Stay home, stay safe, and treat yourself. Peccadillo Boys on Film 21 comes of age with a polished set of shorts that are almost poems, marking the small moments that make histories. 

MEMOIRS OF A GEEZA (UK, 4 mins) Dir. Theo James Krekis. 

A playful start with an ode to the theme that “perception is a funny thing”.  An exaggeratedly masc voiceover rhymes its way through some surprisingly non masc occurrences from his childhood. Who is fooling who?

We Are Dancers (UK, 30 mins) Dir. Joe Morris. 

It’s Berlin cabaret’s darkest hour as the rise of the Nazis gets uglier than satire can conceive. Drag queen Hansi Stum rails against the idea that they should silence themselves before others do it to them. It’s a cautionary tale of how too much caution is inevitably self defeating. A claustrophobic and intimate piece celebrates a last chance to stand before being forced on your knees.  

MY DAD WORKS THE NIGHT SHIFT (Canada, 14 mins) Dir. Zachary Ayotte 

Fourteen-year-old Felix is ready to break some boundaries as he lusts after older boy Vincent. In a sweaty fever dream he sneaks him home while the house is empty. Dad might get mad but Felix just wants to get laid. 

L’HOMME JETÉE (Switzerland, 21 mins) Dir. Loïc Hobi. 

The sea is calling to Theo but proving himself worthy of a place on a ship means a serious hazing from the other sailors. Whether he is running away from something or towards something is not clear but fellow sailor Giuseppe seems a big part of the ocean’s appeal. It’s good to be alone as long as you can be alone together. 

MY SWEET PRINCE (UK, 12 mins) Dir. Jason Bradbury.  

Realism dispensed through grainy video diaries perfectly tells the story though the teens involved barely utter a grunt. 2003 is still the dial-up years but the internet is seeding new ways to overcome that time when you hardly know yourself let alone other people .

DUNGAREES (UK, 5 mins) Dir. Abel Rubinstein.  Blake and Cane are a perfectly modern couple. As one of them blossoms as a trans gay man he gets to experience everything freshly as it is his first time doing it as himself. Including camping it up as much as he likes.

CLOTHES & BLOW (US/UK, 23 mins) Dir. Sam Peter Jackson.

Superficially a coming out tale this quirkily mundane American family in London are really coming to terms with the death of the family patriarch. A jolly exploration of the ridiculous role people get stuck in and whether they can overcome themselves.

 A NORMAL GUY (Romania, 14 mins) Dir. George Dogaru.

Pulling a hot guy in a club is an excuse to for this boy to kick his roommates girlfriend out for the night so that he can get his freak on. Turns out two can play at that game. Watch out for what slaps him hard in the face at the end. Your eyes will pop, we promise.

PRETTY BOY (Australia, 9 mins) Dirs. Pierce Hadjincola & Sinclar Suhood. Kevin is the small town boy beset by racism and homophobia. WIll it be worth it if he can find someone to call his own? Watch and see.

 

Boys On Film 21: Beautiful Secret
On DVD, Blu-Ray and On Demand March 2021

Pre-order DVD on Peccadillo Shop
Pre-order Blu-Ray on Peccadillo Shop
Pre-order DVD & Blu-Ray on Amazon UK

 

Review by ANDREW HEBDEN

Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day.