Category Archives: Boys on Film

SOCRATES

A Film by Alexandre Moratto

This debut feature film from 29 year-old Brazilian-American filmmaker Alexandre Moratto follows Socrates, a 15-year-old left reeling after his mother’s sudden death, struggling to make a decent living and avoid homelessness even though the odds are stacked against him. It is a unique film being that it was the first feature to be produced by the Quero Institute in Brazil, an organisation supported by UNICEF which works to teach audio visual skills to young people from low income communities to stimulate talents and expand their professional horizons. In their workshops, they promote cultural inclusion with classes in citizenship and entrepreneurship, resulting in more awareness and participation from these young people.. They have stated about the films they create that they focus on themes related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, further fostering an awareness in their students about the wider world and sociological issues.

As a UNICEF backed project, it was co-written and produced by at risk teenagers from the local area in Sao Paulo. In describing how this project came to fruition, director Alexandre Moratto discussed how in 2009 he had volunteered at the Quero Institute in Brazil and was inspired by dedication of these young people to make a better life for themselves. It was through this experience that Moratto recognised the importance of making films about underrepresented cultures and communities.

Impressively, Socrates was able to be made on a micro budget of under $20,000, which led to it being nominated for the prestigious ‘John Cassavetes Award’ at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. This award is presented to the creative team of a film which was budgeted at less than $500,000, which further illustrates just how tiny Socrates budget was. At these awards Socrates was also awarded the ‘Someone to Watch’ Award and nominated for ‘Best Male Lead’ for its young star Christian Malheiros who plays Socrates.

SOCRATES In Cinemas and On Demand Now
IAmSocrates.co.uk

Tamara Shogaolu talks about HALF A LIFE from Boys on Film 18: Heroes

Tamara Shogaolu, the director of the stunning short film Half a Life – part of Boys on Film 18: Heroes – chats about her inspiration for the film and the experience she had making it:

How did you meet the narrator, and what led you to want to tell his story?

Over the course of two years before, during and after the revolution, I traveled around Egypt collecting oral histories of a variety of people—mostly women, activists and members of marginalized communities. It was a time of openness where people felt like they could talk and be honest and for that I feel incredibly fortunate.

The plan was always to make an animated documentary film based on these oral histories. We felt an urgency to share this story first because of the active persecution of LGBT individuals in Egypt at the moment. We are also currently developing an interactive augmented reality animated
documentary based on some of the other interviews.

Where does the title “Half a Life” come from?

The title of HALF A LIFE is inspired by Khalil Gibran’s poem of the same name. It speaks to the value of individual action, commitment, and resistance, like the film’s interviewee and main character. The film ends with a selection from the poem:

The half is a mere moment of inability
but you are able for you are not half a being
You are a whole that exists
to live a life not half a life

How and why did you decide the documentary should be animated?

Animation has allowed us to protect the identity of the people involved in the story, but it also affords us the artistic freedom to convey its emotion visually and viscerally. It also emphasizes Adam’s voice as he tells his story, offering us a firsthand look into the gay experience in Egypt today.

How was the experience for you as the director?

It has been an incredible experience. I have been working on this project for years and was finally able to get a really great team together. Everyone was really involved in all aspects of telling this story. This is the first animated film I direct and was also the first narrative film for the animation team. We were also incredibly lucky to have wonderful mentors who gave us key feedback to make the film and story more powerful.

What do you hope the impact of this film will be?

Like Adam, many Egyptians love Egypt, while they are struggling against the very backlash that many involved with the 2011 revolution feared. Our team is devoted to sharing Adam’s story, and it is our hope that this film can embolden and contribute to the movement for gay rights taking place in Egypt right now.

Boys on Film 18: Heroes is released on 30/04/2018 and you can order your copy here.

All about “Buddy”, in Boys on Film 18: Heroes.

A reunion with your ex-lover can be an emotional experience. An odd mix of contradictions. Intimacy and detachment. Awkwardness and familiarity. These casual meetings can have a tremendous impact on our lives. Especially if one still has feelings for the other. Something most of us can relate to. Therefore, it was very important to me that ‘Buddy’ would feel genuine and true.

