Dawn (2012)

Welcome to Destination Shanghai

Shanghai was once called the "Paris of the East," but changes come with time and social tumult. Now, amid crumbling buildings, crushing poverty and social decay, filmmaker Andrew Cheng captures a city fallen victim to moral and economic decline. Through a collection of vignettes involving male prostitutes, aging hookers and other sex-trade workers, Cheng reveals the sordid heart of a once glittering metropolis.

One Summer Night

Caught in forbidden love, Yong Joon defects from North Korea, leaving Jae Sung behind. Years later, a reunion forces him to choose between past and present.

Wedding Wars

In the midst of organizing his brother Ben's wedding, Shel, a gay party planner, decides to go on strike for equal rights when he learns that Ben is behind a political speech against gay marriage.

Antarctica

Set in Tel Aviv, focuses on an interconnected group of friends and their various relationships. At the center is the adorably bookish Omer, about to turn 30, who still hasn't found himself, and his free-spirited best friend Miki, who both end up inadvertently dating the same handsome journalist, Ronen.

The Children's Hour

An unruly student at a private all-girls boarding school scandalously accuses the two women who run it of having a romantic relationship.

Cowboys & Angels

This story concerns a hapless civil servant who gets more than he bargains for when he moves into an apartment in Limerick with a gay fashion student and becomes a star on the catwalk. A contemporary story embracing the essence of what it is to be young in today's Ireland.

7 Mujeres, 1 Homosexual y Carlos

Carlos (Mauricio Ochmann), 21 years old, decides to get married to Camila (Adriana Fonseca), his 18-year-old girlfriend, when he finds out that she was pregnant while he was away for five years.

When Jeff Tried to Save the World

When Jeff discovers that the bowling alley he manages is being sold, he must do everything he can to save the place he's come to call home. This is the original / short.

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.

Common Causes for a Clinical Condition

María rehearses Antigone the same way as she criticizes the government's actions; Ismene listens fearfully just as Irving reluctantly accepts the official version of a lie. Love only has consciousness in its disappearance; in the end the causes will be known, and only the memory of those who refuse to forget will be left with no consequence.

Dawn

As dawn creeps across London, two lost outcasts meet in the darkness, more afraid of themselves than each other. As the sun begins to rise, and the veil of the night is lifted, the pair look into the cold light of day for hope and it takes more than just the eyes to see inside a soul.

Desert Hearts

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

Everything Is Illuminated

A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.

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 a tangled love triangle.

JFK

Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

Le Crime d'amour

To emerge from anonymity, a young man assumes responsibility for a crime he did not commit.

How to Fix Radios

In a decaying rural community in Southern Ontario, Evan, an isolated, narrow-minded teen starts a new job at a run down, decrepit bait shop that is being primed to be sold as land for a sub-division. Upon arriving for his first shift, Evan discovers that his supervisor is the pink haired, outspoken Ross. Through their tedious job the two slowly grow closer, and Evan happens upon Ross' rich but strenuous inner world, involving himself, his sister, and the shadowy figure of his boss' ultra macho son. As a result, Evan's worldview and biases are challenged as he navigates the cataclysmic changes happening in his small town.

Hidden Away

At the age of 14 the world around you changes at a dizzying speed. But what if actually it's you that changing? What if these changes take you away from what up until now, has been your world? Ibrahim and Rafa are going to suffer these changes for themselves, experiencing first love in a way they never could have imagined. And having to keep it Hidden away.

Mapplethorpe

A look at the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe from his rise to fame in the 1970s to his untimely death in 1989.

Nothing Like The Sun

In 1949, Alice Mitchell works as a prostitute on the street. After her situation worsens, she unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile with her estranged family over her homosexuality. She grows infatuated the daughter of a Christian household, Annabel. But she ultimately decides to give up the relationship in order to make peace with her parents.

Falsettos

The 2016 Broadway revival of William Finn's Tony-winning musical tells the story of Marvin, a Jewish family man who leaves his wife and son for a male lover during the height of the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City.

Synonymous With

A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.

The Day I Remembered the Trip to Bicuda

I always left that memory buried deep in my mind. Until one day she came back as a movie.

Ella

Ella, a young aspiring actress, stands at a crossroads, pondering her journey on the day of a career-defining audition. her career. No matter how small, every decision can change the course of her day, illuminating the subtle battles of everyday life. In the heart-vibrant chaos of Paris, Ella navigates the complexities of her identity: a foreigner, a woman, and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Wet Season

Jocelyn works at her Uncle's 'Crying Booths' in the country, while crying is forbidden in the cities.

Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn

In this sequel to Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, Alexander's story is told in both the past and the present. Alexander's parents send him away from home for being too sensitive and not helping enough on their farm. He goes to Los Angeles in hopes of going to art school, but when he can't find a job as a minor, he turns to prostitution. After being arrested, he wants to head to Arizona to marry Dawn, but he falls into a lucrative job/relationship with a gay football star.

To an Unknown God

José, a fifty-year-old homosexual magician, feels the need to return to Granada, the place where he spent his childhood, perhaps to embrace the painful memory of tragic experiences, perhaps to bury it definitively.

I Don't Know Who You Are

Benjamin, a working class gay man living in Toronto, struggles to obtain expensive healthcare after being assaulted by a stranger.

Freak Show

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

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.

Withered in a Blooming Season

Brotherly love goes too far when Feng gets his twin sister pregnant while both of them are still in high school, creating a problem that's bigger than both of them. Convincing his gay friend Le Le to take the blame seems like the best option.

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.

