Coming Home for Christmas (2021)

Sublime

When 16-year-old Manu realises that he has fallen in love with his bandmate Felipe, turbulent emotions start brewing beneath the surface. How do you avoid losing a friendship once its very foundation has shifted?

Topless

The ever-lively and upbeat Natsuko tries to mend a broken heart by carrying on with a string of short-lived affairs after her break-up with Tomomi. But when Tomomi announces her plans to marry - a man - Natsuko becomes inconsolable.

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.

Barely in Love

When a new troupe leader joins the 'Bnai Akiva' boy scouts movement, Yotam's world trembles. He is forced to cope with his sexual orientation and the difficulties he faces with family and religion, and is torn between his love of religion that forbids homosexuality and his mother who tries to 'cure' him.

The World Unseen

A drama centered on two women who engage in a dangerous relationship during South Africa's apartheid era.

Little Ashes

About the young life and loves of artist Salvador Dalí, filmmaker Luis Buñuel and writer Federico García Lorca.

Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train

A group of mourners travels by train to bury a recently deceased artist in Limoges. As they journey, secrets and desires unfold, with relationships shifting, past loves resurfacing, and personal connections revealed. At the funeral and afterward, tensions rise among the group, leading to further emotional complexities at the artist’s family home.

Iconic

Makeup guru Rose faces hate mail from a rival artist, in addition to dealing with a violent stalker. After falling into a toxic love spiral with Lily, Rose slides down a dangerous rabbit hole of drugs, paranoia and jealousy until she hits an unimaginable rock bottom.

Cleo Is Coming Over Tonight

Aitana organizes a big Halloween party in her huge apartment in Madrid in the hope that her friend Cleo will come.

Happy-Go-Lucky Days

Love is love. Someday, the pain of being in love will be an endearing memory. No matter who the feelings are towards, no matter what form it takes, all love and lifestyles have the same value. An omnibus anime tells the stories of “The wedding of an ex”, “a student and a teacher at an all-boys’ school” and “childhood friends whose bodies and hearts change with adolescence.”

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.

Black Mama, White Mama

When two troublemaking female prisoners (one a revolutionary, the other a former harem-girl) can't seem to get along, they are chained together and extradited for safekeeping. The women, still chained together, stumble, stab, and cat-fight their way across the wilderness, igniting a bloody shootout between gangsters and a group of revolutionaries.

Desire Lines

Past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through an LGBTQ+ archive on a dizzying and erotic quest to unravel his own sexual desires.

Toto Forever

A wide-eyed young postman and a gangster in trouble with the mafia find their lives become inexplicably intertwined when a heady affair attracts danger at every turn.

South of Heaven

When his boyfriend shows up unannounced, Elias' religious family learns their son's darkest secret.

Twittering Birds Never Fly: The Clouds Gather

In the hyper-masculine criminal underworld, a masochistic high-ranking yakuza and his newly-assigned bodyguard become increasingly drawn to each other.

Lucky Fares

One of the Three Kings and Santa Claus spend Christmas in jail, talking about what their future will be like in a world like this.

Longing

When Michal finds out her husband Meir is having an affair with a man, her world collapses. Not only is she is forced to deal with sexual rejection from Meir, she also has to endure social rejection.

Born for You

Alba has Down's Syndrome and was left in the hospital when she was born. Thirty families rejected her before the court decided to entrust her to Luca: a Catholic — and gay — single man.

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

An adventurous love story between two young women of different social and economic backgrounds who find themselves going through all the typical struggles of a new romance.

Mitraa

The film Based on the short story written by the renowned writer and novelist Vijay Tendulkar, set in the time of the struggle for Independence, is based on the life of a lesbian.

Prick Up Your Ears

When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they start an affair. As Orton becomes more comfortable with his sexuality and starts to find success with his writing, Halliwell becomes increasingly alienated and jealous, ultimately tapping into a dangerous rage.

Fögi Is a Bastard

15-year-old Beni falls in love with Fögi, a singer in a Rock band. As Fögi seduces him, he is only willing to follow him where ever Fögi wants to. But Fögi is a drug addict and pulls Beni deeper and deeper into the hell of drug addiction.