In my quest to give the short film a sense of realism and believability I gave my actors tremendous freedom to move and improvise. In collaboration with my director of photography we created a shooting style that enabled our actors to move and act freely. The film was shot on location at a real STI clinic.

‘Buddy’ is based on an autobiographical event. What fascinated me about the story, is the inability of the main characters to communicate, despite sitting directly next to each other. The location of this reunion is the waiting room of an STI clinic. Probably one of the most uncomfortable places to be sitting with your ex. Surrounded by nervous pacers bracing for bad news. An atmosphere of tension and tediousness.

Seeing his ex boyfriend in such a vulnerable position, our main character cannot deny his feelings anymore. By being part of this very intimate moment, he feels there might still be hope for the two of them getting back together. There is something beautiful about losing the reality of the situation in favor of the possibility of love. Most of us have been there, I think.

‘Buddy’ is about accepting the truth, no matter how hurtful it may be. And about letting go the one you love.

Niels Bourgonje Director

Boys on Film 18: Heroes is released on 30/04/2018 and you can order your copy here

BEACH RATS – The Origin

Writer / Director Eliza Hittman talks about the original ideas behind her award winning film BEACH RATS.

BEACH RATS

When Eliza Hittman’s debut feature, IT FELT LIKE LOVE, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, it was hailed as a refreshingly unsentimental, original and visually poetic portrait of a teenage girl’s sexual coming-of-age. Hittman was lauded as a filmmaker to watch, and the accolades continued as IT FELT LIKE LOVE played additional festivals and went into theatrical release in 2014. Richard Brody of The New Yorker named it one of the 20 best films of 2014 and wrote “Even as the movie delves deep into the characters’ complex emotional lives, it subtly and gradually—yet ineluctably—conjures a world that I was sorry to leave. I didn’t want the movie to end.”

Hittman knew she would be expected to tell another female-centered story with her second feature, but she wanted to challenge industry assumptions and herself as a filmmaker. She wanted to continue to plumb the outer and inner lives of young people, but chose a different focus. “I grew up in a family where all conversations around sexuality were taboo. I watched someone be brutalized because of their sexuality, but I’ve been barred from writing about my family specifically. My firsthand experiences with homophobia haunt my youth and inspired me to tell a story about a character wrestling with sexuality. I wanted to take on something that was very masculine, and explore the intense pressures on young men to live traditionally masculine lives in an environment with no clear alternative, role model or way out.” BEACH RATS began production on July 25, 2016, and shot for 25 days in different parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

In considering a setting for the story, she was drawn back to the South Brooklyn working-class neighborhoods of IT FELT LIKE LOVE. A native of Flatbush, Brooklyn, Hittman came to know the borough’s coastal communities through high school friends who lived in places like Manhattan Beach. “I’ve always been a little bit fascinated with those neighborhoods and I’d spend a lot of the summer just flopping around those beaches,” she says. “It’s a part of Brooklyn that feels caught between past and present. Those areas have a history of violence of all kinds–crimes against people of color and gay men, and organized crime–and, unlike other parts of the City, change has come very slowly.

Harris Dickinson plays Frankie in BEACH RATS

Her image of the main character in BEACH RATS came from a Facebook image she’d found while researching wardrobe and set design for IT FELT LIKE LOVE. “It was a guy standing at a mirror holding his phone, with a big flash from the camera,” she says. “He had his shirt off and this hat on, and the visor was sort of masking his eyes. It looked like he was about to pull down his gym shorts and take a picture of his dick. There was this tension between hyper-masculine and homoerotic that the picture so clearly illustrated.”

At the same time, Hittman also became interested in Internet-related violence in the LGBTQ community, violence that has had a significant presence in these outer reaches of the City as a microcosm of events that happen throughout the world. The horrifying nature and similarities within stories where dating sites are used to lure people into sexual encounters that end with robbery, beatings, and even death. Hittman says “it’s a very dark subject, one that I know will have a divergent response as it’s a difficult topic that continually recurs.”

