The Male Gaze: Risk Appeal (2023)

Numero 69

Two friends enter an Emergency Room, seeking help after an incident. They will find themselves living a series of surreal experiences through the eccentric characters that populate the waiting room. But will they get the help they need?

Antique

Jin-hyeok opens a cake shop in an old antique shop, hiring Seon-woo, Korea's best pastry chef, who fell in love with him in high school. Also there, are Su-young, crushing on Seon-woo, ex-boxer Ki-beom, and Seon-woo's French ex-boyfriend.

Ponyboi

Unfolding over the course of Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing him to confront his past.

My Best Part

Jérémie, a young man reaching a breaking point on all fronts, decides to leave behind Paris and return to Limosin, to the home of his intrusive mother.

Mayfly

Emilia is a teenager with the ability to see people who are about to die shine. Always lonely and focused on the future, she is faced with reality when she sees a schoolmate shine, at the same time that she begins a love relationship with Renata, who will finally lead her to appreciate her present.

Jet Boy

A coming-of-age story of a reluctant 13-year-old hustler named Nathan who will do whatever it takes to feel loved.

I Can't Think Straight

Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.

Ghosts... of the Civil Dead

The inmates and guards of a modern, clean and efficient maximum security wing are slowly and increasingly brutalized until they erupt in violence.

Days

Kang lives alone in a big house, Non in a small apartment in town. They meet, and then part, their days flowing on as before.

Fragment 24

One night, contract killers Safo and Erina celebrate their latest work when they are surprised by an unusual request: a black envelope with just the signature 'V'.

Moon, 66 Questions

Artemis, a single 24-year-old living in Paris, France, receives a frantic phone call from her mother—her father Paris is in the hospital and she must return home to Athens to care for him. Resentful of the tasking as she grew up estranged from her father, she becomes reacquainted with him over one emotional summer, learning the secret as to why their relationship was stifled when she finds out Jacob, Paris' friend, who's been always around from her childhood, was actually her dad's lover.

Fat People

Due to many reasons, ranging from insecurity to trauma, a group of people have gained a lot of weight in recent times.

Boys Night

Bouncing around from genre to genre, this stellar collection of 6 short films from Mattioli Productions showcases some of the most cutting edge recent gay cinema from the United States and Australia. Sit back, relax and get ready to make it a BOYS NIGHT. The short films are: Hopelessly (2018); Innocent Boy (2020); Mass (2020); Miles (2017); Sacrifice (2018); Tooth 4 Tooth (2020).

Pre-Drink

Alexe is a young trans woman, and Carl a gay man. Best friends since forever, an evening spent together destabilizes Alexe, when both decide to have sex together for the first time.

Juste Xavier

Xavier, a trans lawyer, reunites with his family at Christmas for the first time since his transition. Between his father’s enthusiasm, a budding flirtation with Ariane, and his tense relationship with his mother and sisters, this not-so-traditional holiday dinner becomes a colorful occasion for reconnecting.

The Symphony of Silence

17 year-old writer Zach struggles to survive in the 'dog eat dog' world of high school where he is tormented by bullies. There is no chance of finding comfort at home as one of the bullies happens to be his 18 year-old brother, Sean. In order to escape his bullies at school, he resorts to hiding in the restroom during his lunch breaks.

Driver

When her husband goes missing, a wife asked their driver to help her find him. Whaf happens next folliws an interesting plot involving sex, drama and thrills in this Thai erotic thriller.

Coming Out

Joel has finally made up his mind, or so he thinks. Tonight he's going to tell his parents, but is this the right moment? How should he do it, and what should he say?

Along the Road

Truck drivers Ronny and Micke have a secret relationship. They meet up at rest areas along the road, where no one can see them.

Tell It to the Bees

Dr. Jean Markham returns to the town she left as a teenager to take over her late father's medical practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands Charlie in her surgery, she invites him to visit the hives in her garden and tell his secrets to the bees, as she once did. The new friendship between the boy and the bee keeper brings his mother Lydia into Jean's world.

Carmilla

Isolated from the outside world, fifteen-year-old Lara lives in seclusion on a vast country estate with her father and strict governess Miss Fontaine. Late one evening, a mysterious carriage crash brings a young girl into their home to recuperate. Lara immediately becomes enchanted by this strange visitor who arouses her curiosity and awakens her burgeoning desires.

Fantasy on the Shore

A prep school student who has been dumped by his girlfriend is approached by a middle-aged man and goes on a treasure hunt on a remote island, and wanders into a mansion in the woods where vampire brothers are said to live.

The Male Gaze: Three's Company

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).

Young Soul Rebels

Two disc jockeys have a friend's murder to solve in the fringe-group melting pot of 1977 London.

