebook supporting gay men and recovery. My film's trailer was misconceived into something negative earlier this year. As recovering addicts, we immediately turn our heads the minute we see a trigger. "Teaser" is full of them. But I've built to a group of artists who completely understand the messages of addiction in the video which makes me happy.

You can expect a trailer for Adam's next film with a full crew coming up in September. And, be sure to subscribe to his Vimeo channel to keep up with all of his latest projects.

Must Watch: Stray (2015) Short Film

Filmmaker Tyler Glodt and writer Lewaa Nasserdeen bring us the hilarious twenty-four minute long short film Stray. What's it about? So glad you asked. It's set in a parallel universe where the sexual bias favors homosexuals. Eric, a struggling heterosexual, submits himself into gay conversion therapy in hopes of curing his deviant lifestyle and fitting in with societal norms.

I know, I know. It seems like this film could go really bad, really fast. But, it doesn't. It's terrifically wonderful and deadpan. The acting is sincere and natural. It's a total relief from the campy silliness of films that have come before. Stray will make you laugh out loud without a single over the top, "hey look how gay and funny I am" performance. The actors even stay in character while delivering rehab/recovery lines like, "I'm out of scrubs, I can almost do the splits, and I'm starting to emotionally shut down."

Anyway, rather than me going on and on, watch it for yourself. It's well worth your time.

Watch: Short Documentary "From the Fringes, To the Forefront"

In 2012, before Britain finally legalized gay marriage, film students Isabelle Willaby, Zaid Thanoon, Rebecca Dudley, and Ray Shaahu made the wonderful short documentary "From the Fringes, To the Forefront." They have finally released it to the public. The ten minute mini-doc recounts what it was like to be gay in England in the 60s. Until 1967, being homosexual was a criminal act and men were often jailed if caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The film does a terrific job interviewing several aging Brits who were young adults living in the notorious Machester Village the 60s. They discuss the club scene, the police harassment, and the changing times as homosexuals finally started protesting the way they were treated. Towards the end of the movie, one of the men laments that too many of the kids today take their freedom to be openly gay for granted and do not even realize, or care to know, the historic struggles of the past generations.

Anyway, take ten minutes and watch this film. It's totally worth your time.

Gay Independent Filmmaker Branden Blinn Set To Release Compilation of Nine Gay Short Films

Gay independent filmmaker Branden Blinn has compiled nine of his gay short films into a new release titled Remarkable Shades of Gay. The premiere happens on February 27th in NYC at Cinema Village. The nine shorts include some of his better known work such as Thirteen or So Minutes and Triple Standard as well as some charming newer titles like Truth or Dare and A La Carte.

They released a teaser trailer for the event today. Not too much info given yet, I am sure more details will come soon. In the meantime, here are two of the short films included in the compilation that Blinn has made available online.

Also, be sure to check out his great web series Derek and Cameron. They are 5 episodes in thus far. And it's pretty darn entertaining. It's all about trying to make a relationship work though one of the two partners is struggling with his sexuality.

Shorty Shorts Queer Film Festival is Taking Submissions!

Shorty Shorts Queer Film Festival, one of the coolest gay short film festivals in the US, is taking submissions until Oct. 25th! The short films are to be no longer than 10 minutes! Based on the films shown over the last four years, it would seem that any subject matter is fair game. The festival itself will be in November in Portland, OR. If you ask really nice, festival organizer Gula Delgatto might bring the films to your hometown for a showing!

In their own words:

We are looking for anyone to submit a queer minded short film 10 minutes or less and have it shown on the big screen. Regardless if you owned a fancy HD camera or just a simple cell phone we want everyone to have the opportunity to show their work and ideas. We are so grateful for your support and contributions. You the filmmakers are the backbone of this festival. Without your incredible talent and drive Shorty Shorts would not be possible.

Watch the call for submissions video below. Also, watch the hilarious footage from the Festival in 2012! You can visit their website here: www.shortyshortsfilmfest.com.

When we visited the page, we had a hard time getting the submission button to work. So, if you have a similar problem, no worries. Here is the link!

  SUBMIT YOUR FILM! 