From there, Hittman started building out the world of Frankie, a 19-year-old facing an aimless summer at an uncertain moment in his life. His father is in the last stages of cancer, dying in hospice care in the family living room. Frankie spends his days killing time, getting high and hanging out with three delinquent fellow beach rats. At home, he squirrels himself away in the basement, where he can flirt with older men online without anyone knowing. But when a self-assured, sexy local girl named Simone makes a play for him on a Friday night at Luna Park, he awkwardly goes along with it.

Eliza Hittman writer / director of BEACH RATS

The Boys are Back for Christmas

The second BOYS ON FILM of 2017 is arriving a touch later than usual, but presents the perfect antidote to Christmas viewing, either on DVD or in high definition On Demand. As you know BOYS ON FILM is the world’s most successful short film anthology series, now with it’s seventeenth edition aptly titled LOVE IS THE DRUG. Here’s a run down of the nine films in this collection along with links to interviews that their directors did with Gay Star News.

ALEX AND THE HANDYMAN

Dir. Nicholas Colia (USA) 14 mins

When Alex, a precious nine-year-old boy, develops a crush on Jared, the moody twenty-five-year-old handyman who works in the mansion where he lives, he will stop at nothing to get his attention.

Read the interview with director Nicolas Colia HERE

NICHOLAS COLIA is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker who recently graduated from NYU Graduate Film School. Alex and the Handyman is his graduation film, it screened at Palm Springs International ShortFest and Outfest and has since won numerous awards. He is currently finishing work on a new short, a TV series and a feature film.

MR SUGAR DADDY

Dir. Dawid Ullgren (Sweden) 13 mins

Fifty-something Hans is looking for a fresh start. When he is pursued by the handsome younger Andrej, he falls for him fast. As the pair get closer, his wallet becomes looser. Is Andrej interested in Hans, or just the perks of an older man?

Read the interview with director Dawid Ullgren HERE

Dawid Ullgren studies directing at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. Dawid has previously directed the award-winning shorts Karma is a Bitch (2014) and Love at 03:56 (2013). Dawid also works as a casting assistant in Sweden, and holds a diploma in screenplay writing from Alma Writer College.

SPOILERS (Iris)

Dir. Brendon McDonall (UK, Australia) 22 mins

Leon’s loved and lost. Scarred by his experiences, his life takes a turn for the better when he meets the ideal man. Life seems full of possibility again, but what if he knew the ending before it even began?

Read the interview with director Brendon McDonall HERE

Brendon is a director, screenwriter and actor. His short film, All God’s Creatures, won numerous awards, including Best Film and Best Director at the 2014 Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival and the prestigious international Iris Prize in 2014.

Brendon won the AFTRS/Foxtel Award for Exceptional Talent and was Associate Director to Ian Watson on the ABC series Janet King. His previous short films include The Law, Midnight Blue, All God’s Creatures and The Dam.

TELLIN’ DAD

Dir. André D Chambers (UK) 15 mins

A year into his relationship, Dan finally agrees to come out to his family. He writes letters to all of them. As each arrives, he deals with the aftermath, until there’s only one left… Starring Ricky Tomlinson (The Royle Family)

Read the interview with writer / producer Carl Loughlin HERE

André D Chambers studied Digital Film Making at the SAE Institute in Liverpool. His previous short films include Trip, a silent film about homelessness in Liverpool, and Thomas which screened at multiple film festivals around the world. Andre is currently working on short film Nam set in the Vietnam War.

BOYS

Dir. Eyal Resh (USA) 14 mins

Set on the first day of summer, Brian sleeps over at Jake’s house, as they have done countless times before. This night however, the two encounter unfamiliar desires that illuminate a new side of themselves.

Read the interview with director Eyal Resh HERE

Eyal Resh was born in Haifa, Israel in 1988. After graduating from the film department at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts in Tel Aviv, he went on to do the Film Directing MFA Program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). His films were chosen to be part of the CalArts prestigious show case and are now playing in festivals all over the world. Today, Eyal is focusing on narrative story telling using live action film making, animation and photography.

