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Tag: Movie Genre Shorts

  • FILM REVIEW | Boys on film 15: Time and Tied

    FILM REVIEW | Boys on film 15: Time and Tied

    Peccadillo continues to champion gay short films by coming out with their 15th gay shorts compilation. This one’s titled ‘Boys on Film 15: Time and Tied’ and it showcases a selection of British short films that are either sexy, funny or meaningful or all three.

    -G_OCLOCK_1

     

    The best by far is Trouser Bar. Directed by famous gay porn director Kristen Bjorn, Trouser Bar takes us into a gay shop that sells clothes made of corduroy clothes, which gets both the staff and customers frisky. Its pulsating music and mustached actors mimic the best elements of a 1970’s gay porn film, and it builds to an exciting climax. Porn star Ashley Ryder is practically unrecognizable as one of the shops customers, with Julian Clary making a quick cameo. This is an 18-minute masterpiece.

    Crossroad doesn’t have any dialogue, but it’s a hard-hitting 11-minute short about a young man who lives with his girlfriend. He’s angry and revengeful over the black man who ran over and killed the man he was in love with. Directed by gay actor Leon Lopez. Powerful.

    Dawn introduces us to a young blind man who’s waiting at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere, and unbeknownst to him the woman he’s speaking to is transgender. They share a special moment together in this 11-minute short directed by transgender filmmaker Jake Graf.

    Sauna the Dead is a fantastic gay horror film about one man looking for love in a sauna where the patrons turn into zombies who then try to eat him and a fellow Indian customer alive. Very original and excellently shot at Chariots Vauxhall. Directed by Tom Frederic (who also stars), it’s 23 minutes of scary fun.

    G’OClock is a relevant and timely short about a chemsex party where a paramedic and a younger man re-connect from a previous encounter. Though it ends abruptly, it’s very glossy style with a very sexy cast make it’s ten minutes too short. The film includes the infectious song ‘Look at Me’ by DPSC. With Leon Lopez (again) and a bevy of real life porn stars.

    Closets (18 minutes) is a poignant and emotional story about a camp young teenage boy in 1986 who likes to dress up in his mother’s clothes. She gets angry at him so he retreats into his closet, and then comes out of the closet (no pun intended) to meet another young gay man 30 years in the future whose gay lifestyle, and dressing up, is more acceptable. This 18-minute beautiful film is directed by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and has a fantastic performance by Tommy Knight as the 1986 gay teen.

    Putting on the Dish is basically two gay men sitting on a bench in a park talking about gay men and sex. Their accents and the too short story make it a bit hard to understand and pretty much irrelevant.

    The above is just a taster of all the short films that are featured in this two hour compilation that’s all about showcasing some of the UK’s best emerging talent. Tie yourself to your DVD player and make this a much watch!

    BOYS ON FILM 15: TIME AND TIED

    Available to purchase on AMAZON

  • FILM REVIEW | Global Warming

    Do not be put off by this ominous title as this is not an environmental doomsday prediction about the state of our planet, but simply a selection of four boy-lit short movies where the action sometimes gets steamy.

    ★★★

    The first is You Can’t Curry Love which is the story of a young Asian gay man who cannot get a boyfriend back home in the UK, but when he flies to India on a business trip he falls in love with the very first man he meets and who happens to be Sunil the handsome front desk clerk at his hotel. This too-cute-for-words tale also serves as an infomercial with Sunil preaching on how far gay rights have/have not progressed in his country. They wrap up this happily-ever-after very slight story with one of those camp song and dance numbers that are the mainstay of every Bollywood movie.

    Daddy’s Big Girl is a less than satisfactory tale of a sad overweight girl desperately trying to reconcile with her self-centred man-hungry father who is only interested in being a ‘daddy’ to the stream of young gym trainers he beds.

    The third movie in this compilation, and probably the best, is Foreign Relations. Shy Tom is assigned to bunk up with handsome Greek Nikos on a group vacation trip. Unsurprisingly Tom totally falls for Nikos even though he has no idea if his new friend shares his preference for boys. By the time this sweet tale ends you are hoping for Tom’s sake that he does.

    The fourth and final movie is Performance Anxiety which is the most amusing one in the quartet. It is the tale of two straight actors who have been cast to play gay in a movie. Both are naturally cute to boot and unnecessarily are as worried as hell. They really needn’t be, as they both would fit in extremely well on our team any day. Or night.

    All written and directed by filmmaker Reid Watererand filmed with a cast of engaging young actors, this enjoyable new collection would make a perfect date movie. It may not warm the globe, but it will probably get you hot under the collar at times.

     

  • FILM REVIEW | Boys On Film 12: Confessions: Applauded For Their High Production Values

    FILM REVIEW | Boys On Film 12: Confessions: Applauded For Their High Production Values

    Boys On Film 12: Confessions | ★★★★★

    UK film distributor Peccadillo Pictures much-acclaimed series of gay short films BOYS ON FILM has a new 12th Edition called CONFESSIONS.

    Like all the previous collections this shockingly-good compilation of movies from mainly first-time filmmakers around the world features different stories about the lives of young gay men. As the title indicates the theme of this latest collection is about exposing private lives and uncovering secrets and presenting a choice or whether to keep hiding or to confess?

