20MALEGAYNYC (2012)

Velvet Goldmine

Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.

A Chorus Line

A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.

The Next Best Thing

A comedy-drama about best friends - one a straight woman, Abbie, the other a gay man, Robert - who decide to have a child together. Five years later, Abbie falls in love with a straight man and wants to move away with her and Robert's little boy Sam, and a nasty custody battle ensues.

Rent

This rock opera tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in late 1980s East Village, New York, USA. The film centers around Mark and Roger, two roommates. While a tragedy has made Roger numb to new experiences, Mark begins capturing their world through his attempts to make a personal movie. In the year that follows, they and their friends deal with love, loss, and working together.

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin celebrates one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose novels inspired millions to reclaim their lives.

Echo

A reframing of the classic tale of Narcissus, the director draws on snippets of conversation with a trusted friend to muse on gender and identity. Just as shimmers are difficult to grasp as knowable entities, so does the concept of a gendered self feel unknowable except through reflection. Is it Narcissus that Echo truly longs for, or simply the Knowing he possesses when gazing upon himself?

Metropolis

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

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.

Freaks

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

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.

All Quiet on the Western Front

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

Wings of Desire

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds -- with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk -- that it might be possible for him to take human form.

The 400 Blows

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

La Strada

When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.

La Haine

After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.

8½

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

Schindler's List

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

La Dolce Vita

Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

Night Disclosure

Would you have an affair with your boss? When a young real estate agent, Marc, celebrates his big sale over a nightcap with his married boss, Tom, he soon finds himself in dangerous waters. Leading them to question and push the boundaries of trust, monogamy, and open relationships. Can two men be faithful to each other? Can two men be honest with each other? Some say, No risk, no gain - both in real estate and relationships.

The Sound of Identity

In the spotlight of global media coverage, the first transgender woman ever to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera, makes her historic debut in one of the reddest states in the U.S.

Men Gheir Ma'ad

Salwa (Soad Hosni) secretly loves Waheed (Mohamed Sultan) . While Waheed loves Nadia (Nadia Lotfy). Meanwhile, Kamal (Moharram Fouad) falls in love with Nadia too, and keeps his love discreet .But when he knows that his friend ,Waheed, loves her, he decides to keep a distance from Nadia.

The Troublemaker

Hamouda is a porter at the port who tries to establish a union for the port workers. As those who exploit the workers oppose him, they frame him for a crime and send him to jail. When he is released, he finds his fiancée Nousa waiting for him.

Debt

The man sits next to a godmother who he owes, for negotiation. The Godmother gives him one last chance to save his own life.

The Third Sex

Klaus is a young man in post-war Berlin. He is drawn to his friend Manfred and, under the encouragement of their acquaintance, Dr. Winkler, explore the underground world of gay clubs and electronic music. His family begins to learn of his other life and do everything they can to set him straight.

More Than Friendship

Mia, Lukas and Jonas always where like one heart and soul since their earliest childhood. Until three years ago when everything changed. Friendship became love that is well beyond all conventions. A Part of the society feels provoked by such kind of companionship and meets them with some lack of understanding to say the least. Even their parents aren't really fond of the situation. Once a year, the trio makes a trip. During which they try to let emotion flow as they come, not having to fear the reactions of others. Now there is the time again for such a trip. And that is where the film starts. After renting a mobile home the journey starts as usual. Only one thing different this time, Jonas was diagnosed with cancer in terminal state a few months ago. The three of them know that this might very well be the last trip they will ever make. Regardless, Mia and Lukas try their best for Jonas not to think of the inevitable. Sadly the vow to spend the last trip only in joy, fails.

Love Is Strange

After 39 years together, Ben and George finally tie the knot, but George loses his job as a result, and the newlyweds must sell their New York apartment and live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet.

Boys

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

A Different Story

A gay man and a lesbian enter into a marriage of convenience in order to prevent his deportation, and then gradually fall in love with one another.

Fleeing by Night

Set in China in the 1930s, the film is about the unsettling relationship between three characters, each involved with a performance of the opera Fleeing by Night in a local theatre.

Shanghai Panic

A glimpse into the lives of 4 Shanghai teenagers.