HOLE (Iris)

Dir. Martin Edralin (Canada) 15 mins

A daring portrait of a disabled man yearning for intimacy in a world that would rather ignore him.

The interview with director Martin Edralin will appear later.

Martin Edralin is a Toronto-based filmmaker and producer. Welcome to La Hesperia, shot in Ecuador, was his first documentary short. It was followed by several other award-winning short films, including Sara & Jim, The Tragedy of Henry J. Bellini and Jane. Hole won numerous awards around the world and has screened at over 100 international film festivals, including Toronto and Sundance. He is currently developing two feature film projects.

HAPPY AND GAY

Dir. Lorelei Pepi (USA) 10 mins

A queer revisionist history of 1930’s black and white cartoons, Happy and Gay is a musical cartoon inspired by the power of representation.

Read the interview with director Lorelei Pepi HERE

Lorelei Pepi is an American award-winning animation artist whose work engages with issues of identity and representation, the sexual body, gender and LGBT issues. Using animation‘s various forms, her materials and treatments range from the highly experimental to the character-driven narrative, lyrical and personal (Grace), to the socio-political queer cartoon (Happy & Gay). She teaches Animation at Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, Canada.

PEDRO

Dir. André Santos and Marco Leão (Portugal) 24 mins

When Pedro gets home at dawn exhausted, he is dragged to the beach by his loving mother. Initially reluctant, his interest is peaked when he catches the eye of a handsome stranger by the water.

Read the interview with directors Andre Santos and Marco Leao HERE

André Santos and Marco Leão started their long-lasting collaboration in 2008. Since then, they co-directed Our necessity for comfort, Wild Horses, Infinite, and the award-winning Bad Blood. André also works as a cinematographer, and Marco as a sound operator.

KISS ME SOFTLY

Dir. Anthony Schatteman (Belgium) 16 mins

An unexpected kiss from a friend brings a shaft of light to 17-year-old Jasper’s dull existence. It provides the spark he needs to embrace who he is, but how can he persuade his self-involved father to do the same?

The interview with director Anthony Schatteman will appear later.

Anthony studied film directing and holds a Master’s degree in Film Studies and Visual Culture from the University of Antwerp. KISS ME SOFTLY, his graduation film, was based on his relationship with his father and won him the 2012 Humo award at Leuven International Short Film Festival. Anthony’s work regularly explores difficult LGBT themes and is filmed in his own distinctive visual style.

Special Features for BOYS ON FILM 17: LOVE IS THE DRUG

Director’s Introduction for Spoilers

The Making of Kiss Me Softly

Trailers for Alex and the Handyman, Hole and Happy & Gay

Our Top 10 Bestselling DVDs of 2016 & Interview with Tom

What a dramatic year 2016 was for films, dramatic in other ways too, but we’re going to focus on the films. To get an industry insider’s perspective we’re bringing you an exclusive interview with our MD Tom Abell to get his take on a wonderful year of films and the changes affecting our industry.

But first; to celebrate a bumper year at Peccadillo Pictures we’re taking you on a tour of our top 10 bestselling DVDs of the year. We searched the world to bring you the most thought-provoking, entertaining and captivating films possible. Whether they were hidden gems like GIRLS LOST or global behemoths like EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, each DVD is etched with our passion, love and care. Enjoy.

10 THEO & HUGO

The steamy French romance that was ‘too sexy’ for most cinemas, careened into tenth place despite being one of our last releases of the
year.

09 CLOSET MONSTER

A beautiful 21^st century “coming of age” tale complete with teenage angst, a thumping electronica score and an Isabella Rossellini-voiced Hamster.

08 The GIRL KING

Our captivating drama based on the scandalous life of Queen Kristina of Sweden, and her “royal bed-warmer” Countess Ebba Sparre.