Fall Risk

Set in Los Angeles, a young woman, Dylan, is in and out of the hospital with a life-changing diagnosis, but something isn't right with her partner, Emily. Dylan begins questioning her reality and everyone in it, until her best friend breaks her out of the rehabilitation center to confront the source of the deception.

Marble Ass

A transvestite couple from 1990s Belgrade beholds their profession as a pacifistic mission, curbing the urges of rapists, gamblers and horny young men during turbulent periods in war-torn country.

All the Way

Rayvenn and Lourenço find themselves in new relationships but will their political differences drive them apart?

The Cakemaker

Thomas, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli married man who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking for answers regarding his death. Under a fabricated identity, Thomas infiltrates the life of Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small Café in downtown Jerusalem. Thomas starts to work for her, creating German cakes and cookies that bring her Café to life. Thomas finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a way far beyond his anticipation. To protect the truth he will stretch his lie to a point of no return.

If These Walls Could Talk 2

The stories of three lesbian couples -- who live in the same house at different periods of time -- who are at a crossroads in their lives. In 1961, Edith loses her lover, Abby, to a stroke. Linda and Amy struggle with feminist issues in 1972. And, in 2000, Kal and Fran try to have a baby with the help of sperm donor.

What the Eyes Can't See

Four Spanish-language shorts about the importance and complexity of people's perception from award winning directors. Stories of identity, misconceptions, regrets, dreams and love are told in this diverse collection. Includes: Tenants [Inquilinos] (2018); My Brother [Mi hermano] (2015); Guillermo on the Roof [Guillermo en el tejado] (2018); You Are Not a Woman [Usted no es mujer] (2018).

Ephemeron

A chance encounter with a neighbor helps a musician deal with his creative block.

Sticky Matters

A girl is on the skids because of love. A short tempered and passionate young man falls in love with the girl. His emotions are so powerful that he is prepared to surrender his whole personality. The boy has a good friend, who is not sure whether their bond is friendly or homosexual. Before the girl arrived, the friendship was close, but now she has thrown a spanner in the works. How do they react to the new situation?

Performance Anxiety

Two straight actors must rehearse for an impending gay love scene. How will they make out?

The Extravagant Illnesses

Louis, 17 years old, is a romantic boy, loving to spend time on a small island lost in the middle of a pond with his lover Thibault. But Thibault is in a relationship with Sophie. So, for Thibault to be all his own, Louis casts a love spell on him. When electricity shuts down during a party, Louis believes that it's the sign his spell worked out. But things don't turn out the way he hoped for.

Pepi, Luci, Bom

After a young heiress is assaulted by a policeman, she seeks revenge by befriending the policeman’s mousy wife and introducing her to her circle of outrageous punk friends.

The Illiac Passion

Prometheus, on an Odyssean journey, crosses the Brooklyn Bridge in search of the characters of his imagination. After meeting the Muse, he proceeds to the "forest." There, under an apple tree, he communes with his selves, represented by celebrated personages from the New York "underground scene" who appear as modern correlatives to the figures of Greek mythology. The filmmaker, who narrates the situations with a translation of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, finds the personalities of his characters to have a timeless universality.

Spilt Milk

A short film that follows the story of Scarlett, a troubled young girl who finds a best friend in Frankie; a kind-hearted boy who comes to her aid. Their friendship blossoms into a unrequited love story in which we follow Scarlett (aged sixteen) as her feelings for Frankie have developed, all leading up to the event of their high school prom. Unfortunately for Scarlett prom doesn't quite live up to her expectations and her future with Frankie is left uncertain.

Dinner Confession

One night, Che was having dinner with his mom as usual, but all of a sudden, Che's mom took out Che's secret magazine out of nowhere and started questioning Che about the magazine. However, Mom's question was interrupted when Chun-Hao, Che's best friend came to visit and joined their dinner unexpectedly. How will Chun-Hao's unexpected visit affect the intense situation between Che and his mom?

Pittsburgh

An intimate, emotionally turbulent yet occasionally light-hearted look at a young deaf man's relationship with his boyfriend, who isn't quite ready to come out of the closet.

