The Male Gaze is a new series of releases from New Queer Visions that showcases short LGBTQ films from across the world. The first instalment, First Kiss, brings together five shorts that are based around men experiencing romantic and/or sexual interaction with other men for the first time. It takes in films from Sweden, Indonesia, USA, Australia and France giving a rounded look at how similar experiences are depicted across the world. The films are: Naked [Naken] (2013); Pria (2017); Walk With Me (2018), One Night Only (2018); Michel's Mouse [Tapette] (2016).
When darkness falls, temperatures rise in these six stories about late night confessions, intimacy for sale, high speed hookups and full moon frissons. But when the sun comes up and reality reveals itself, will it have all been worth it? The short films are: Thirst (2018); According to Mateo [Según Mateo] (2017); Hardcore (2016); Beast [Séptimo] (2011); Petit Ami (2017); Skai Blue (2017).
Work up a sweat from the soccer field to the locker room in these drama-fueled four films from Germany, France and the UK that explore how rivalry between teams can spill over into teacher-pupil relationships, high school crushes and brotherly compassion. The short films are: Islands [Inseln] (2018); Play It Like a Man [Un été viril] (2018); Colours (2015); Through the Fields [Passer les champs] (2015).
We wish to make him ours, to keep and to hold forever - but will the boy reciprocate? And is he everything we expected him to be? In these five tales from the UK, France, Sweden, Mexico and the USA, a variety of characters throw caution to the wind and take their chances on a fleeting moment. The short films are: Uneven [Impar] (2016); Wolves (2016); Johnny (2018); Debut (2016); Guardian (2018).
On an Italian beach a father leaves his wife and child to reignite an old acquaintance. In London an app hookup leads to more than just a fling. Meanwhile Slovak lovers Dominik and Adam have their relationship put to the test when secrets come to the fore. Popular with children across the globe, hiding and seeking is a game we never seem to stop playing - well into our adult years. The short films are: Lolo (2019); The Den [La tana] (2015); Stanley (2017); If Only You Were Mine [Keby si bol môj] (2017); No Strings (2015).
Strap yourself in for an exhilarating journey into darkness with these five award-winning short films from across the globe that delve into heart-pumping escapades varying from the intensely erotic to the ultra-violent to the warm-inside feels. The night has never looked so inviting. Segments: After Dawn [Passée l'aube] (2017), Poof (2018), Spiral (2018), Night of Love (2018), Floating Melon [浮果] (2015).
Two's company, three's allowed? From family disputes and unexpected babysitting duties to uncomfortable high school memories, manga drawing and friendships pushed to the next level - the Male Gaze series lifts the lid on six very different gay relationships and encounters. When two become three and outsiders enter the fray, what are the group dynamics at play? The short films are: Golden Boys (2017); In Beating Cells [In Pocheden Zellen] (2017); The Middle of a Lake [Le milieu d'un lac] (2017); Gilles (2016); Kiko's Saints [Les saints de Kiko] (2019); With Thelma [Avec Thelma] (2017).
A release that features 7 shorts from Italy, Israel, Tunisia, New Zealand, the United States and France, exploring those furtive first steps that men take as they decide to act on their sexuality. The 7 short films are: The First Time [La prima volta] (2012); Kiss Me (2022); Nidhal [نضال] (2022); Sparrow (2016); I Am Mackenzie (2019); The Place Between Us [Il posto fra di noi] (2010); By the End of the Night [Que la nuit s'achève] (2018).
From a swimming pool in Brazil to the back seat of a car in Germany via an apartment in the early hours of the morning where three men dance to the beat of wild passions, here are four stories about the marks that can be left when skin touches skin. Even in brightness, some shadows will always linger. The 4 short films are: Offline [Desconexo] (2020); Hedon (2019); Adán & Esteban (2022); Private Photos [Fotos Privadas] (2020).
Go on an enriching journey from Mexico to Spain, onto Austria and then to China via Greece in these five moving short films where gay men overcome various obstacles in accepting who they are, and where they are going - things can only get better. The 5 short films are: If They Knew [Berak baleki] (2021); Xutaj (2022); Boom and Bloom [Neuzeit] (2022); Sexual Distancing (2022); And We Collide [潮汐平行时] (2021).
A stranger by the lake with a valuable possession. A journey home after serving time in jail. A friendship evolving from childhood to adulthood. Discover five risky situations where men and young boys take the plunge. The 5 short films are: A King, Gazing at the Sea [Le roi qui contemplait la mer] (2022); A Drowning Man (2017); Reo (2016); Summer Friends [L'amie de l'été] (2021); Summer Memories [Souvenir d'une après-midi d'été] (2021).
Four countries, four men - and four encounters that will call into question everything about themselves they thought they were sure of. Just when you thought things couldn't get any more complicated, along comes a boy to add a fresh perspective. The 4 short films are: Billy Boy (2021); Summer [Verano] (2022); Fabiu (2023); Czechoslovakia [Checoslovaquia] (2022).
A love left unsaid on the football field, a third invite to a high-rise tête-à-tête, a fast-approaching farewell and a friendship that evolves into something complicated. Lose yourself in these five stories from France that are handled with grace, maturity and a tender touch. The 5 short films are: 9th Floor to the Right [9ème étage droite] (2022); Hugo: 6:30 [Hugo : 18h30] (2020); Cary & James (2023); For the Love of the Game [Pour l'amour du jeu] (2023); Youssou & Malek [Youssou et Malek] (2022).
Take a trip on the wild side with these six daring short films from Mexico, Portugal, Brazil, Spain and France that uncover the power of nature and mysticism, family ties that bond yet suffocate, the vagaries of same sex attraction, the pain of memory, the thrill of what's to come. The 6 short films are: Memory of An Afternoon On the Roof [Recuerdo de una tarde en la azotea] (2022); Afternoon Sun [À Tarde, Sob o Sol] (2020); Sweet Water [Água Doce] (2023); Cor Petit (2023); Haiku (2022); The Boy Who Wanted to Fly [El niño que quería volar] (2018).
Twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are raised in east London, under the influence of their hateful but doting mother Violet. As they grow up, Ronnie's violent nature takes over, and Reggie follows his brother's lead. The two become notorious crime lords who rule over the East End club scene. But at the height of their power, the brothers veer into different lives, giving the older crime bosses a chance to reclaim what the Krays took from them.
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Based on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells the story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he becomes the feared leader of a white skinhead gang.
It's 1957, and James Whale's heyday as the director of "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man" is long behind him. Retired and a semi-recluse, he lives his days accompanied only by images from his past. When his dour housekeeper, Hannah, hires a handsome young gardener, the flamboyant director and simple yard man develop an unlikely friendship, which will change them forever.
A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.
A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.
Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.
A hit man named Kai flies into Bangkok, gets a gun, and orders a cab. He offers a professional female driver big money to be his all-night driver. But when she realizes Kai is committing brutal murders at each stop, it's too late to walk away. Meanwhile, an offbeat police detective races to decode the string of slayings before more blood is spilled.
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Two feuding brothers (one a policeman, the other a martial arts expert) of different political views, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent, killed by the mafia.
An ex-marine enforcer must battle his conscience and code of honor when he is forced to do things for the mob.
