Growing Pains (2024)

Places of Worship

Steph, a sixteen year old altar server, dutifully puts away the collection money after mass. But when a fellow altar server tries to pocket some of the money, Steph attempts to stop her. What starts as an innocent attempt to prevent thievery looks an awful lot like something else to the priest who interrupts them...Suddenly Steph is followed by symbols of the Virgin Mary, a warning around her sexual desires. Steph must navigate the intimidation of her fellow altar server, a crush on her movie theater coworker, and her own feelings around the comfort of her queer identity.

Always Outnumbered

An ex-con moves to L.A. to find work and creates a disturbance by fighting for a position. More importantly he touches the lives of many of his neighbors including an older man dying of cancer, a young married couple whose husband is too proud to accept a lesser position which causes strife with his wife, and a young boy on the verge of getting in trouble with street gangs.

Shank

Teenage gang member Cal, hides his sexuality from his fellow gang members despite their often violent dislike of anyone that isn't the same as them, be they unsuspecting shoppers, foreign students, gays, etc. When his world collides with Olivier, a student he rescues from a pointless beating, he encounters a lifestyle that presents as many new experiences as it does obstacles.

Lost Everything

A gay movie star struggles to stay in the closet, an art dealer fends off her abusive ex, and a televangelist plots to force his gay son into conversion therapy. Little do they know, their lives are about to converge on a deadly collision course.

With Thelma

An Icelandic volcano has blocked air traffic and Thelma’s parents are stuck overseas. Until planes start flying across the sky again Jean, Vincent and Thelma share the same roof.

TommyTeen18

This short film tells the story about a 15 year old boy who explores the world of online dating. Trapped between boy and manhood he tries to find his way.

Sin

Liam works on a part-time basis in a drive-thru motel to support his college education. One day, he meets the ill-tempered Harry. The first encounter was disastrous, even putting Liam's work in possible jeopardy. The day didn't end troublesome anyway as Liam gets to meet the other side of Harry—childlike and good-natured, but a broken soul. The following day sealed their commitment. Starting on the third day, however, fate intervened by slowly unveiling the most horrifying obstacle that will stop Liam and Harry from loving each othe

If These Walls Could Talk 2

The stories of three lesbian couples -- who live in the same house at different periods of time -- who are at a crossroads in their lives. In 1961, Edith loses her lover, Abby, to a stroke. Linda and Amy struggle with feminist issues in 1972. And, in 2000, Kal and Fran try to have a baby with the help of sperm donor.

S.A.M.

Two young men form a connection on the swings of their local park.

See You Soon

A tender queer romance about a gay man who travels across the country to spend the weekend with someone he met on a dating app.

Redwoods

Both original and incredibly romantic, Redwoods tells the story of an already-partnered man whose love is tested when a mysterious drifter passes through his small Northern California town.

The Devils

The story of the struggle of an autistic girl and her brother trying to survive without their parents.

Let Me Fall

When 15-year-old Magnea meets Stella, everything changes. Stella's no-holds-barred lifestyle drags them both into a world of drugs, which brings serious consequences for each of them, and their relationship. Twelve years later their paths cross again, and a reckoning between them becomes unavoidable.

Sweet Mother

The relationship between Efosa, a British-Nigerian man, and his mother is put to the test. He loves her. But he also loves Anwar.

Notes for My Son

Battling terminal cancer, a woman writes a one of a kind notebook about life, death and love for her son to remember her by. Based on a true story.

Summer of Violence

A young college grad, Naomi turns down law school to pursue poetry, despite her father’s objections. She subsequently struggles to survive in 1993 Denver, after being cut off by her father during a period of violent crime in the city known as the Summer of Violence.

Samira

Janosch, an interpreter, is called to help during a police deployment at the Port of Hamburg. A young African woman has barricaded herself in a container ship and threatens to commit suicide. In order to get her out, Janosch promises to help her, an offer which bears unexpected consequences.

Silence

After being discovered trying to escape, a woman must survive the night with her abusive girlfriend.

Cherries

Family tensions are slowly eroding what should have been a carefree summer for the young boy Jakov. A series of events ending in tragedy will incite his emotional revolt against the grown ups, but also his sense of guilt.

Chiquita

Briana has just turned 12 and notices that her friends are starting to like boys, which triggers insecurities about her own personal and bodily development. She is confronted with various situations that make her feel seen by others, after a frank conversation about her insecurities with her older sister, Briana realizes that growing up doesn't mean not being herself.