The Punisher

When undercover FBI agent Frank Castle's wife and son are slaughtered, he becomes 'the Punisher' -- a ruthless vigilante willing to go to any length to avenge his family.

Fleisch ist mein Gemüse

Heinz Strunk, plagued by crater-like skin rashes, lives with his sick mother in Hamburg-Harburg in the 1980s. As a saxophonist, he tours the North German lowlands with the dance combo "Tiffanys". In this bizarre universe of Korn, Klaus & Klaus and Koteletts, bandleader Gurki teaches him how to deliver cheerful, upbeat music. To escape the vicious circle of shooting festivals and village weddings, Heinz wants to start a solo career and become a hit producer...

Bones and Names

Boris and Jonathan have been a couple for many years. But their relationship has reached a point where they might as well spend their evenings together separately: One lies in bed reading, the other works at a desk in the next room. While actor Boris digs deeper into rehearsals for a new film with an ambitious director and begins to mix real and fictional characters, Jonathan tries to redefine his voice as a writer. Ghosting through these days of wrestling with distance, closeness, trust, desire and fear of loss is Jonathans' young niece Josie, who is trying to deal with the approaching end of her childhood in her own idiosyncratic way. BONES AND NAMES, the feature debut of Fabian Stumm, portrays people searching for their place in life in different ways. A sensitive and humorous reflection on the dissonances in relationships that both connect and distance us from each other.

Xiao Xian

Xiao Xian is in charge of finishing a dress. Her mother has decided that she is going to take care of it that night, and she obeys, as usual. Sheng Xia, her best friend, shows up at her house to convince her to go partying. Xiao Xian accepts, but she cannot imagine what will end up happening that night.

Philadelphia

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

The Opposite of Sex

A 16-year-old girl visits her gay half-brother and ends up seducing his boyfriend, thus wreaking havoc on all of their lives.

Along Came Love

1947. On a beach, Madeleine, a waitress in a hotel restaurant, mother of a little boy, meets François, a rich and cultivated student. The force of attraction that pushes them towards each other is commensurate with the secrecy that each carries. If we know what Madeleine wants to leave behind by following this young man, we discover over time, what François is desperately trying to flee by mixing Madeleine's fate with his.

Show Me Love

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.

DAKAICHI - I'm being harassed by the sexiest man of the year - the Movie: Spain Arc

Azumaya and Takato are set to star in "Blood Wedding," a two-person play that incorporates flamenco dancing; Takato decides to travel to Spain to learn about passion.

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.

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.

Darker Than Midnight

Davide is different from the other teenagers. Something makes him look like a girl. Davide is fourteen when he runs away from home. His intuition leads him to choose Villa Bellini, a park in Catania, as a refuge. The park is a world in itself, a world of the marginalized, to which the rest of the city turns a blind eye. But one day the past catches up and Davide has to face the most difficult choice, this time alone.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

Unicorn

A young German/Bolivian Mennonite risks his life to escape his strict religious community to find love and freedom in the city.

Savage Fire

In the city of Cajamar, in the middle of ruined nature, lonely characters deal with the police, rodeos and mysterious fires.

Boys On Film 16: Possession

Golden boys, teen lust, self-conscious dolls, chance encounters, a vengeful creature, holiday romance, hidden sexuality — Boys On Film celebrates it's (not so) sweet sixteen with an astonishing selection of the latest international gay short films. Volume 16: Possession features ten complete films: Kai Stänicke's "Golden" with Christian Tesch and Maximilian Gehrlinger; Christopher Manning's "Jamie" starring Sebastian Christophers and Raphael Verrion; Kai Stänicke's "B." starring Susanne Bormann and Andreas Jähnert; Blake Mawson's "PYOTR495" starring Alex Ozerov; Charlie Francis's "When A Man Loves A Woman" starring Tommy Jay Brennan, Jemima Spence, and Diane Brooks Webster; Anthony Schatteman's "Follow Me" starring Ezra Fieremans and Maarten Ketels; Jake Graf's "Chance" starring 'ABS' and Clifford Hume; Andrew Keenan-Bolger's "Sign" starring John McGinty and Preston Sadleir; Oliver Mason's "Away With Me" starring Chris Polick and Lee Knight; and "We Could Be Parents" by Björn Elgerd.

