for us, an essay (2024)

Frida

A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.

Shortbus

In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.

Flat Girls

Police daughters' bond tested in a heartfelt coming-of-age tale of love, friendship, and life's complexities.

The Paradise of Thorns

When his partner Sek dies, Thongkam loses his property to his late love's eager family and must fight to reclaim the home they built together.

The Carmilla Movie

It has been five years since Laura and Carmilla vanquished the apocalypse and Carmilla became a bonafide mortal human. They have settled in to a cozy apartment in downtown Toronto, Laura continues to hone her journalism skills while Carmilla adjusts to a non-vampire lifestyle. Their domestic bliss is suddenly ruptured when Carmilla begins to show signs of "re-vamping" – from a fondness for bloody treats to accidental biting – while Laura has started having bizarre, ghostly dreams. The couple must now enlist their old friends from Silas University to uncover the unknown supernatural threat and save humanity – including Carmilla's.

One Fine Day, a Hairdresser

How do you ask a wild, impetuous hairdresser on a date if you're a pathologically timid philosophy student with no social skills?

Cavafy

An ailing, elderly poet reminisces about his life of unrest and homosexual urges.

Ghosts

Nina, an end-of-teenage orphan with mental problems, starts a new job as a garden cleaner when she meets Toni. They fell in love with each other, but soon Toni starts betraying Nina. In the meantime, Francoise is picked up at a psychic department of a Berlin hospital by her husband, Pierre. After seeing Nina, Francoise believes that she has found her kidnapped daughter Marie, but neither Toni nor Pierre believe her. Nina is unsure about what to think...

NY84

Kate, Anton, and Keith, three young artists in New York's art scene of the early 1980s. An intimate glimpse into the creative and emotional lives of the young and carefree. They party, photograph, paint, sing, and play their way through the clubs and lofts of Alphabet City. The party ends in 1984 when Anton and Keith contract a mysterious illness known as the "gay cancer." As her music career takes off, Kate tries to save her friends.

Vera

Based on the life of Brazilian poet Anderson Bigode Herzer, this intense drama tells the story of Bauer, a trans man who navigates a difficult life in an orphanage before finding love with young librarian Clara.

Crossing

Lia, a retired teacher from Georgia, learns from her young neighbor, Achi, that her long-lost transgender niece, Tekla, has crossed the border into Turkey. In search of Tekla, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi, where they explore the hidden depths of the city.

The Third Party

Faced with unfortunate complications beyond her control, go-getter events manager Andi Medina has no other person to turn to. She is then forced to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend, cosmetic surgeon Max Labarador. Much to Andi’s shock, Max is already in a three-year live-in relationship with pediatric oncologist Christian Pilar. With nowhere else to go and left with no other options, she agrees to live with the couple – both parties agreeing into a deal that will change the course of their lives and hearts.

Blue Sunshine

Bhanu, a high school teacher, wants to transition as a trans woman while working for a school in a small town in South India. Bhanu’s parents do not know that she is already taking hormone treatment for the transition. When her parents force a marriage upon her due to their financial situation, Bhanu gains courage under pressure. She starts to live as a woman named Bhanu with her friend Haritha's help. The school administration creates problems by not acknowledging Bhanu as a woman. As Bhanu struggles to find happiness after transition, she meets a student Karthik who is being bullied by his classmates for his feminine demeanor. Unable to withstand the bullying, Karthik retaliates by wearing makeup and nail polish to school. The school administration blames Bhanu for all the problems. How Karthik and Bhanu deal with the problems form the rest of the story.

Bramayugam

Thevan, a folk singer of the Paanan caste, has a fateful encounter when escaping slavery, leading to discover an ancient tradition altering his destiny.

In Orbit

The future, the space. Sonia is about to be transferred from her station to a newer one. Although everything seems to be going well, Sonia's mind is actually elsewhere, haunted by tragic events from the not too distant past.

Ranchlands

The story of a spiritually scarred man whose life changes forever when he must return to his estranged family to help care for a brother who is suffering from brain cancer. With the help of a spiritually enlightened caregiver, he faces the demons of the past and a secret that has haunted him and his family for many years.

Screwed

Seventeen-year-olds Miku and Elias find themselves, and each other, during a summer in the Finnish countryside.