Eat the Night

Young drug dealer Pablo and his sister Appoline bond over an online game called Darknoon. Pablo falls for Night, neglecting his sister. While Appoline finishes the game, Pablo and Night become embroiled in a dangerous gang conflict.

Red Ants Bite

In Georgia, two stranded Nigerians, Obinna and Afame, navigate the sleeping city of Tbilisi after a long night out. However, as day breaks the true colors of their ambiguous affection begin to show. In this way, they find solace despite their hostile environment.

Come Clean

A dark dramedy that grapples with how mental health can complicate or stand in the way of making personal connections and finding happiness in the 21st century.

Short

17-year-old Arend lives with his parents and hasn't come out of the closet yet. His first step into the gay world of love is on a date with handsome Michael, a guy he met on a gay dating site. They arrange to meet and Arend ventures to the other side of the country only to discover that Michael is not quite what he imagined.

Anything Once

Both Joey and Mike are faced with breaking boundaries that previously limited them. There's a first time for everything.

Death in Buenos Aires

In the 1980s, after a businessman is murdered at his home, an experienced police inspector and his rookie partner must delve into the gay scene of the city to catch the killer.

Almost Normal

A gay man approaching a mid-life crisis is tired of being different because he is gay. He wants to be normal. Suddenly he is yanked back in time to when he was in high school. But this time, the world is gay and to be straight is considered deviant behavior. Then something else happens. He meets a girl. And suddenly normal becomes ...well almost normal.

Hate Crime

Robbie Levinson and Trey McCoy suddenly encounter intolerance and hostility at the hands of their new neighbor, Chris Boyd, the son of a fundamentalist preacher.

Cut Sleeve Boys

Two British Chinese gay men decides to re-examine their lives following a death of their friend. Mel sleeps around whilst rejecting the love of Todd and Ash decides to cross dress to find his knight in shining armour.

The Hours and Times

A fictionalized account of what may have happened when John Lennon and Brian Epstein went on holiday together to Spain in 1963.

Emo Valley

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

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.

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.

Softie

Ten-year-old Johnny stands out from his family and his tough neighborhood in Eastern France. He's sensitive, intelligent and interested in all kinds of things way beyond his years. With curiosity, he observes the ups and downs of his young single mother's turbulent love life. Things change when a new teacher, fresh from the big city, takes over Johnny's class. Mr. Adamski believes in Johnny and wants to open a new world to him. The sophisticated young teacher also intrigues the boy.

Maman Que Man

While his mother is dying of cancer, Laurent starts a relationship with a handsome stranger who promises to help him with a film carreer.

Rose Story: Give Me Love

Kanamori, the master of a homo bar, had come fishing with Minami and Tsubasa, who work as hosts at the bar. Kanamori has just lost his beloved host Takashi in an accident. It was a heartbreaking trip for him... Minami and Tsubasa confirm their love for each other at an inn, leaving Kanamori immersed in fishing.

Close The Last Door

After being best man at his best friend's (Saitou Toshihisa) wedding, Nagai Atsushi realizes that he might have fallen for him. Nagai, drowning in his sorrows and hatred for the new bride then meets Honda Kenzou, another guest at the wedding. Honda takes care of Nagai when he was dead drunk and now Nagai can't stop thinking of both Honda and Saitou.

The Kite

A short coming-of-Age film about two boys, first love, and a kite that reunites them 20-years later.

Purebred

During a heatwave in Belfast, transgender man Owen returns to the flat of his on-off-again lover Seán after taking a pregnancy test.

Daydream Obsession 2: Infidelities

In this sequel to the ever-so-campy, wanna-be gay soft porn, Daydream Obsession, the naked-body-obsessed Clayton (Joseph Dain), whose previous demented daydreams turned to kidnapping and bondage nearly destroyed his friendship in the last film with his straight roommate Brian, now turns his fixated attentions upon his boyfriend Luke, who he suspects is cheating on him. Will the relationship survive Clayton's delusional fantasies? Written by Joe Fowler

Daydream Obsession 3: Legacy

While visiting his recently-divorced father, Wylie discovers the camera and video diaries of Clayton. With his college friends over, Wylie begins to explore his desires through daydreams and reality. His roommate Greg is the object of his obsession. Can their friendship survive?

His

Shun and Nagisa first meet and fall in love during their first year of high school. While Shun is graduating from university, Nagisa tells him that he doesn't see a future for them. Despite Shun's strong feelings, they go their separate ways. Years later, Shun is now a store owner, living alone in a rural area. Out of the blue, Nagisa arrives with his six-year-old daughter, Sora. Spending time together, Shun realizes he still harbors feelings for Nagisa. Can Nagisa reconcile with his feelings for Shun, which have been there all along?