If you are a regular reader of QUEERGURU then you will know that we always wax lyrically about the BOYS ON FILM series of compilations of short queer films from UK distributor Peccadillo Pictures. Whoever curates this collection has a very keen eye for edgy, sensual, heart-wrenching, touching and funny well-made indie LGBT movies.
This latest addition maintains the very high standards that we have come to expect and enjoy. Its called BOYS ON FILM 18: HEROES and it is ten uplifting and powerful tales recounting the lives of everyday heroes with no special powers except striving for their own identities and fighting for the right for us all to be ourselves.
DANIEL (UK, 2015, 14 mins)
Director: Dean Loxton. Starring Henry Garrett (Poldark) and Éva Magyar (X-Men: First Class)
Dániel is studying in London while working part-time as an escort. He is invited to a lunch by his best friend Nori. She surprises everyone by introducing her new lover Tom, with unforeseen consequences.
BUDDY (The Netherlands, 2015, 12 mins)
When a young man is asked by his ex-lover to support him during an HIV test, he sees an opportunity to find out if there is still a chance for reconciliation.
HALF A LIFE (Egypt, Indonesia, USA, Netherlands, 2017, 12mins)
Pairing the intimate narration of a young, Egyptian gay activist with a highly stylized animation, Half A Life brings the streets of Cairo to life through this firsthand account of the increasingly oppressive social climate of Egypt.
UNDRESS ME (Sweden, 2013, 15 mins)
When Micke meets Mikaela on a night out, he is immediately attracted to her, as he can sense that there’s something different about her. When Mikaela explains that she is trans he gets confused, aggressive and also curious. Undress Me examines and challenges our perceptions of gender.
THE COLOUR OF HIS HAIR (UK, 2017, 23 mins)
Based on an unrealized film script written in 1964, when homosexuality is still illegal, The Colour of His Hair merges drama and documentary into an impressionistic meditation on queer life before and after the partial legalization of homosexuality in 1967.
SILLY GIRL (UK, 2016, 5 mins)
Director: Hope Dickson Leach. Starring Clara Baxendale (My Mad Fat Diary) and Jason Barker (A Deal with the Universe).
Silly Girl is all about the first time you are noticed, that first time someone sees you for who you are and the transformative nature of that moment. From the Director of The Levelling and co-written by Game of Thrones’ Ellie Kendrick.
AN EVENING (Denmark, 2016, 10 mins)
Frederik has had sex for the first time with Mathias, his friend from school. Whilst Mathias embraces what they have done and is keen to move forward, Frederik struggles to understand his own feelings and his newfound desire for Mathias.
AIDS: DOCTORS AND NURSES TELL THEIR STORIES (UK, 2017, 26 mins)
For the first time, doctors and nurses who cared for Britain’s first AIDS patients in the 1980s tell of the extraordinary situation they found themselves in and the rules they had to break to help patients forgotten by the state.
IT’S CONSUMING ME (Germany, 2012, 3 mins)
Director: Kai Staenicke
From the director of B. A young man obsesses over his ex-lover as he takes us through a collage of memories, the highs, and lows of their relationship and images of his ex-boyfriend’s new life with his new lover.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST (Sweden, 2016, 13 mins)
Director: Mikael Bundsen
Starring Alexander Gustavsson from Girls Lost. A mother gives her teenage son some friendly advice on their way home from having met his boyfriend for the first time, but this innocent conversation leads to revelations that threaten to completely change their relationship. Winner of Iris Prize 2017.
