The Male Gaze: French Connection (2024)

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.

Fragments

Chloe, a straight talking film director, tries to convince her friend Sam to be an actor in her next short film. Just after finding out that he once again didn’t get into medical school, Sam meets Alex, a hypochondriac 18 year old. A love triangle forms in these self-reflexive, humoristic fragments filled with sex talk , set in New Orleans.

A Four Letter Word

Six people in New York are adrift. Zeke and Luke work in a sex shop: Zeke takes gay liberation seriously, Luke likes to sparkle and takes nothing seriously. He's offended when Stephen calls him a gay cliché, then, surprisingly, they find each other attractive and interesting. Stephen, it turns out, has a great apartment, trust fund, and artwork he's painted on his walls. Meanwhile, Peter, a neat-freak, and Derek, nice to everyone, move in together. Peter's compulsiveness threatens the relationship. Last, newly-engaged Marilyn, a recovering alcoholic stuck at step 2, can't stop obsessing about wedding details. Can these folks sort out civilization and its discontents?

Adventures of Félix

A charming comedy about going on a rather long walk. Félix is a laid-back guy living in the bleak northern coastal town of Dieppe. He lives happily with his lover Daniel and is a soap opera enthusiast and HIV-positive. After losing his job, Félix decides to find the father he never knew in Marseilles. Agreeing to meet Daniel in the southern port city in a week's time, Félix throws on his backpack and starts hiking. On his way, he discovers that family need not always be connected by blood.

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.

Out

Tom and Ajani are outsiders in their small conservative village in The Netherlands. Together, they dream of freedom and a new life as film students in Amsterdam, where their relationship no longer has to be a secret. When they finally leave their old life in the countryside behind, they are confronted with the norms and social constructs of the big city that turn out to be completely different than what they imagined. While Ajani thrives in the Amsterdam queer scene, Tom struggles to find his place, putting a strain on their now public relationship. In this new world, freed from always being hated for who they are, who will they become?

A Night in Four Parts

Two former high school buddies meet on a raki night in Beyoğlu after 17 years. As they drink and talk they realize another life is possible on a land where toxic masculinity does not exist. They represent the great divide in Turkish gay society: The lonely self-declared homosexuals and the married hypocrites.

The Half of It

Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help wooing the most popular girl in school. But their new and unlikely friendship gets tricky when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl.

Beautiful Mystery

Shinohara, a young bodybuilder, joins a para-military sect in northern Japan. His instructor, Takizawa, takes a liking to the new recruit. After an early “special” training session the two develop a lasting and loving relationship.

1992

It's 1992. Martin is 17 and he films his daily life with his Hi8 camera. He films anything and everything—his room, the world around him... But never his father, the thought doesn't occur to him. One day he meets Dominique. He's 23 and works as a student monitor at Martin's high school.

Perfect Strangers

During a lunar eclipse, seven friends gather for dinner and decide to play a game in which they must share with each other the content of every message, email or phone call they receive throughout the evening.

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.

To Be or Not to Be

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

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...

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.

Frida

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

The Pollen of Flowers

Se-ran, the mistress of Hyeon-ma, lives in a massive traditional-style house called "Blue Mansion"in the suburbs of Seoul with her sister Mi-ran and their maid. One day, Hyeon-ma comes to the house with his newly-employed handsome male secretary/secret lover Dan-ju.

Drive-Away Dolls

Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.

Minions: 3 Mini-Movie Collection

The Minions are back along with some new friends in three hilariously fun short films: Competition, Cro Minion, and Binky Nelson Unpacified.

Entre ríos: todo lo que no dijimos

Emanuel travels to visit his grandma Catie, who lives in the countryside. He has a feeling this is going to be their last goodbye. His mother's looking after Catie and she has decided not to speak a word about grandma's diagnosis, because she does not want to embitter her. Emanuel does not agree with this decision, but on the other hand, he is also hiding his own sexuality to his grandma. Every little moment shared among them, makes strengthen family ties while mismatched feelings emerge. Emanuel should reconsider if things are really better left unsaid.

The Last of Sheila

A year after Sheila is killed in a hit-and-run, her multimillionaire husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt-style mystery game — but the game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.

Maurice

After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.

The Pillow Book

A woman with a body writing fetish seeks to find a combined lover and calligrapher.

Wrecked

An edgy drama about a gay teen's tumultuous decent into drugs and anonymous sex, Wrecked smashes cinematic taboos while it spins its cautionary tale. Ryan is an earnest 18-year-old trying to develop a career as an actor and getting his life on the right track. This course is quickly threatened with the sudden arrival of his sort-of ex, Daniel, who arrives at Ryan's door wanting a place to stay.

