The Dance-Off (2023)

Das Phallometer

The phallometric tests were used in the Czech Republic until recently in order to verify the homosexuality of asylum seekers, who reported homosexuality-based persecution in their home country as grounds for asylum. This short tells the story of a young guy whose sexuality will be tested through this method in a satirically way.

All Our Fears

Daniel is respected by his village community as long as he bravely supports the fight for their affairs. He is in love with the boy next door, Olek, who is not ready to reveal his sexual identity. Their relationship develops in secret. When a teenage friend can no longer take homophobic attacks and commits a suicide, Daniel tries to convince the villagers to organise a service of the Stations of the Cross together for the intention of the victim.

Nuovo Olimpo

In 1970s Rome, a casual encounter between Enea and Pietro at a movie theater turns into an unforgettable romance — until destiny pulls them apart.

Message Sent

Message Sent is the story of Michael Collins, a teenager struggling to find himself. Michael lives what most would call a perfect life. He has perfect friends, an amazing girlfriend, and a future. But he also has a secret. A secret that has been eating away at him for years.

Professor Godoy

Mr. Godoy teaches math at a Private High School's senior year. Stubborn and severe, Godoy lives a dull life defined by rules, but something is about to change.

We Never Asked for This

Frankie and Charlie have moved to a tiny house. They regret it. It’s Christmas Eve. Frankie is miserable. Charlie’s organised a festive family lunch. Then Charlie finds a disoriented cockatiel by the river. She tucks him into a box and brings him inside. Little do they know – this bird has its own agenda. Nobody seems to notice something strange has started falling from the sky.

Any Given Tuesday

Any Given Tuesday is an awareness short film about an unsuspecting teen discovered to be gay by his non-accepting parents. Subsequently, this young boy is kicked out of his family home and we follow the harrowing first seven days of homelessness that these youth statistically endure.

Maybe... Maybe Not

The heterosexual man Axel is thrown out of his girlfriends home for cheating and ends up moving in with a gay man. Axel learns the advantages of living with gay men even though they are attracted to him and when his girlfriend wants him back he must make a tough decision.

Rebel Without a Cause

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.

Stand by Me

After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie, Vern, Chris and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

Some Like It Hot

Two musicians witness a mob hit and struggle to find a way out of the city before they are found by the gangsters. Their only opportunity is to join an all-girl band as they leave on a tour. To make their getaway they must first disguise themselves as women, then keep their identities secret and deal with the problems this brings - such as an attractive bandmate and a very determined suitor.

Ben-Hur

In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

Pink Flamingos

Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".

The Motorcycle Diaries

Based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he and best friend Alberto Granado had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.

Love in Thoughts

A posthumous look at the last days of Guenther's life as he, his best friend, and his sister let loose on a four-day binge of alcohol, drugs, and sex.

Alexander

Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.

Laika

Laika, a Japanese woman studying in Moscow, moves in with Yulia, an aspiring actress, and they develop an intimate relationship.

Slow Dance

During a middle school dance, a boy is struggling with his courage when experiencing his first love.

Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train

Friends of a recently painter Jean-Baptiste Emmerich gather at a Paris railroad station for a four-hour journey to Limoges, where Emmerich wanted to be buried. The dozen travelers include art historian François and his lover Louis, who develops an interest in Bruno, whom he meets on a train. Traveling parallel with the train is a station wagon with Jean-Baptiste's body, and this vehicle is driven by Thierry, husband of Catherine, who's on the train with their daughter. François plays a taped interview with Jean-Baptiste, revealing his sexual appeal to both men and women. Lucie is convinced that she was his main love. Also on board is his nephew, Jean-Marie and Jean-Marie's estranged wife Claire. After the funeral in "Europe's largest cemetery," the story continues in the mansion of Jean-Baptiste's brother Lucien.

Mirrors

Julian is a melancholic teenager on holiday at the family cottage. His holiday gets a twist when a mysterious neighbor confuses him. A summertime coming-of-age drama.