07 CHEMSEX

A brave and unflinching journey into the hidden world of modern, urban gay life. Told through the eyes of ‘slammers’, survivors and the health workers fighting to protect them.

06 BOYS ON FILM 14: WORLDS COLLIDE

Once again the powerhouse that is Boys on Film has been a top seller this year, worlds collide in more ways than one in this stunning collection of award winning short films.

05 BOYS ON FILM 15: TIME & TIED

A sensation as always, the latest Boys on Film collection is our hottest to date. Between a time traveling closet, a 1976 trouser bar and a “zombie infested” sauna, it will have you re-examining your concept of time, age and the ties that bind us.

04 HOLDING THE MAN

The powerful true life story of a forbidden high school romance that was to last a lifetime. Holding the Man will have your heart plunging and soaring. Australian gay cinema has never been so strong.

03 DEPARTURE

An intimate film about love, loss and moving on that charts the beginning of the end of a mother’s marriage, the coming of age of her sexually confused son and an awakening that will make or break their new, unfamiliar family. Juliet Stevenson soars in this beautiful British drama set against the stunning backdrop of southern France.

02 THE GERMAN DOCTOR

A lonely 12-year-old girl unknowingly becomes friends with one of the world’s most terrifying Nazi war criminals in this dark, intense thriller. Based on true events, THE GERMAN DOCTOR will have your skin crawling and heart pumping all the way up to it’s dramatic, final minutes. This “Mesmerising and haunting” Argentinian film was a huge success across the board, particularly in stores.

01 EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT

Karamakate, a warrior shaman and last of his tribe, transcends the worlds of men and seeks truth through their dreams. Based on the diaries of Theodor Koch Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes, the only known accounts of many Amazonian cultures, this extraordinary “Oscar nominated” film was destined for our top spot.

So, which ones have you seen? Which titles do you need to see? Get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know!

We’re immensely proud of our top 10, and the contribution Peccadillo Pictures has brought to the film world. Our Managing Director Tom Abell, he’s been in the business a “long time” and knows it inside out. Tom’s taken some time out of his very busy schedule to give us a quick interview about the past year at Peccadillo Pictures, the changing face of Film Distribution and our biggest hit of 2016.

Did you have any idea how successful EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT was going to be?

TOM: We thought it was going to be successful, we knew that it would do well but no, its actual success was far greater than we expected. It was a wonderful surprise that the audience in the UK and Ireland took to the film as passionately as we had.

You’re passionate about finding new ways of getting films out there, what has been your most exciting distribution project?

TOM: Well, our most amazing campaign was for cinema release of EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT – most definitely. Every aspect of our promotion and marketing of the film worked perfectly in every single area. I can honestly say that in hindsight there isn’t one single thing that we would change, and it’s not often you can say that.

I think it’s the best campaigns we’ve ever done and we won the Screen Award specifically for that campaign. Getting that recognition from the industry itself was one of the highlights of last year.

Are there any films that you think were unsung heroes of 2016?

TOM: GIRLS LOST. It’s a very special film with lots of important social and sexual commentary, but at no point is it overbearing or preachy. Every country in the world has had problems marketing it, because it’s difficult to define a single audience for it – do you target a gay audience, a lesbian or trans audience or do you market it as a Disney film with a dark side?

It took us a long time, but I do think we got the tone spot on. Unfortunately, it hasn’t yet translated into sales, despite great acclaim from critics like Mark Kermode. It’s a little gem that many people still have to discover.

Peccadillo Pictures will be seventeen years old this year, how has the industry changed in that time and what have been the most dramatic shifts?

TOM: It’s changed enormously, the biggest change has been the move from 35mm to digital for projection in cinemas, and whilst it was supposed to make things more diverse it’s done the opposite. It’s made it much harder for smaller films to get into cinemas and now allows most of the cinemas to play the same films, which is not just pointless its tragic.

Obviously some screens do offer a more diverse selection of films and we applaud those cinemas who are still supporting non-Hollywood films.

How has VOD (Video On Demand) changed the way you distribute home entertainment?