Artemide’s Knee

Mourning the death of his partner and collaborator Danièle Huillet, Straub finds tender mercy in music and nature. Out of the abyss, Kathleen Ferrier sings “The Farewell” from Gustav Mahler’s “The Song of the Earth”, (which the composer wrote in 1909 after the death of his daughter) and Heinrich Schütz’s Lament on the Death of His Wife. The landscape also provides solace: the mountain grove where Endymion pines for his beloved Artemis, “a wild thing, untouchable, mortal,” appears to embody the Japanese concept of ‘mono no aware’ — a wistful acceptance of the fleeting beauty of things.

The Accident

Three loosely related stories about love, loneliness and desire, held together by one central event (a train accident) that sets these characters in motion. Andrew Lin Hoi is a mainland tour guide who’s stranded in China when the accident happens. He was supposed to pick up his visiting girlfriend Gigi Lai, but instead he gets stuck in a hotel where a Category 3 film is being filmed. There he strikes up a quick connection with the leading lady, who offers him a role in a graphic love scene with her. Meanwhile, Gigi has arrived in HK only to find herself alone with no one to turn to. Depressed and despondent, she takes comfort in the attentions of a lonely older man played by Patrick Tse Yin. The third and most interesting affair occurs between taxi driver Ben Ng and mainland hustler Wong Hei. The two hook up outside the train station and fight and fume in between steamy couplings.

A Spot for Frog

Locked out of the school art room, a creative non-binary teen named Frog grapples with anxiety as they seek a new place to eat lunch. Imagination blurs with reality in this hybrid work of live action and animation about finding a place to belong.

One Afternoon

A strict father and his two boys share a calm life in a creaky old home. One summer moment changes everything for the brothers.

Mom's Celestial Robe of Feathers

"There are many things that I don't like. The traffic jam on the way to Naha, my debt-ridden father, my best friend's boyfriend, milk, and my hometown, Shioya-wan. Why did my beautiful mother marry my father?" Ruri tried to escape from these thoughts as she faced an uncertain future. Then, one day, she learns of her mother's past, but…

The Blind Owl

Ricky is a young man who takes care of his sick mother. His father hovers at the edge of the picture, so Ricky provides for himself and his mom through prostitution, running errands, and acting as a caregiver for a blind man. Through the course of the film, Ricky befriends Janey, a young woman he finds beaten by her ex-boyfriend, and Trenn, a mysterious young man in trouble with the law. The three of them navigate a dark and confusing world. It uses many of the actors who have come to constitute the Dar A Luz company, including Tony Torn, Tom Fitzpatrick, Juliana Francis, and Tom Pearl. It will disappoint those who approach it looking for a film analogue of the “faster and louder” aesthetic that critics have used to characterize much of Abdoh’s stage work. The Blind Owl does use a variety of techniques reminiscent of his stage direction, giving it an unusual theatricality.

Femme

Jules is a drag artist in London who withdraws into himself and loses his career after a horrific attack. Months later, he recognizes one of his assailants in a gay sauna and quickly realizes he has the perfect opportunity to get revenge.

Memorable

Aging painter Louis and his wife Michelle struggle to cope with Louis' advancing dementia.

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.

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.

A Girl Who Loves a Girl

Valerie has broken up with the love of her life. She begins a new existence of having to adapt to a single life and is not coping well. To help ease the pain, she has a string of one-night stands, indulges in drugs and self-mutilation.

Carne

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

A Search Through Nine Lifetimes

For love to travel for thousands of years, they will eventually meet.

The Fox Spirit Repays a Debt

A wife and a concubine seek freedom. In a game of seduction, together they join forces to defeat their oppressors.

Antoine and Colette

Now aged 17, Antoine Doinel works in a factory which makes records. At a music concert, he meets a girl his own age, Colette, and falls in love with her. Later, Antoine goes to extraordinary lengths to please his new girlfriend and her parents, but Colette still only regards him as a casual friend. First segment of “Love at Twenty” (1962).

Boys on Film 22: Love to Love You

The latest in Peccadillo’s critically acclaimed series – now established as a leading showcase for new and emerging queefilm-makingng talent from around the world – features a fresh and exciting selection of the very best contemporary gay short films. Each self-contained drama in this diverse and thoughtfully curated collection offers fascinating and insightful new perspectives on the gay experience – sensual, affecting, sometimes provocative and always entertaining. The 8 short films are: Have We Met Before? (2019); The Act (2020); First Position. (2019); Winter [Invierno] (2021); The Suit Weareth the Man (2020); Infinite While It Lasts [Infinito Enquanto Dure] (2019); Melon Grab (2017); Thrive (2019).

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.

7 Virgins

Tano is 16-years-old and is already sitting in jail. In 48 hours he’s a free man and off to the wedding of his brother. In the two days he recounts his neighborhood in a section of Sevilla.

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.

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.

Paradise Now

Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

I Am the Doorway

After Saturn XVI crashes back to Earth, ex-astronaut Arthur struggles with an infection. Richard and his friends are blind to it's origin but his victims won't be. The Doorway is open.

Tove

Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. While focusing her artistic dreams on painting, the enchanting tales of the ‘Moomin’ creatures she told to scared children in bomb shelters, rapidly take on a life of their own, bringing international fame.

We Are Not Here

We Are Not Here is a short film about a small derelict town, waiting for a road. Through a series of vignettes we take a glimpse into the life of the town and its residents.

Hide & Seek

A transgender college student, a gay man, a dancer, and an activist struggle to live openly and find acceptance of their sexuality in Pakistan.

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.

Marram

Marram tells the story of a family on a Scottish Hebridean island. While they are going to great lengths to understand and revive a beloved son, the marram grass they need to thatch the roof over their heads recedes from a gradually eroding coastline.