The Falls: Testament of Love

The Falls: Testament of Love is a continuation of the story of RJ Smith and Chris Merrill, two Mormon missionaries that fell in love during their mission in a small town in Oregon. The boys haven't spoken in five years, but when an unexpected tragedy compells them back to the Oregon town where they served, they find themselves, once again, thrust into one another's lives. As old feelings begin to surface they find themselves again facing difficult choices. If they pursue their desire to be together, RJ and Chris risk hurting the ones they care about as they embark on a spiritual journey to discover love, freedom, and happiness.

Loving You

After being saved from drowning, Hayase grows curious about quiet Noboru—and even more confused when he meets his bold twin, Ryu.

Love Is All You Need?

Ashley was raised in a picture perfect all-American family with two moms, two grandpas, two uncles, and a little brother. But Ashley has a problem, she has a crush on a boy at school, which is against everything this world has ever taught her.

Touched

What happens when two profoundly lonely men who are strangers, one older and gay, and the second younger and questioning, take one last chance at making a sincere human connection? Based on true events in the life of the writer/director.

Why Not!

A threesome becomes a foursome in this sensitive drama. The tale begins with the relationship between a recently divorced man and woman (from different marriages) and the bisexual they get involved with. At first all three are happy in their new arrangement, but then the divorced fellow suddenly leaves and those remaining in the relationship become quite tense. Fortunately the fellow returns with another, more conventional fellow. Eventually the three persuade him to join them.

The Elephant Man

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

Love in Thoughts

A posthumous look at the last days of Guenther's life as he, his best friend, and his sister let loose on a four-day binge of alcohol, drugs, and sex.

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.

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.

Praxis

Praxis peels away the layers of narrative even as Brian, the film's axis, struggles to create his true self. Brian, a writer on the verge of a breakdown, is aided by Joe and an Elusive Woman as he sifts through the fragments of his persona to discover his true core. Fighting against fear and the indifference of society - aptly symbolized by the medical establishment - his quest reflects the classical mythos of Proteus and the human search for meaning in the universe.

The Affair

An ex-seminarian slash communist runs a hotel in Baguio. He then meets a handsome upcoming lawyer. A once-a-year trip to Baguio by the lawyer and conversations with the hotel owner develop into an affair which encompasses decades of socio-political changes in the country.

Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy

Quadruplet siblings (two boys and two girls) played by Vice Ganda were separated after birth when their grandmother steals two of the siblings (a boy and a girl) away from their mother. The stolen siblings lived a comfortable life in the US, not knowing that their mother and siblings, a gay and a lesbian, struggled to make ends meet in the Philippines. When the boy develops hepatitis that requires him to have a liver transplant from a compatible donor, their father tells them about their siblings in the Philippines, who may be possible candidates as donors. But once the siblings finally meet, pent up resentment and animosity between the girl and the gay siblings, has threatened the chances of the boy sibling's survival.

Falling Star

During a brief rule towards the end of the 19th century, the Italian duke Amadeo of Savoy occupied the Spanish throne. However, confined to the safety of life within the palace walls, the lonely, frustrated king and his servants succumb to playful adventures focused more on pleasure than his duties.

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

Cavafy

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

In Seventh Heaven

Sofiane lives in a high-rise block at the edges of Paris. A violent young man, he tries to be like his gang of friends. However, Sofiane is attracted to guys. Through his contradictions, he embodies the confusion of today's idle young people who have lost their bearings and live withdrawn into themselves.

World and Time Enough

Two men--a gay, HIV-positive artist and an adopted garbage collector--struggle in the face of stigma and loss to find meaning in work, love, and family.

Something Must Break

A gritty story taking place in Stockholm, about the passionate love between the self-abusive Sebastian who wants to be a woman, and the easy-going Andreas who is certainly not gay.

Pity My Tears

When Amal's father falls on hard times, he sells his land to his neighbor, Mamdouh, who falls in love with Amal. But Amal is in a relationship with Mourad who starts avoiding her after he learns of her father's crisis, prompting Mamdouh to confess his love for Amal and ask for her hand in marriage.

I Love Wrongdoing

Badawyia is a younger dancer who dreams of stardom. She meets the young doctor, Elwy, and they fall in love. A director asks her to be the star of his new movie, but when Elwy asks her to marry him, his father disapproves.