TOM: While our VOD side is growing considerably year on year, it hasn’t yet replaced the revenue we were getting from DVDs. While we’re maybe not making as much money from it as we were in the good old days of DVD It is growing well and I’m quite confident that our success with VOD will continue to grow. For example we’re one of a handful of film distribution companies who have their own own page on iTunes, we have our own Peccadillo Player which is powered by Vimeo and every quarter our VOD sales on Amazon are increasing considerably, so the VOD side is really moving upwards for us.

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog, you can also keep up with the incredible adventures of the winking black cat on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Check back regularly for exciting new updates, exclusive content and information on our upcoming films before anyone else.

What are little boys made of..?

If you’re blind to what is different, this story is not for you. But if your eyes are open, you should listen carefully

Every so often a film comes along where it is incredibly difficult to find the right tone. With GIRLS LOST we have been through countless design concepts and have really discussed, argued and fought over how it should look, how the synopsis should read, how to present this to the audience and even who that audience should be.

We’ve never had it like this on a single title before. But I have to say that after months of changing minds, designs and words we’ve finally cracked it, literally the day of release!

It’s an amazing film, in fact one for all the family! Read more below…

Kim (as a girl) and Momo (as a girl) from GIRLS LOST

Kim (as a boy) and love interest Tony from GIRLS LOST

“Girls Lost is maturely executed, offering a discussion that presents us with ideas that cannot be considered in haste, the post-contemplation of the film necessary.” HeyUGuys

Here’s the synopsis follow link

You can find out where and how to watch GIRLS LOST : http://www.girlslostfilm.com/

The Boys Are Back In Town!

All the boys came out to play last night at the launch of BOYS ON FILM: TIME & TIED at Picturehouse Central.

With London finally bringing us a scorching week of sun, many bums still filled up the seats at a SOLD OUT show for the new collection of gay British short films. Patrick Cash, our host for the evening, introduced each of the filmmakers onto the stage. To start off the introduction, Leon Lopez (star of G O’CLOCK, who stepped in for director Mitchell Marion) discussed the chemsex scene and how the director wanted the film to start a conversation within the community. Charlie Parham spoke about the gentrification of Soho and the London scene in NIGHTSTAND.

Following Charlie, directors Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston explored the use of Polari in a way that hadn’t been used before in their comedy PUTTING ON THE DISH. Tom Frederic discusses SAUNA THE DEAD and the zombie as a metaphor for the ways in which we are unable to empathize with the other on an emotional level, caring more for the physical and the sauna being one of the best places to explore this. Producer David McGillivray made a conclusion on the controversial short, TROUSER BAR, and the labour of love that went into making the film and the struggles he faced a long the way. The night was almost complete but unfortunately director Lloyd Eyre-Morgan of CLOSETS could not attend.

The audience then tuned into a surprise performance from the UK’s hottest girl band, DENIM. In which Charlie Parham (Aphrodite) and Amrou Al-Kadhi (Glamrou) star/writer of NIGHTSTAND, took to the stage with two other DENIM girls (Chrystal and Shirley) and performed a short medley of hits. Be sure to check out their full 2 hour set in upcoming shows across the UK.

After an hour and forty mins of wigs, heels and a magical journey through time, the audience joined the Peccadillo team and the filmmakers for the afterparty sponsored by the lovely Barefoot Wine. It was great to see all of the audience come back for a drink and discuss the shorts amongst each other. We at Peccadillo want to thank you all for the continuous love and support for the BOYS ON FILM collection and allowing it to grow over the years, BOYS ON FILM 15: TIME & TIED being our biggest release yet. The shorts are touring as part of the POUTfest LGBT Film Tour this summer across the UK, and will be released on DVD and for the first time on Itunes worldwide across all English speaking territories on Sept 12

A Film by Alexandre Moratto

SOCRATES In Cinemas and On Demand NowIAmSocrates.co.uk

If you’re blind to what is different, this story is not for you. But if your eyes are open, you should listen carefully

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SOCRATES In Cinemas and On Demand Now
IAmSocrates.co.uk