Eden

In this short story, João and Pedro live in this garden. What João wants the most is for Pedro to be happy and the only way he found to make that happen is to support him in his escape with Sara. On the other hand, Pedro learned how to love João and does not want to leave the garden. But one of them ate the forbidden fruit.

Night Swimming

A night in the woods, and its aftermath, helps Otter with a major life decision. He's a high school senior, hanging out with Darby - the local alpha male - and Darby's girlfriend Amber. Their public displays of affection irritate Otter.

Sex Love Venice

Healing from a painful breakup, Michael travels to Venice, Italy, where he discovers the beauty of desire and experiences a love that awakens his spirit, promising to forever change the course of his life.

Far From Water

Two friends experience a moment of intimacy that leaves them questioning the future of their relationship.

It's My Party

Nick, a gay, HIV-positive architect, begins to display severe symptoms of AIDS and makes preparations to kill himself before he is unable to function normally. He arranges a party to reconnect and say goodbye to his closest friends and his confused parents. But when his ex-partner, Brandon, a television director who left Nick when he was diagnosed with HIV, shows up, what was supposed to be a celebratory event becomes much more difficult for everyone.

Camp

Misfits in their lives back home, a group of young people live it up at musical-theater camp. While the sports counselor is completely ignored, the kids' spend all their time in rehearsal for a grueling schedule that involves a new show every two weeks. Several personal stories come to the fore.

Our Son

When his husband Gabriel files for divorce, Nicky fights for custody of their 8-year-old son Owen, as he struggles to come to terms with what it means to love someone and what it means to be a father.

The Feels

A lesbian bachelorette weekend goes awry when one of the brides admits she's never had an orgasm.

Given

Haruki secretly had feelings for Akihiko for years, but Akihiko was still in a relationship with his roommate, the violinist Ugetsu Murata. Haruki, Akihiko, and Ugetsu's love clashes and starts to move forward.

Unpregnant

A 17-year old Missouri teen discovers she has gotten pregnant, a development that threatens to end her dreams of matriculating at an Ivy League college, and the career that could follow.

Heavens x Candy

This is a pure love story of a shy guy who falls in love with an AV actor he knows through fan activities. On the way back from a fan event for the popular anime series "Heavens x Candy", Hibiki Takato, a 2D otaku with a reserved personality, visits a cafe that is a holy place in the movie but forgets his wallet and leaves there without paying. Amemiya Towa, a famous AV actor who happened to come to the store for the same purpose, paid the bill for him. The next day, Takato returned to the shop to pay and met Towa. After going to the lighthouse together on the holy land journey of "heavens x candy", Towa suggested that the two go to another sacred place, a love hotel. Here, Towa revealed that he is an AV actor. Takato also revealed the reason why he became closed.

Lucky Fish

Two Asian-American teenagers meet in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant while having dinner with their families.

Where Butterflies Don't Fly

Daniel is an odd guy who lives with his endlessly quarrelling parents uncomplaining about his destiny. He keeps a distance from other people, he has no friends, nobody understands him, he is different. He will be turning nineteen and the last thing he would spend his time on is a preparation for his approaching graduation. Adam is his class teacher. He is gay who lives in a relationship with his younger partner David and his strictly guarded secret keeps locked behind a door of their apartment. Daniel and Adam live in their own bubbles until a moment when they both happen to be together in life threat. Lost in the darkness, cut off from the rest of the world, they are both looking for a way out. How far will they be willing to go?

Sing in Love

Jin is a temporary elementary school teacher on his way to a permanent position when a traumatic event plunges him into a terrifying deep darkness. Three months later, a mysterious man named Kai provokes Jin's memories and feelings regarding the past experience through rapping. Why is Kai obsessed with Jin? How does Jin confront his own "darkness"? Conflicts and battles for men who have been deeply injured inspire healing. And does true love exist on the other side?

Chicken

Mick and Kev, teen Irish lads, are at the shore, throwing rocks at empty cans, drinking cider. Mick's the pushy one, engaging Kev in a game of mumbly peg, his hand on top of Kev's, fingers splayed. As Mick moves the knife between their fingers, a train is heard approaching. What's Mick's purpose?