Dead Poets Society

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

Madly

When Alexandria Smith, a non-binary manic playwright gets nullified due to a social media video they must return home and face their crumbling relationships. A modern LGBTQ adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” for a new generation.

Dense on the Sea

Constant Wegman (Benja Bruijning), a 14 year old boy, raised by his grandmother (Carry Tefsen) in Zeedijk, Amsterdam. She is the owner of a cafe-hotel “De Rode Laars” (“The Red Boots”). The dreaming Constant runs away from this world of drunkards, gamblers, fighters by writing poems. His grandmother wants him to take control of the cafe. Then Constant secretly subscribes to a national poem writing competition: a new Vondel is born!

The Second Coming

Futuristic story of Carlos and Ben who fall in love in high school despite the racism and and homophobia. When Fundamentalist forces threaten to take over the U.S. the pair join forces with an underground resistance movement.

Little Gay Boy

A young gay boy, from his birth to his teenage years, in which he experiments his sexuality and his own boundaries, to the day he finally meets his father. In three acts: Act I — L'Annonciation or The Conception of a Little Gay Boy (2011); Act II — Little Gay Boy, ChrisT is Dead (2012); and Act III — Holy Thursday (The Last Supper) (2013).

Homebreaker

Eelis is skipping classes, mom and dad are on the verge of divorce, sister has yet another boyfriend. The life of a little boy is in its turning point.

Transamerica

A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.

Big Fish

Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.

City of God

In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.

Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story

Based on a powerful true-life story, Detroit native Dwen Curry moves to Oakland, California as a teen in the early 90s and overcomes depression, suicidal thoughts and drug addiction. He finds success as a salon owner and celebrity stylist to LisaRaye McCoy, Mariah Carey, YoYo, Missy Elliot, DMX, and more. Fueled by his desire for a lavish lifestyle and a drive to take care of those around him, Dwen leads a secret life as the criminal mastermind of an underground organization known as the Gay Gangsters, making millions from fraud. Dwen's life is even more complicated by his sexuality, identity, and struggles with self-acceptance as Dwen journeys from being a gay man to fully accepting herself as transgender. Dwen's rise to celebrity is followed by her fall when she is convicted for wire fraud and sent to prison. This coming of age tale is filled with glitz, glamour, and gangster moves as we witness Dwen's trials and eventual triumphs to survive and stand strong in her authentic truth.

Boys on Film 24: Happy Endings

Let BOYS ON FILM move, inspire and uplift you with this stunning collection of 11 new gay short films, marking the final physical edition of the series. The 11 short films are: We Collide (2023); Firsts (2022); Sea Sparkles [Noctilucas] (2022); Aloof [מנגד] (2020); The Rev (2021); Prelude [Preludio] (2019); Beautiful Stranger (2021); You Like That (2023); Thursday, Friday, Saturday [Jeudi, vendredi, samedi] (2021); The Unknown Man [L'homme inconnu] (2021); S.A.M. (2020).

See You

After his suicide, a teen ghost contacts his classmate through sign language, revealing the queer love and pain they were never allowed to voice.

The Tin Drum

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

Dead Fishes

Shun Miyata's new life in Tokyo takes a dark turn when he and coworker Yuka discover their boss Yuriko is involved in insurance fraud and murder. As they grapple with the betrayal, their bond deepens, contrasting youthful hope against a backdrop of adult corruption.

Kes

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an 'internationally ignored' but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a 'beautiful gender of one'.

Here on Earth

Three lives of three young people intersect over the course of one summer. A rich student and a young working-class man accidentally destroy a diner when their impromptu road race takes a disastrous turn. Ordered by a judge to spend the summer repairing the building, they find themselves becoming rivals for the affections of the owner's daughter.

Emo Valley

A foster care survivor, living in the streets of Phoenix, Arizona; Is being stalked by an individual from social media.

Ghich Pich

A coming-of-age story about middle-class Indian fathers and their relationships with their sons - entangled in rebellion, insecurities and bound by tradition. Set in '90s Chandigarh.

The Swan

When young Sól is sent to live with her distant countryside relatives for a summer, she becomes entangled in a dramatic rite of passage with a mysterious farmhand, Jón, and the farmer’s daughter, Ásta.

Verona

Ten years after the end of the dance music duo Verona, Elias come back to Brazil to meet his former partner, Walter, who is going to marry the young and talented Filipe. Walter lives in a countryside house, where he celebrates the end of his youth and the beginning of a new moment in his life.