Whisper

Anna, a 16 year-old girl from the sticks, trades her military education for life in the big city Running away to Prague opens a whole new world where she drinks her first cappuccino and meets the kind of people she has only seen in movies.

Burning Blue

Two Navy fighter pilots find themselves in the midst of a forbidden relationship throwing their lives and careers into disarray.

The Circle

A young teacher in Zurich in the 1950s falls in love with a transvestite star but is torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality. He joins a gay organization that is eventually seen as the pioneer of gay emancipation in Europe.

My Fair Son

When young art student Ray moves in with his estranged businessman father after years of separation, the two tentatively begin to reconcile their many differences -- including Ray's revelation that he's gay, which his father struggles to accept.

The Rhythm of Crime

Old houses in Zagreb are destroyed in order to build new, bigger blocks. A teacher who lives in one of these houses allows a stranger to share his home with him. The stranger has a fascination with statistics, and claims he can predict crimes based on statistical analyses. When a predicted murder did not occur, the stranger is adamant that the whole town will suffer unless a balance is achieved - and he leaves.

Fujimi Orchestra: Cold Front Conductor

Tonoin Kei, a musical genius, becomes the new conductor of Fujimi, clashing with the group's leader, Morimura Yuuki, who is unaware of Kei's feelings for him.

Wild Awakening

Toni and Emma are brother and sister who owns a stable farm. Ramon and his son, Aaron works for them. Toni is openly gay and loves to party, Emma has a crush on Aaron who is a closeted gay who is afraid that his father might find out, but his father also has a secret.

Ostia: The Last Night

A dark story of desire and betrayal inspired by the events of the night of the brutal slaying of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini.

A Kid Like Jake

On the eve of the admissions cycle for New York City kindergartens, Alex and Greg Wheeler have high hopes for four-year-old Jake. The director of Jake's preschool encourages them to accentuate Jake's gender expansive behavior to help him stand out. As Alex and Greg navigate their roles as parents, a rift grows between them, one that forces them to confront their own concerns about what's best for Jake, and each other.

What We Have

What We Have is is the tale of Maurice, a prisoner of his past who is unable to connect with the people in his new Northern Canadian small town, a community that is only too ready to welcome this European misfit into their arms.

Monsieur Verdoux

The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine.

Inocentes

A voyeuristic journey through the homoerotic work of Alair Gomes.

House No. 13

Sherif visits a psychiatrist for his illness who exploits him to commit a murder by hypnotism.

A Plot

Amina works as a secretary for Murad, who loves her and decides to marry her. But his cousin, Salma, who's after his wealth, succeeds in telling Amina that Murad's father does not approve of the marriage, which causes Amina to be in a bad psychological condition and loses her eyesight.

Al Berto

Portugal, 1975. A time of rough changes. A young gay artist trapped in a small seaside town ran by communist winds. Al Berto, the writer, embodies an entire moving generation. He and his friends exude youth, eccentricity and hope for the future - but right after the fall of Portugal's dictatorship system, the country is not yet ready for his love story.

She Stays

Throughout a night out in downtown Tijuana, Laura waits for her destiny to arrive.

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.

Affirmation

A church service is interrupted by a father who blames his daughter for all the evil in the world.

Do I Sound Gay?

What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.

Kanal

During the last few days of the Warsaw Uprising following World War II, a modest group of Resistance members remains. The band must take refuge in the sewers under the orders of leader Zadra, but it's only a matter of time before they will have to emerge. However, when they try, they are met only with intense hostility from the Nazis. Despite their attempts stay resolute through immense mental strain, it becomes increasingly apparent that they may be doomed.

Taste of Cherry

A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take on the job, but initially he has little luck. Eventually, Badii finds a man who is up for the task because he needs the money, but his new associate soon tries to talk him out of committing suicide.

Shield for Murder

A crooked detective masterminds a robbery then fights to keep his money.

Borstal Boy

Brendan Behan, a sixteen year-old IRA foot soldier, is going on a bombing mission from Ireland to Liverpool during the second world war. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and imprisoned in Borstal, a reform institution for young offenders in East Anglia, England.