Out Loud

Six friends (three men, one gay and a woman) gather together in Jason's house outside Beirut for his birthday. Each of them has a very difficult family situation. During a long, intense night, eating, dancing and talking seriously, the young people make an ideal pact of love and friendship in the name of freedom, of a dream, of the hope for a better future. As in a new Decameron, modern rebels against the oppression, traditions, sexism and homophobia that permeate their society. But the violence of the real world breaks in on their splendid isolation. The first Lebanese gay movie, which was censored in its country of origin. This film combines different genres and styles: a Bollywood style format full of songs, choreographies and colours, but also a powerful melodrama, alternating moments of comedy and dramatic elements. A manifesto of liberty and emancipation, with a cast of actors as stunningly beautiful as fashion models.

Falling

John Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father Willis from Los Angeles who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.

Nuclear

A pregnancy drama challenging the prevailing definition of a "nuclear family."

Eyes Wide Open

A beautifully affecting love story that has rightly earned comparisons to Brokeback Mountain, Haim Tabakman's potent yet impeccably restrained tale has won awards and accolades at film festivals the world over. Aaron, a pillar in Jerusalem's Orthodox community is respected by friends and family. However, when he hires handsome runaway student Ezri to assist with his business, sexual tensions bristle and the pair cautiously embark on a love affair. Meanwhile, a neighbouring shopkeeper persists in seeing a man of her own choosing, even though she's been promised by her father to another. As forbidden truths come to the fore, these lovers are forced to either confront or relent in the face of a centuries-old religious community, with startling results.

Splendor

Veronica is a white-bread beauty searching for a good man in Los Angeles. While slam dancing at a Halloween rave, she meets Abel, a sensitive poet. Then she meets Zed, a supersexy tattooed drummer with incredible biceps. Who will she choose? Does she go for true love or cheap sex? She can't decide so she chooses both. But after managing to nurture a picture-perfect threesome, along comes Ernest, a rich movie director with deep baby blues that sweep Veronica off her feet. What's a girl to do now?

The Hanging Garden

William, a once obese and troubled teen, goes back to his family's home after being gone, without word, for ten years and finds it (and his family) haunted with his past. He had moved to the city and become a fit, well-adjusted gay man, but during his visit home, he becomes unhinged as the newly remembered reasons for his miserable adolescence come to life in each of their presents.

Nordsee ist Mordsee

14-year old Uwe lives in s suburban Hamburg housing estate. Besides trouble, the boy has not much to expect from his parents. To get his hands on some money, he prizes open vending machines, and to let out his frustration he beats up "wogs". Among them is Dschingis, his nemesis. But one day, the rivals make peace. They become friends because they realize that they have the same problems and are driven by the same dreams and hopes.

Hayat Sevince Güzel

Turkish Pollyanna's story.

Not Gonna Bother You

Rebecca needs to finish a home work for college, but Anna, her roommate and best friend, decides to invite some friends to drink at home. What the both of them didn't expect was the friendly party getting out of control.

FAQs

After living on the tough streets of LA for a while, India hopes that every gay basher will meet his destiny. In this case Destiny is a black, 6 foot, high heel wearing, gun toting, drag queen with an attitude and a soft place in her heart for homeless gay boys.

Mapplethorpe

A look at the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe from his rise to fame in the 1970s to his untimely death in 1989.

Let's Go, Jets!

Female students, including Hikari Tomonaga, from a high school cheerdance club follow strict instructions from their teacher Kaoruko Saotome. They compete at the USA Cheerdance Championship.

High Art

A young female intern at a small magazine company becomes involved with a drug-addicted lesbian photographer, both of whom seek to exploit each other for their respective careers, while slowly falling in love with each other.

No Skin Off My Ass

A lonely hairdresser watches the title sequence of "That Cold Day in the Park" then visits a local park to invite a down-and-out skinhead to his apartment. He draws the silent man a bath and talks to him as he soaks. He locks his guest in a bedroom. Next day, the skinhead leaves through the window and visits his sister, who's making a film called "Sisters of the SLA." He helps with a screen-test. The hairdresser has dreams and fantasies involving the skinhead, the skinhead returns to visit him, and then the filmmaker pays a call on the two men, exposing her brother as faking his silence and pretending a lack of sexual interest. Fantasies can come true.