Watch: Talk to Me Now (2012) Short Film

For the first time, Brazilian filmmaker Joaquim Lino has made his 2012 short film Talk To Me Now available for mass consumption with English subtitles! Lino wrote and co-directed (with Karina Ades) this wonderful film about love, family, and compassion in the face of some particularly nasty and brutal sexual intolerance.

Here's the official synopsis:

Julio, a 40 years old man who lives with his father and his grandmother who he helps looking after, works as a cross dressed jazz singer. Julio's father does not approve his work but has to deal with all his anger when his favorite son looses all his money and Julio has to take over all the house's expanses. But the biggest challenge comes to both of them when Julio discovers that his father has a fatal illness. Julio has very little time to destroy the wall between them to win his love and he'll do whatever is necessary to succeed.

This barely scratches the surface of the true nature of this charming movie. Julio's brother Manu (short for Emanuel) and Grandmother embrace Julio and respect him and the financial support he gives the family. But, the Father is a different matter altogether. He is a seething ball of hatred and rage who also happens to be dying of an undisclosed terminal condition. In one particularly gut wrenching segment, Julio and Manu are the victims of gay bashing outside a nightclub while at home, their Father is destroying Julio's room and clothing out of disgust for his cross dressing. The acting is so wonderful by the father in this scene that you easily feel his own self-hatred and fear boiling over, causing him to last out.

Talk To Me Now is a really well put together short film. Though just 17 minutes long, it really feels like a full length movie. And, the dark and brooding cinematography do a great job of capturing the mood of the soulful, sentimental jazz that Julio sings to make his living. It's more than worth a watch!

Watch: Violin (2012) Short Film

German writer/director Roman Ilyushenko brings us Violin, an incredibly sweet twelve minute short that winds up being so sensual it will leave you quivering with desire. Two young men share an insanely intimate moment during an impromptu violin lesson. Really gotta hand it to the European shorts, they are all incredibly well acted and beautifully filmed. Watch this. You won't be sorry.

Watch: Utopia (2012) Short Film

Originally released in 2012, Manfred Rott's Utopia follows two young French men from different social backgrounds as they spend time getting to know each other. They explore the suburbs around Paris and visit vacated utopian architectural projects built in an era when a better future for all was still the goal of society. Inspired, they hope for their own personal utopia where they are free to love each other. It's a fairly charming movie. Subtitled. 18 minutes. Winner of Best Short Film at numerous European gay and lesbian film festivals.

Watch: XY Anatomy of a Boy Documentary

In 2009, Danish documentarian Mette Carla Albrechtsen gathered six homosexual young men in the intimate, semi-uncomfortable, setting of a men's locker room to discuss love, life, and sexuality. The guys really open up and some begin interviewing each other in this touching documentary. Initially filmed at the Nation Film School of Denmark in 2009, it made the Festival rounds in 2011 and 2012. This is a really charming and touching look into the private lives of some very interesting twenty somethings. The 29 minute run time flies by quickly. This is worth a half hour of your time.

Watch: "Spasibo" Short Film - Winner of Amnesty International Film Festival's Special Prize for Human Rights

Written and directed by Anaïs Sartini, the 15 minute short film Spasibo is a parable about censorship in Russia inspired by a real event in her own life. First, here's the official synopsis:

Clément, a French actor, goes to Saint Petersburg to participate in a film festival. When he gets there, he realizes he has disappeared: nobody can hear him and see him. He meets Andrei, a Russian gay who lives the same thing. 

Basically, homosexuals can only see each other. The rest of humanity is completely blind to their plight and ignores them. I am sure that homosexuals around the world understand this feeling all too well.

Sartini explains the real event that lead to this film:

In april 2012, our short-film Between Bodies has been censored by the Parisian Season’s Festival in Saint-Petersbourg, Russia. A law, which came into force the 17 March 2012, prohibits «the propaganda of homosexuality».

In reaction to the censoreship, we came to Saint Petersbourg to make SPASIBO. This short-film denounces the social invisibility who are reduced homosexuals in Russia. The film is marked by urgency and spontaneity in which it was made.

Anaïs Sartini took a huge risk and filmed this short entirely in Russia. The resulting short movie won her the Special Prize for Human Rights at the Amnesty International Film Festival 2012. Take a look!

It's pretty great.

**You can turn on English subtitles by hitting the CC button on the video player!