    Of the nine powerful tales, there are three standouts that make this anthology one of the best to date. From Australia, SHOWBOY written and directed by Samuel Leighton-Dore is the moving story of Julian a young football player. After the unexpected death of his mother, he finds himself struggling to support his depressed, unemployed father while fighting to keep safe the secret he once shared with his mother. He’s not only gay, but performs drag shows too.

    From the Netherlands, CRUISE PATROL written and directed by Bobby de Groot & Arjan van Meerten is a gloriously highly stylised animated movie about what happens on a long and dusty road where a routine cruise patrol takes a strange turn and spirals totally out of control.

    Finally, from Belgium, HUMAN WARMTH directed by Christophe Predari, is the tale of Antoine’s desire. His passion and his love is so overwhelming that he has to stay close to Bruno. He loves his warmth and he needs it. But as with any relationship, soon comes the time of detachment and what will happen if Antoine’s body stops responding? It is by far the most erotic and sensuous piece of the collection.

    Short films offer a wealth of different experiences and these ones, in particular, are wonderfully thought-provoking too. They should be applauded also for their high production values despite the micro budgets they were made off, and for the fact that gives gay audiences an opportunity to experience new talent behind and in front of the camera.

  • FILM REVIEW: Errodity(s)

    FILM REVIEW: Errodity(s)

    The only thing horrifying about Steven Vasquez’s new anthology of gay teen movies of the supernatural is some of the acting.★★ (more…)

  • FILM REVIEW | How To Have A Relationship

    A series of film shorts exploring the complexities of relationships.

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  • FILM REVIEW | Les Invisibles

    ★★★★★ | Les Invisibles

    A refreshingly honest and prevailing documentary film following the lives of eleven elderly gay men and women, something which has had little representation in gay culture.

    A superb collection of intimate autobiographical stories on what it was like growing up being gay and the pain of suppression. Somehow it seems more sincere coming from elderly people with incredibly fascinating memories to share. It was so easy to become affectionate towards these unashamed individuals and their lives.

    The film uses a collection of personal photographs and home footage to reveal the memories. At intervals the exceptional cinematography oozed of beauty.

    Although these individuals grew up in a different society as what we live in today, it is still touching to hear similar experiences of growing up being gay, and in particular, other peoples reactions to being gay. Some came from a time where it was scandalous to even claim to be proud of being gay.

    This film really made me think. It reminded me of the importance of acceptance in others, and acceptance in oneself. It made me proud to be part of a community of shared experience. But most of all it made me proud that a film has been lovingly and unpretentiously made which is honest and real. The highlight of the film festival so far.

    Outstanding

  • FILM REVIEW | Fragments

    A series of spectacular experimental short films which explore memory and gay culture. Art lovers prepare to be amazed…

    1. Kiss ★★★★

    A superb silent composition consisting of a single couple in frame, kissing. The black and white film has an air of romanticism and sexual lust about it. Following on from this, the same clips are played, but this time in colour and with the sound of kissing. This was a less attractive portrayal. An excellent arrangement of film and artistic questioning.

    2. Birthplace ★★★

    A spoken memory about growing up in a strong family unit which radiated out into the village culture. This is juxtaposed with a grainy Super 8 film full of exaggerated hue. Nostalgic and heartfelt.

    3. Things Art Different Now ★★★

    A film with a kind of painterly image quality. Single face shots are placed into context through a memory of persecution and the painful sadness of friends dying. A ghostly reflection on the AIDs epidemic.

    4. Happy ★★★★★

    This short displays a lyrical based approach with strong conceptual integrity. There is a continual flux of beliefs and desires through this duality of religious speech versus popular culture icons, such as Judy Garland. Outstanding and poignant dichotomy. The one to watch!

    5. Postface  ★★★★

    An exploration into the life of Montgomery Cliff, where an accident left him in pieces. The film work replicated this idea through a fragmented pausing and playing of film; a very experimental approach. It is suggestive of the consequences of his accident. Although this type of work probably will not be understood by the majority of people, it certainly comes highly commended for all the experimental art film lovers out there.

    6. I’m Leaving on Wednesday ★★★

    This looks at love and memory of this love though a footage style of filming. The passion when eyes lock together, the closeness, the feeling, the companionship. A gentle film.

    7. Pop! ★★

    This short film is like a collaged composition; a mash up between film, words, music and artistic overlay. Slightly confusing and ambiguous.

    8. How To Talk To Kids ★

    With a miminal music overlay, reminiscent of Sigur Ros, this film wasn’t as well executed as it could have been. Forgettable.

    9. Like Rats Leaving A Sinking Ship ★

    Poetic in expression, but incoherent in storyline. However, this incoherence perhaps adds to its beauty.

  • FILM REVIEW | Sexual Tension: Volatile

    TLA issue a DVD containing six short films about men who do not always get what they want, SEXUAL TENSION: VOLATILE brings together two award-winning filmmakers (Marco Berger and Marcelo Mónaco) for the first volume in a series of erotic short films.

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