Thank God We Have Each Other

Vincent is 13 years old and has a boundless admiration for his father. His father is unemployed and is mainly involved in football, pretending to become a professional trainer soon, and does not take care of his family. Vincent's mother manages everything, until one day, at the end of her tether, she attempts suicide.

Chocolate Babies

Welcome to the front lines of AIDS activism, where the latest enemy raids are being run by a band of unlikely warriors: two drag queens, an HIV-positive man with tiny gemstones dotting his bald head, and his HIV-positive sister.

Nothing to Laugh About

Kasper Berntsen is a successful stand-up comedian, who has everything he could wish for. One day everything changes. He learns that he has a serious illness, and his girlfriend puts an end to it.

Lucid

Winter and summer, day and night, life and dreams. Lucid is all about duality. Anxious and awkward in real life, Everett decides to make a change. After coming across studies in the art of Lucid dreaming, Everett hopes to improve his inept social skills. Will having full control of his dreams help him feel complete? Find out in the second feature-length film imagined by Nate Ross & Daniel Walker: Lucid.

Mermaids

Fifteen-year-old Charlotte Flax is tired of her wacky mom moving their family to a different town any time she feels it is necessary. When they move to a small Massachusetts town and Mrs. Flax begins dating a shopkeeper, Charlotte and her 9-year-old sister, Kate, hope that they can finally settle down. But when Charlotte's attraction to an older man gets in the way, the family must learn to accept each other for who they truly are.

Grande école

Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges...

The Unsure Masseur

Trapped in our gig jobs economy, an aspiring masseur learns the sacrifices required from an experienced massage therapist.

Eden

Eden is the queer re-tale of Adam and Eve’s story in modern times. A visually striking story about first love situated in Berlin.

Kissing Drew

Inside a drab middle school in 1992, a sexually-confused eighth-grader attempts to regain his dignity after being bullied by a sex-obsessed 'cool kid' whom he privately fantasizes about.

Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn

Love blossoms secretly between two old women at an elderly care home while the specter of patriarchy looms large overhead.

Darker Than Midnight

Davide is different from the other teenagers. Something makes him look like a girl. Davide is fourteen when he runs away from home. His intuition leads him to choose Villa Bellini, a park in Catania, as a refuge. The park is a world in itself, a world of the marginalized, to which the rest of the city turns a blind eye. But one day the past catches up and Davide has to face the most difficult choice, this time alone.

Aparajito

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

Irreversible

A woman’s lover and her ex-boyfriend take justice into their own hands after she becomes the victim of a rapist. Because some acts can’t be undone. Because man is an animal. Because the desire for vengeance is a natural impulse. Because most crimes remain unpunished.

Jasmine Is a Star

A determined 16-year-old with albinism makes it her mission to become a professional model in her hometown of Minneapolis, while attempting to go unnoticed in every other aspect of her teenage life.

All the Crows in the World

18-year-old Shengnan is invited to a mysterious party by her cousin. Upon arrival, Shengnan finds herself surrounded by greasy middle-aged men, with the exception of Jianguo, who is different. Shengnan and Jianguo decide to bail on the party, embarking on a night of adventures in the adult world.

The Life of Chuck

In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.

Love Bites

Just out of their teens, young men Liam and Anatole were in the throes of an exciting relationship- until they had fight, and Anatole disappeared. Liam can’t accept breakup. And, since his boyfriend doesn’t reply to his calls and text messages, Liam decides to follow him to a Halloween organized by one of Anatole’s friends to try find him. The wild night that ensues will test boys’ true feelings for each other, as well as force them to confront some hard inner truths once and for all.

Ontem

17 year old Helena lives a love story that will incite her search for freedom. However, she will also discover that growing up involves difficult decisions that will lead to disappointments and losses.

First Reformed

A pastor of a small church in upstate New York starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.

American Beauty

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

Wonderwell

In an idyllic Italian village, a young American girl on the threshold of adolescence is swept into a timeless magical adventure in Wonderwell.

Hasta encontrarte

Javier chats online with a girl called sofi_dark, a mysterious girl who indulges in a subtle game of perversions. As the relationship grown, he wants to meet her in person. He begins to desperately look for her through the city, until a series of photographs that he discovers on the Internet disrupts his plans.

Bodywork

A theater actor with crippling body image insecurities must face his greatest fears when he is asked to perform nude on stage in his dream role.