Confusion of the Afternoon

Two boys play poker on a dull afternoon. As one boy inadvertently touches and makes eye contact with the other, it sparks a beautiful, imaginative dance.

Of an Age

A Serbian ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend's older brother.

The Power of the Dog

A domineering but charismatic rancher wages a war of intimidation on his brother's new wife and her teen son, until long-hidden secrets come to light.

Imaginary Heroes

Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best competitive swimmer, so everyone is shocked when he inexplicably commits suicide. As the following year unfolds, each member of his family struggles to recover from the tragedy with mixed results.

The Art of Being Straight

Twenty-three-year-old John has just moved to L.A. from New York, ostensibly "taking a break" from his longtime girlfriend. He moves in with college bro Andy, whose pals incessantly do that kind of "That is so gay" banter that's essentially harmless - unless you're the only gay guy in the room.

A Budding Heart

Mathan, 19, arrives in Paris with Jacques, a famous gay writer in his 50s. Then arises the sexy Olivier, flamboyant thirty, friend of Jacques. How will Mathan get out of the clutches of this "old" couple? Desires, doubts, seduction and jealousy, the ingredients of a tender and insolent comedy on the shock of generations and the question of the couple over time.

Leather

Birch, a young man living in the Catskill Mountains, reunites with his childhood friend from the city, Andrew.

Never Too Young to Die

Secret agent Drew Stargrove is brutally murdered by the ruthless hermaphrodite gang leader Velvet Von Ragnar. The murdered secret agent's son, Lance Stargrove is thrust into the dangerous and intriguing world of secret agents and espionage when he seeks revenge. Danja Deerling teams up with Lance as his sidekick and love interest.

Save Me

A sex and drug addicted young man who is forced into a Christian-run ministry in an attempt to cure him of his "gay affliction", where instead he is faced with the truth in his heart and spirit.

My Condolences to Your Future Lovers

Idealist Vicky is desperate to find a way to convince her whirlwind summer love, Stacey, that theirs wasn’t just a holiday romance. She fights passionately for young love and picture-perfect moments, convinced Stacey is just scared or in the closet.

Sound to Sea

When a closeted middle-schooler befriends the attractive new kid on an overnight biology field trip, he's forced to confront his queer identity, his relationship to his male anatomy, and his uncomfortable niche in the ecosystem known as eighth grade.

Phantom Project

Waiting for his big dream (a film role) to come true, Pablo works as a training actor in a patient-care programme at a medical faculty and a paid participant in group therapy sessions. To make ends meet, he sublets a room in his apartment in a suburb of Santiago de Chile. However, he seems to have lost control when his housemate departs, leaving him with rent arrears, a collection of plants, a dog, a woolly jumper, and... a house ghost. Pablo is 30, and when it comes to romance he is also chasing apparitions. He is secretly still in love with his ex-boyfriend, a popular YouTuber.

Gods and Monsters

It's 1957, and James Whale's heyday as the director of "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man" is long behind him. Retired and a semi-recluse, he lives his days accompanied only by images from his past. When his dour housekeeper, Hannah, hires a handsome young gardener, the flamboyant director and simple yard man develop an unlikely friendship, which will change them forever.

The Strange Ones

A man and a boy, traveling to an unknown destination, find respite in a motel swimming pool. On the surface all seems normal, but nothing is what it seems to be. Short film not to be confused with the 2017 feature film with the same name.

Farewell to Autumn

Decadence, homosexuality, excess wealth, infidelity, alcoholism and drugs all played a major role in the decline of aristocracy.

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.

Time to Leave

Romain, 31, a fashion photographer with terminal cancer, elects to die alone, preparing others to live past him rather than prolong the inevitable with chemotherapy or be smothered in sympathy by those who know him.

Midnight Cowboy

Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.

Ospreys

Jean & Michel go on a journey in the Clos du Doubs in search of a rare bird. During their wanderings, the couple crosses seasons at full speed, a certain amount of rivers and above all, ups and downs.

Love Reinvented

Different aspects of homosexual romance are explored in this compendium of ten short vignettes encompassing a broad look at AIDS and range for the tale of a lesbian teen trying to come out to her parents, to a gay man who shocks his lover by claiming to be pregnant, to another man's reminiscence of a brief affair with an HIV-positive man.

Sonnet 23

A modern reimagining of 'Sonnet 23' by William Shakespeare.

Weirdos

It's July 1976, and two Nova Scotian teens, Kit and Alice, are hitting the road with their sights on Sydney and their minds on the future. With them is Kit's new imaginary friend, who looks conspicuously like Andy Warhol, but who assures Kit that he is a spirit animal. Kit and Alice have big dreams, but do they really want the same things?