Before I Change My Mind

1987: While the other students wonder if new kid Robin is a boy or a girl, Robin forges a complicated bond with the school bully, making increasingly dangerous choices to fit in.

Love In The Big City

Free-spirit Jae-hee and closeted Heung-soo deeply connect over being misfits and begin living together. The pair ceaselessly rely on each other as they navigate the complexities of love and romance in the big city of Seoul.

Wait for Me at Udagawachou

In bustling Shibya, Momose sees his high school classmate Yashiro. Yashiro is dressed as a girl. Momose continues to observe Yashiro and becomes attracted to him. Meanwhile, Yashiro becomes embarrassed that Momose knows that he dresses up like a girl.

Our Highland Hotel

Ayumi Aizawa is a lonely young man without a family. He works at Forest Hyde Press Hotel as a cleaner. His deceased grandfather Kenzaburo worked at the same hotel. When his grandfather worked at the Forest Hyde Press Hotel, the hotel was well known for its extreme hospitality. Now, the hotel is nothing more than an ordinary hotel. New manager Ryuuya Sawashiro then attempts to bring the hotel back to its glory days.

Fathers

A gay couple faces personal challenges and society's expectations when their adopted son starts grade school and notices his family's unique dynamic.

Spoilers

Short film about the budding relationship between Leon and Felix, two people who meet unexpectedly and discover they share a lot in common.

And Then We Danced

A passionate coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, the film follows Merab, a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of Irakli, a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak.

I Love You, I Don't

The petite waitress Johnny works and lives in a truck-stop, where she's lonely and longs for love. She develops a crush on the garbage truck driver Krassky, although her sleazy boss Boris warns her that he's gay.

RedLife

Som, daughter of a sex worker, believes that love will lead her towards a better life. Ter, a young criminal, robs just to buy love that doesn't exist. Redlife explores a world that is broken, ignored, and which offers no escape.

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon

In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.

Before Night Falls

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Tamara

The story of a lawyer's journey to overcome her fears and social boundaries in order to transition.

Sign

'SIGN' is a short film that tells, through vignettes, music, and sign language, the story of a relationship between Ben, a hearing man, and Aaron, who is deaf.

The Fishbowl Girl

Wei, a young lesbian, goes to Thailand on a graduation trip. After witnessing an intimate interaction between the girl she fancies and a male friend, she goes to a Thai massage parlour, but the experience isn't as beautiful as she envisioned.

Dress Up

On the eve of her sister’s wedding, Karina brings her “best friend” home to meet the family. When the groom-to-be joins them, she is reminded of her family’s expectations and her queer anxieties begin to unravel in a film that blurs the line between fiction and reality.

Cynthia

A dinner party with old friends takes a shocking turn as wounds are exposed, revelations are made, and the past resurfaces. Over one tense evening, Cynthia learns that some things can never be unsaid.

Coming Out

Lewis, a gay writer of romantic novels, writes an article on gay issues under the pseudonym of "Zippy Grimes." The reason for this is that he hasn't come out yet and he doesn't want to alienate his mainly female fan-base. The article is a great success and leads to a huge amount of reactions, mainly from other gay men who are leading a double life. He decides to meet a number of these letter writers and eventually is forced to come out.

Are We Ok?

Temmuz is an openly gay sculptor living at a flat with his dog in Istanbul. He lives a bohemian lifestyle and has a happy go lucky, carefree, eccentric (such as believing in good luck charms) character, frequently distracting him from his work as a children's book illustrator, and eventually leading him to be abandoned by his boyfriend via e-mail. He is given solace and affection by her wealthy mother, who is fully supportive of him, and best friend and co-worker, Beste. In the meantime, he keeps seeing a young man in his dreams, who repeatedly calls him for help and rescue. One day he runs into this guy while getting on the bus, who is accompanied by his mother, and helps them get into their home as the young man was born without limbs. From then on, two lives would collide into each other, starting a brotherhood full of discoveries and mutual help.

Male Shorts: International V3

This popular international series continues with this third volume of five short films focusing on men, including: Vanilla [Baunilha] (2017); Lightrapping (2016); Polaroid (2014); Five Minutes a Day [Cinco Minutos Por Dia] (2018); My Brother [Mio fratello] (2015).

Punks

The life and times of a group of twentysomething black gay men living in West Hollywood.