Total Eclipse

Young, wild poet Arthur Rimbaud and his mentor Paul Verlaine engage in a fierce, forbidden romance while feeling the effects of a hellish artistic lifestyle.

New Queer Visions: The Last Days of Innocence

When adulthood looms, naivety fades, and a whole new, strange world opens up. These four beguiling European stories, from acclaimed film festivals the world over, explore these years of youthful wonder with a deftness and artistry that lingers. The short films are: Ruins [Ruines] (2019); Aline (2019); Snake [Змија] (2020); The Touching [Dotýkání] (2020).

Rite of Spring

Set during the dog days of summer, a group of teenage boys inhabit a makeshift bike part in a secluded wooded area of Toronto. David (14) craves the attention of Peter (17), an older boy and a natural leader to the group, while being mercilessly teased by his best friend, John (14). When their hidden world is breached by an outsider, anger, fear and misunderstanding lead to a violent outburst.

Touch Me in the Morning

Two men in a morning routine... a dance and no words.

EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair)

After running away from her emotionally abusive mother, 16 year old addict Ivy takes refuge at her older friend Joey's apartment, who is a recovered addict themselves. Together the two must learn to coexist as Ivy comes to terms with her trauma.

Coming Out

Philipp, a closeted teacher, is dating a female colleague to keep up appearances. One night he stumbles into a gay bar and falls for a man. Transformed by this love, he is no longer afraid to face up to who he is.

Love and Dance

Hania (Izabella Miko) is a young journalist who suddenly discovers that she is more connected with dancing than she could ever imagine ...

Midnights with Adam

Over the course of one night, a newly out-of -the-closet young man struggles to hold back his feelings for his straight best friend while dealing with the problems and complications of being different in a hetero-normative world.

Three Dancing Slaves

Annecy is no tourist destination for three working-class Algerian brothers and their father, in the months after their mother has died. Marc is deeply troubled: he tries to stiff drug dealers and then plots revenge. Christophe is released from jail, lands a job, and must overcome various temptations in order to keep it. Olivier, nearing 18, may be falling in love with Hicham...

I'm the King of the Castle

Thomas, the son of a millionaire lives a fairly isolated existence, in a mansion in rural France. His father hires a widowed woman to take care of things while he is away. The maid's son, Charles moves in as well, and the two parents hope that the two can become friends but they become enemies immediately after meeting each other. Once their parents fall in love, Thomas decides to make Charles, who he views as an "invader", as miserable as possible.

Carlito Leaves Forever

In the Amazonian jungle, the village of Palma Real resists the modern world. Carlito, a silent young man, decides to leave. On the muddy bed of the immense river, an encounter reveals the secret that Carlito has hidden from his community.

Blackbird

A story about friendship between two boys coming from different social backgrounds, but with the equally bitter family experiences.

If Only

On a rainy afternoon, Martha discovers an old Polaroid in her bedroom. She then spends the whole afternoon conversing with someone deeply familiar and significant from her past.

Hide & Seek

A transgender college student, a gay man, a dancer, and an activist struggle to live openly and find acceptance of their sexuality in Pakistan.

The Big Gay Musical

Paul and Eddie have just begun previews for the new Off-Broadway musical "Adam and Steve - Just the Way God Made 'Em." Their lives strangely mirror the characters they are playing. Paul is looking for the perfect man and Eddie is dealing with how his sexuality and faith can mix.

Half of Me

A young gay, neurotic and ex-religious art student goes into a spin with the surprise visit of an eccentric childhood friend.

Love Syndrome: The Beginning

Itt was raped by Day because Itt was the mastermind behind the plan that hurt Day’s younger brother Night. This plan was to trick Night into falling in love with Itt’sfriend, Gear who then raped him. Day discovered the plan after it happened and took his revenge by raping Itt and videotaping the rape as blackmail material. Whenever Itt said something that Day didn’t like, he would verbally and physically beat and abuse him. Day used this videotape to blackmail Itt, and forced him to come and live with him. They started to grow feelings for each other despite the extreme situation. Especially Itt who wanted Day to make his feelings clear. So he ran away with the help of Night. After this Day went crazy when he found out and realized how much he really liked Itt despite what he did to him.