Disco Boy

After a painful journey through Europe, Aleksei, a Belarusian, joins the Foreign Legion in France and clings to a confused hope of a European identity. Jomo, a Nigerian, fights for the survival and durability of his people in the Niger Delta and is ready to die to defend his ideas. These two young people who are sacrificed and smashed together will, against all odds, meet and their destinies will merge to continue across borders, bodies, life and death...

Nova

A young astronaut works in solitude on a spaceship, trying to avoid reminders of her life back on Earth. When an alien entity finds its way aboard her ship, she must face some difficult truths.

Via Appia

Frank, a HIV infected former Lufthansa steward, goes back to Rio from Germany with a film crew to look for Mario, a young man with whom he had a one night stand. Before Mario departed the morning after, he left a message scrawled in soap on the bathroom mirror: 'Welcome to the AIDS club'. Frank and his director hire a fast talking hustler named José (Guilherme di Padua) to help them to find Mario who seems alway to have just left whenever they arrive. Via Appia is the nickname of a Rio district where male prostitutes hang out...

My Policeman

In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

Jackpot

It’s 1994 and there’s no Internet. So 14-year-old Jack Hoffman sets off on a quest to find and retrieve a stash of gay porn from across town before anyone finds out.

Reflections in a Golden Eye

Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.

Velociraptor

During the end of the world, two best friends walk around their city, talking about their sex lives, and one of them reveals they are still a virgin.

Into the Mirror

Daniel is a young man struggling with an inner identity that is desperate to be realised. After leaving his father to move to London, his subconscious desires begin to take control. Led by his new co-worker and upon finding London's Drag hotspot 'Lost & Found' nightclub, Daniel realises his life will never have to be the same again.

Easy Living

Sherry Graham, a self-destructive makeup saleswoman, hopes a new man and business venture will provide her a fresh start. After her plans are foiled, she takes control of her life in a dramatic turn of events.

Make the Yuletide Gay

The holidays get overly festive as Olaf "Gunn" Gunnunderson, an out-and-proud gay college student, crawls back into the closet to survive the holidays with his parents. But when his boyfriend, Nathan, shows up at their doorstep unannounced, Gunn must put on a charade to keep the relationship a secret. With pressure mounting from all sides, will Gunn come out before the truth does?

Dante vs. Mohammed Ali

When Wolf refuses to fight his best friend Alexander during a weekly boxing match, the whole village turns against him. He tries to convince Alexander to join him leaving the village, but his overly romantic message runs into a wall.

Freak Show

The story of teenager Billy Bloom who, despite attending an ultra conservative high school, makes the decision to run for homecoming queen.

Closets

It's 1986, tormented teenager Henry is struggling with his sexuality and abusive home life. Henry sits in his closet contemplating suicide. In a flash of light he is transported to 2016 where he meets teenager Ben — now occupying his room 30 years later.

Beautiful Bitch

While with one of his clients, the young male prostitute Cédric receives a voicemail from his mother. She is going through detoxification and desperately wants him to come and visit her. Cédric embarks on a journey through Paris, attempting to get to her as fast as he can against all the odds.

The Happy Prince

In 1895, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was the most famous writer in London, and Bosie Douglas, son of the notorious Marquess of Queensberry, was his lover. Accused and convicted of gross indecency, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to hard labor. Once free, he abandons England to live in France, where he will spend his last years, haunted by memories of the past, poverty and immense sadness.

You Can't Escape Lithuania

After his star actress, Indre, murders her mother, rich-kid filmmaker Romas plans her escape from Lithuania. His Mexican boyfriend Carlos helps them reluctantly. On the road, Romas begins shooting an improvised experimental film. As events take an unexpected turn, their secrets, memories and emotions make this journey wilder than any film Romas could have imagined.

3 Wicked Witches

When three best friends from college reunite for their 25th year reunion, revenge becomes the order of day. A possessed clown doll is sent on a mission of murder to the local frat house…

Perhaps Love

Hyun, a best-selling writer, has found himself in a slump for a long time. In the meantime, he accidentally meets Yu-jin, an aspiring young writer. Hyun gets confused when Yu-jin confesses his love to Hyun. A 19-year-old student and Hyun’s son, Sung-kyung, who is skeptical about his life, meets Jung-won, a young married woman living next door. Sung-kyung has a good feeling for this freewheeling woman. A pure-hearted man, Soon-mo, who is Hyun’s best friend and also the publisher, meets his friend’s ex-wife.

Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling

After 20 years in space, Rocko returns to a technologically advanced O-Town and makes it his mission to get his favorite show back on the air.

The Deep End

With her husband Jack perpetually away at work, Margaret Hall raises her children virtually alone. Her teenage son is testing the waters of the adult world, and early one morning she wakes to find the dead body of his gay lover on the beach of their rural lakeside home. What would you do? What is rational and what do you do to protect your child? How far do you go and when do you stop?