Desert Hearts

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

Summer Storm

Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteor-logical.

Mala Noche

Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in taboo trysts and a tangled love triangle.

Thirst

Two friends go on a hike to the desert. In the desolate wilderness something hidden comes out in their friendship. From then on, the only way they manage to communicate is sexually and violently. While one of them wants more than the other is able to give, he expresses his frustration by making sure they get lost and have no water - anything to escape from awaiting reality.

Stray

Set in a parallel universe where the sexual bias favors homosexuals, Eric, a struggling heterosexual, admits himself into a straight conversion camp. What begins as a cure to his deviant lifestyle, becomes a journey of self acceptance.

Boys On Film 1: Hard Love

Created by gay directors and actors, Boys On Film features numerous award-winning shorts that deal with all aspects of gay life. Volume 1: Hard Love contains nine complete films: Hong Khaou's "Summer" starring Peter Peralta and Jay Brown; Michael Simon's "Gay Zombie" starring Brad Bilanin, Ryan Carlberg, and Robin McDonald; Jason Bushman's "Serene Hunter" starring Eric Debets, Flannan Obé, and Jonathan Blanc; Timothy Smith's "Le Weekend" starring Omar and Fernando Peres; Jean Baptiste Erreca's "Cowboy Forever" featuring Govinda Machado de Figueiredo and Jones Carlos Fialho de Araújo; Damien Rea's "Scarred" starring Chris Anderson, David Durham, and Lara Cazalet; Tim Hunter's "Packed Lunch" featuring Kevyn Boemia, Chris Sayers, and Steven Quigg; John Winter's "Mirror Mirror" starring Roy Billing; and Maxwell Barber's "VGL-Hung!" starring Marcus Proctor, Jeff Chandler, and Ashley Ryder.

Walk on Water

Eyal, an Israeli Mossad agent, is given the mission to track down and kill the very old Alfred Himmelman, an ex-Nazi officer, who might still be alive. Pretending to be a tourist guide, he befriends his grandson Axel, in Israel to visit his sister Pia. The two men set out on a tour of the country, during which Axel challenges Eyal's values.

Billy Elliot

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

All About My Mother

Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.

Bad Education

An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.

Brokeback Mountain

In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.

Bend It Like Beckham

Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

My Own Private Idaho

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

Fire

In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.

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.

The Fisherman's Daughter

Samuel, the last free-diving fisherman, has lived isolated in the island of La Aguja since he was abandoned by his wife and son 15 years ago. His life is disrupted when his son shows up now as Priscila, a transgender prostitute from the streets of Santa Marta, Colombia.

Dashing in December

When Wyatt returns home for the holidays to try to convince his mom to sell their family ranch, an unexpected romance with handsome ranch hand Heath may throw off his plans.

Toska

Flavio, immersed in the sadness of nostalgia and regret, faces his daily loneliness, seeking solace in the solitary ritual of smoking a cigarette. Each puff becomes a journey back in time, an immersion in a parallel dimension that brings to light the moments shared with Alberto. The warmth of those hugs, the echo of shared laughter and the tears that bathed their cheeks become present, as if they had just happened. Every blurry image that surfaces, every fleeting glance that materializes and every whispered word that resonates reveal the fragile nature of human balance and the profound gravity of the choices that shaped their relationship. But in that very smoke lies a strange consolation, a sense of acceptance that begins to germinate in his heart. He accepts the end of the relationship, with all its painful consequences, and launches himself into a new future, leaving behind what has been and opening his arms to the unknown that awaits him.

To My Star

Actor Kang Seo Joon was once one of South Korea’s biggest and most popular stars, but his career is now in decline. But despite his fall in popularity, he believes he has had a change of fortune when he meets and falls for a dashing young chef named Han Ji Woo.

Are we the only ones?

Two working women talking about their lives on their way back to hostel. They came to conclusion that they're the only ones who talk about the job, salaries, struggles in workplace seriously since there's no change happening in anybody's life.

Bathroom Stalls & Parking Lots

Far from his home country of Brazil, a gay man goes on a San Francisco adventure with his friends in order to find the right hookup.

D.E.B.S.

The star of a team of teenage crime fighters falls for the alluring villainess she must bring to justice.