Lonely Country (2023)

Prayers for Bobby

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.

Muñeca

Manuel and Pedro are extremely close friends. The first one is a women addicted while the other one is a solitary gay. Pedro can't find his way in life, Manuel sets up him in a blind date with some 40's woman named Gabriela, who is also in a hurry looking for a man in order to get pregnant. New changes in Chile inspire Pedro to do something never imagined for gay people: Being father.

Step Into the River

Lu and Wei live in a village in rural China. The young girls often go to the nearby river to play or fish with their fathers. The river has a special meaning for them because China’s one-child policy has led to some parents drowning their newborn daughters there.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

Sugar Orange

Lukas is Sugar, Clemens is Orange. Together, they are two ten-year-old boys who are inseparable. More than just playmates, they share a unique bond which seems predestined to last a lifetime. Until, that is, powerful emotions come to the fore and a misunderstanding leads to a rift which tears both them and their world apart. Twenty years later, Lukas is still terrified of being abandoned. He survives by forming loose relationships which don't threaten him. Then one day he meets Lena who turns his feelings upside down and awakens his inner child, the one still searching for unconditional friendship. While there is never a guarantee of security, there is a bond of trust, and through Lena, Lukas again makes contact with Clemens. After years of silence, they are finally able to exorcise their ghosts in an explosion of emotion.

Black Shore

In the off-season British seaside town of Black Shore, Ben's world is turned upside down when his wife, Holly, mysteriously disappears.

Bag of Patience

A father gets a haunting call from his son's class teacher telling him of his son's strange behavior.

Humo bajo el agua

A look at love and friendship in a historic moment for Argentina after the recovery of democracy. It tells the story of Julián, a young ranch hand who is reunited with Patricio, the son of his boss and his childhood friend. The passage of time and being face to face in the countryside where they were born, will make them realize that their childhood affection has become an indomitable feeling.

Pocket

Spend a year through the ups and downs of the life of an American teenager, told entirely from the perspective of his iPhone.

Red Dirt

About a man, his car, and a struggle against outback Australia and its denizens. The film follows the story of Blair, a young business man, on his way too the deal of a life time, a deal that will set him up for life. However, much like many well laid plans, his journey goes horribly wrong, but he ends up gaining more than money could ever buy.

American Male

Ever felt pressure to “be a man?” American Male, a short film from MTV’s Look Different Creator Competition, is a gritty look at how gender norms make it hard for us to be who we really are. Head to privilege.lookdifferent.org for more on the issue and how to take action.

Flowers of the Field

A man in crisis attends a reparative therapy retreat.

Truth or Dare

The truths and consequences of the actions of two siblings.

Covid-20

When an airborne virus infects the entire population on Earth, one secret organization discovers an extraordinary man, whose immune system can help them preserve the human kind.

The Girls' Grave

Sissi and Victoria are sisters. Whereas the younger is slowly emerging from the world of childhood, the elder tries in vain to be a grown up. In the room they share, Sissi is preparing for her gymnastic competition and Victoria has boys coming and going.

A Sister

A night. A car. Alie is in danger. To get by she must make the most important phone call of her life.

4 Days

College friends Derek and Mark slowly realize they mean more to each other than either had initially imagined. In the days leading up to Valentine's Day, their friendship blossoms into something much more enduring as time goes on - which challenges both to question who they thought they were and who they truly want to be.

Maidenhood

Catalina submits to the tradition of her people to demonstrate her purity and worth as a woman to her beloved, but her body betrays her and she fails to demonstrate her chastity.

Pipo and Blind Love

In a dehumanized world, where emotions are rationed and measures, Pipo, a factory worker, falls in love with a woman sitting on a bench. He’ll try anything to get her attention and seduce her.

Echo

In 1977, the Voyager probe leaves for the galaxy with a message in Spanish recorded in the RNE (Spanish National Radio Studio). Almost 50 years later and sick with Alzheimer's, Carmen is facing being transferred from her home in her town to a residence in the city.

Belmiro, Belmiro, Belmiro

Tormented by a mysterious figure named Belmiro, a young woman goes up on a stage to deliver a monologue about her past and fight against herself.

Pastel

Elisabeth catches her son James kissing a young man. As she now faces a life struggle, Elisabeth decides to fight for what she believes in and cure her only son from his presumed homosexuality. While James in subject to conversion therapy, Elisabeth begins to realize that appearances can be deceiving.

Ode to Pablo

Pablo and one of the boys, who first taunted and teased him, strike up an unlikely rapport over Pablo’s headphones. Their brief encounter quickly gets complicated. Ode to Pablo is a rare glimpse into the world of a queer, deaf Latino who’s learned to deal with bigoted preconceptions about who he is.

Papilio Buddha

A band of displaced untouchables in Western Ghats of India embrace Buddhism in order to escape from caste oppression.

Unfriend

On Christmas Day, 15 year old David finds out that his boyfriend, Jonathan has taken another lover. The discovery leads him on the brink of depression making him think of ways to have him back at all cost. He has invited Jonathan to see him on this day for the last time.