40 Minutes

Joey's life is turned upside down after his parents discover his secret relationship with another boy and send him to reparative therapy to address the 'unnatural' feelings that threaten their image of a happy life. In a forty-minute hypnotherapy session, Joey's mind is explored by a therapist who is confident that his influence over Joey's thoughts can set him on the right path. At an age with little autonomy or voice in the matters of his own life, Joey struggles to find a way to choose for himself what will lead him to happiness.

Nimby: Not In My Backyard

Mervi is a gay girl living in the hipster quarters of Helsinki. She has been together with Kata for a year, and now they are encouraged by the circumstances to come out from closet. When they do, Mervi realises that she is not the only one in her family with secrets – her parents have been living in an open-bisexual-swinger-relationship for 20 years. On the other hand Kata is pretty surprised that she might be living with a hetero girl that once was dating a neo-nazi. And the ex-boy friend cannot swallow that Mervi is now with a person both of wrong color, and sex. The real threat appears when Kata’s parents arrive from Berlin and the local skinhead chief finds out that a black muslim celebrity politician has arrived to town.

Desert Dancer

Inspirational true story of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who risked his life for his dream to become a dancer despite a nationwide dancing ban.

A Lady In Waiting

A young woman in 1810s England must hide her secret relationship with her maid from her fiancé.

Johnny Minotaur

Johnny Minotaur is a lyrical explosion of taboos: incest, intergenerational desire, pansexuality and autoeroticism are a few of the issues Charles Henri Ford grapples with through mythopoeic, sensual imagery, recitations of his diaries and a philosophical debate featuring an impressive narration by such artists as Salvador Dali, Allen Ginsberg, Warren Sonbert and Lynne Tillman.

Cats Don't Dance

An ambitious singing and dancing cat goes to Hollywood and overcomes several obstacles to fulfill his dream of becoming a movie star.

The New Twenty

Five best friends in their late 20's discover new truths about themselves and the friendships they thought would last forever.

Men Don't Cry

One stormy winter night, soaking wet 20 year old Ilias arrives uninvited at Petros’ house. Ilias’ erratic behaviour causes much concern to Petros. He vaguely remembers meeting Ilias one night some years ago, in a gay bar. As the night goes on, unsettling truths come to the fore, and as much as Petros would like to be rid of his guest, some truths will stay with you forever.

A Dog Barking at the Moon

Coming back to her broken family, pregnant writer Huang Xiaoyu and her French husband, Benjamin, finds herself trapped between her cult brainwashed mother, Li Jiumei, and her secretly homosexual father, Huang Tao.

Eric

Tucked away in a forgotten and isolated motel, a 'lad' meets a returning soldier coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. The brief encounter is a soft collision of two characters both lost and trying to find themselves within each other.

Outlaw

Gay teen Nikita is in love with the most popular boy in his school, Alpha. Rebellious Outlaw, to whom anything appears to be permissible, watches on as their relationship develops. Simultaneously, we follow the tragic love story of a transgender dancer Nina and a Soviet general, set in 1985.

New Queer Visions: Right Beside You

In times of strife it's important to have someone by your side. Whether it is a shoulder to cry on or a source of confidence, an imaginary friend or a distant lover, these six tales from Mexico, Brazil, France, the UK and the Netherlands prove that the search for companionship is a journey worth taking. The short films are: My Mother's Lovers [Los novios de mi madre] (2020); Bootyful (2019); Only What You Need to Know About Me [Apenas o Que Você Precisa Saber Sobre Mim] (2018); Junk (2011); High Tide [Stille Dorst] (2018).

White Paper

Samong, a Burmese student, did not expected to get "painted" since the first day he got into Thai high school. A journey of him, a Burmese exchange student, to the breaking where he has to choose for the school or for himself.

Forgotten Roads

Claudina is a repressed woman from the countryside. After her husband passes away, she meets Elsa, a married woman with whom she discovers real love. In a little conservatory town in the south of Chile, obsessed with UFO sighting, she starts a new journey.

1:54

Tim, a shy 16-year-old athlete with a natural gift for running, is dealing with the loss of his mother, as well as his sexuality. After a personal video is posted to social media, Tim's private life is about to explode into the public eye.