Bust

A trans cop with the New York City Police Department goes undercover to make a drug bust.

Maybe Someday

Jay, a non-binary 40-something photographer, attempts to move across the country in the midst of separating from her wife. Along the way, she takes a detour to stay with her high school best friend who she used to be secretly in love with, and befriends a lonely gay comedian who adds humor and levity to her life. Memories of the past resurface as Jay searches for the joy and courage she needs to move forward with her next chapter in life.

Adam

This short film centers around a high school student whose declaration of love to another boy leads to hostile reactions from his classmates.

Grace

A 1950s Southern teen questions her faith and sexuality on the eve of her baptism when urged to repent her feelings for her best friend.

Idiot Fish

On the road to vacation, Jimmy and Guillaume put their relationship back into play. Jimmy becomes a lost hitchhiker, Guillaume a lonely driver. They will play not to know each other anymore, play to meet and seduce each other again. Until a third player joins the game.

All the Crows in the World

18-year-old Shengnan is invited to a mysterious party by her cousin. Upon arrival, Shengnan finds herself surrounded by greasy middle-aged men, with the exception of Jianguo, who is different. Shengnan and Jianguo decide to bail on the party, embarking on a night of adventures in the adult world.

In Bed

28-year-old Guy and his best friend, Joy, are enjoying the gay pride parade to the fullest when their bliss is abruptly put to an end by a deadly shooting that occurs during the event. Fleeing the scene into the safety of Guy’s home, they take along a fellow pride goer, Dan, who seems to be in shock. With the shooter still on the run, Guy and Dan fall into a night full of sex, drugs and paranoia.

Mates

Connor is on a hike with friends when he meets Adam who tries to seduce him. Connor finds he is less sure about his sexuality and masculinity than he previously thought.

Kissing Drew

Inside a drab middle school in 1992, a sexually-confused eighth-grader attempts to regain his dignity after being bullied by a sex-obsessed 'cool kid' whom he privately fantasizes about.

The Map of Sex and Love

Young Chinese-American filmmaker Wei-ming travels from New York to his childhood home on Lamma Island to make a video documentary about the imminent opening of a Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong. While doing research for the project, he meets Larry, a dancer/choreographer.

Fairyocious

Alma, petrified, does not know how to react when her son, age 8, wants to dress as a fairy and go to school. She asks advice from her neighbor, and eventually the entire building debates his right to behave cross-gender.

A Place of Our Own

After sudden eviction by their prejudiced landlord, transwomen Laila and Roshni must put their wits together to find a home and reclaim their place in society.

The Gift

A sailor on Christmas leave visits his boozing, one-legged father and dreamer mother in 1950s Brooklyn.

ErOddity(s)

ErOddity(s) is a collection of four exceptional short stories set in the world of erotic fantasy. In "Forever Mine", a confused boy seeks a love that will last him a lifetime. A teen's long forgotten past leads to his short lived future in "A Mind of Their Own"; proving some things should remain in the closet! A Christmas present, in the hands of a young voyeur, leads to a holiday tale of woe in an "Unsolved Christmas". And finally, in "The Way To a Man's Heart", an abused lover gets his revenge from beyond the grave.

Kaathal - The Core

Mathew Devassy, a retired bank manager decides to enter local panchayat elections. Unexpectedly, his wife Omana, shocks everyone by filing for divorce, claiming that Mathew is gay.

Personal Best

Young sprinter Chris Cahill is having difficulty reaching her potential as an athlete, until she meets established track star Tory Skinner. As Tory and her coach help Chris with her training, the two women form friendship that evolves into a romantic relationship. Their intimacy, however, becomes complicated when Chris' improvement causes them to be competitors for the Olympic team.

Swingin'

When sixth-grader boy Qiu is bullied in school for having gay dads, his stepfather Howard, a flamboyant Jazz trumpet player, must confront his own nightmares of childhood bulling before he can provide his son a feeling of security.