Land of Storms

Szabolcs plays in a German football team, as does Bernard. They are roommates, best friends, inseparable. A lost match makes him reconsider his life and he goes back to Hungary in hope for more simplicity. Yet his solitude does not last long. Soon after his arrival he meets Áron and a mutual attraction between the two boys develops when suddenly Szabolcs receives an unexpected phone call from Bernard: he has arrived to Hungary...

Emilie Muller

At her first audition, a young woman is asked by the casting director to talk about what is inside her handbag.

How It Feels

Over the past few months, less so now, I've been experiencing some fairly intense spouts of anxiety. Something incredibly new and quite frightening for me. After a bunch of CBT sessions, my therapist recommended channeling my experience into video form. So, here you are. With the help of the incredible Suli Breaks, I've made this little video. Trying to demonstrate how it felt for me. Hope you take something from it.

My Rosy Life, His Rosy Passion

When Otoya confesses that he is married, Junpei cannot hide his anger of being betrayed. However, Otoya says it is a fake marriage. He met his wife through matchmaking because of his father. She is emotionally unstable and an alcoholic. But he gets to use her to cover his gay identity. One day, Junpei goes to Otoya's house and meets his wife when he is out. It leads to Otoya suggesting Junpei to move in and become his roommate...

Baja Come Down

Charlie and Hannah can't say it out loud, but they both know their relationship is coming to an end. As a last ditch effort, the two head south with Hannah's cat, along the dusty coast of Baja California. There they discover not only a new world, but that the troubles between them can't remain dormant for much longer.

AfterSex

Bathed in the gentle embrace of a rainstorm, Nathan, stirred by an intimate moment with Alex, finds himself compelled to voice the currents of his inner discontent. Amidst the flickering city lights, their souls diverge—one yearning for a love that transcends the physical, the other finding solace in the realm of corporeal passion. Can they navigate the intricate labyrinth of their desires and break free from this cyclical discord, or are they fated to bring a sorrowful conclusion to their tumultuous relationship?

Skin

In a small supermarket in a blue collar town, a black man smiles at a 10 year old white boy across the checkout aisle. This innocuous moment sends two gangs into a ruthless war that ends with a shocking backlash.

It’s a Date

Kyiv in 2022. A car races at breakneck speed through the city at dawn. Filmed from a subjective camera angle in a single unedited shot, this remale of Claude Lelouch's "C'était un rendez-vous" captures the emotions in a state of emergency caused by the war.

Boys

Two teen track stars discover first love as they train for the biggest relay race of their young lives.

Invincible Summer

Sixteen-year-old Clément spends a hot summer evening home alone by the pool. Determined to lose his virginity, he swipes through guys’ profiles on Grindr.

Ménage

Bickering couple Monique and Antoine are interrupted by bisexual burglar Bob while fighting in a bar. With husband and wife in need of cash, Bob teaches them the most efficient house burglary methods. Monique is attracted to the charismatic thief, but Bob is more interested in Antoine, who eventually succumbs to his attentions. As the trio continues living together, Monique grows unhappy about being ignored by both men.

Law of Desire

Pablo, a successful film director, disappointed in his relationship with his young lover, Juan, concentrates in a new project, a monologue starring his transgender sister, Tina. Antonio, an uptight young man, falls possessively in love with the director and in his passion would stop at nothing to obtain the object of his desire.

Mädchen in Uniform

A sensitive girl is sent to an all-girls boarding school and develops a romantic attachment to one of her teachers.

My Summer of Love

In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. To seal their friendship, Mona introduces Tamsin to her born-again Christian brother and helps her spy on her adulterous father. Bound together by their secrets, the two girls see their friendship deepen and enter into dangerous waters.

The Swimmer

Erez, a rising star in the Israeli swimming scene, arrives at a godforsaken training camp held in a boarding school. The winner of the competition held there wins one ticket to the Olympics. There he meets Nevo, beautiful, gifted, who awakens subconscious desires in him. However, their swimming coach does not believe in friendships between competitors. Warned to stay away from Nevo, Erez is still too attracted to him. In between practices, he attempts to act upon his feelings…

Lessons in Red

When a junior high student in 1963 suspects his teacher of being a communist, he investigates the truth to gain approval from his father.

Wish

Alejandro is a insecure teenager who is in love with Javier but he does not like him back. One day in a museum visit, Alejandro asks a magic Maya stone the wish of being in a relationship with Javier, his wish will come true but not in the way he was expecting.

Chords

Bernardo is an old Art History teacher recently retired and widowed from his wife Cecilia. Without a clear path to go on with his life, 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.

Desiderium

A man haunted by his past has to go back through his memories to find an element. But things don't work out as planned.

The Cage

Parents squabbling over a sick bird that was brought in by their son Alex.

Barking Island

Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, 1910. There are too many stray dogs on the streets, so the government decides to deport thousands of them on a desert island, off the coast of the city.

Berik

Berik, a short drama about friendship and understanding, takes place in Semey, Kazakhstan. Berik, 33, blind and deformed due to radiation poisoning, spends his days at home alone, while his brother is at work. That is until Adil, 11, the smallest and least popular of the kids in the apartment block, turns up on Berik's doorstep looking for the local bully's football, which he has lost.