Boys On Film 16: Possession (DVD Review) – 10 more gay short films get a great showcase

It’s always a good day when a new Boys On Film gay short film collection is released. The most successful short film series in the world is now up to an impressive 16th instalment. You’d think by this point they’d be running out of decent gay-themed shorts to include, but thankfully across the world there are a lot of filmmakers producing great work, which has ensured a steady supply of new films to put on disc.

There’s an interesting and eclectic mix this time around. So what’s included amongst the 10 gay shorts on the discs? Take a look at what we thought below. And you can see what we think of other Boys On Film releases here.

GOLDEN Dir. Kai Stänicke (Germany) 3 mins
With its striking imagery of beautiful gold-coloured boys, stills from Kai Stanicke’s Golden have spread across the internet. The film itself is short, sweet, visually impressive and manages to fit a great little story into only three minutes – although it does feel slightly like the trailer for a longer movie. The short follows a literally golden boy who grows up unable to escape the face he feels different, believing he’s the only one who is like him. Then he discovers that’s not true, which leads to a memorable encounter – and a kiss – as well as the realisation the world is more golden than he’d realised.

While the point the film has to make is relatively obvious, it does it with panache and certainly has the ability to put a smile on your face. It also does a good job of demonstrating how hot guys can look when they’re covered in gold and they’re snogging.
4 out of 5

JAMIE Dir. Christopher Manning (UK) 9 mins
Jamie and Ben meet on a dating app, before deciding to spend the afternoon together. While Jamie can be socially awkward and finds it difficult to fit in with others, he begins to feel he’s found a connection with the slightly older Ben, which gives him hope but may leave also him exposed.

It’s surprising how few gay films – short or feature-length – really engage with the fact a lot of guys meet on apps nowadays. Likewise, it can be difficult to get across the apprehension, uncertainty, hope and fear of a first meeting, where anything could be possible, but you know it may not work. Jamie does a good job of that, with a young man facing the fear and trepidation of first steps into a gay world, unsure of what to do. Some may wish it was a little longer with a fuller sense of closure, but it works as an empathetic vignette of someone’s life.
3.5 out of 5

B. Dir. Kai Stänicke (Germany) 15 mins
Review originally posted following Iris Prize Festival screening
B. is a stop-motion effort that took two and a half years to complete, with Barbie-like dolls as its characters. It follows a woman whose interest in a red-headed woman is literally pushed aside by a man who thrusts himself into the boyfriend position. They head into a courtship that hits all the socially expected markers but seems to bring neither of them any happiness. Through it, the woman continues to think about the flame-haired girl she didn’t end up with.

Using the main character’s fantasies and dreams to play out various possibilities and feelings about the situation they’ve ended up in, B. brings up a variety of ideas, before jumping into live-action for the final couple of minutes. Well-made and with a strong mix of humour, horror and longing, perhaps the most interesting thing about B. is how it engages not just with people – both male and female – hiding or ignoring their sexuality, but also the pressures that attempt to push people, particularly women, in socially traditional directions, presented to them as if there are no other options. It also unsurprisingly suggests that those pressures won’t end in happiness.
4 out of 5

PYOTR495 Dir. Blake Mawson (Canada/Germany) 15 mins
Review originally posted following Iris Prize Festival screening
Pyotr495 is set in modern-day Russia, where a young man heads out for a hook-up with a guy he’s met on a dating app. However, once there he discovers the guy and his friends actually intend to punish and torture him for being gay – which in their minds also makes him a paedophile. They may have bitten off more than they can chew though when something monstrous emerges.

It’s an interesting idea and deftly brings a touch of supernatural horror into a gay-themed short. The film also consciously engages with the situation in Russia, where the gay propaganda laws have allowed homophobes to feel they have impunity to kidnap and torture gay men (and in some cases worse). Horror fans will definitely appreciate where the short goes, which starts out feeling like a drama before taking a bloody, revenge fantasy turn.
3.5 out of 5

Click here to watch the trailer for Boy Of Film 16: Possession

WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN Dir. Charlie Francis (UK) 10 mins
Nick is out and proud – to everyone except his mother. He may be in his 20s, but he’s still afraid to tell her, so when he discovers his mum is about to come and stay, he turns decides immediate changes are needed. That includes making his neat and slightly homoerotic flat more straight and laddish, and enlisting his lesbian best friend, Amanda, to pose as his girlfriend. Creating the illusion proves difficult, especially as Amanda can’t understand why he doesn’t just come out to his mum.

It’s nice to have a full-on comedy included on the disc. While the humour doesn’t always work, and its male and female gender stereotype reversal sometimes goes a little far, largely it’s a lot of fun. Likewise, the acting can be a tad broad, but it’s all done with a wink. While some will feel it reinforces as many stereotypes as it challenges (indeed, if stretched out to feature-length it might have verges on offensive at time), it certainly has fun and the ending works extremely well.
3 out of 5

FOLLOW ME Dir. Anthony Schatteman (Belgium) 16 mins
There have been a few gay-themed films about the relationship between a male students and their teacher heading in directions they perhaps shouldn’t. In this one, Jasper is a slightly lost 18-year-old, who’s fallen desperately in love with his art teacher. Not content with merely lusting after him from afar, Jasper starts following his teacher around when he’s out with his girlfriend, even listening to them making love during an encounter in a toilet.

He cannot help but imagine what it would be like to be him in his teacher’s arms. However, it may not just be a relatively innocent longing from afar.

Follow Me is a well-made, nicely visualised tale, that takes its story in one direction for the first five minutes, before twisting onto a different, less innocent course – but a more interesting one. It successfully upends expectations, causing the viewer to rethink both what they’ve seen and what Jasper’s infatuation is based around, while exploring both the highs and the disappointments of love and sex. I don’t think it’s as profound or insightful as it sometimes seems to think it is, but it’s an interesting and sometimes pretty sexy short.
3.5 out of 5

CHANCE Dir. Jake Graf (UK) 17 mins
Trans director Jake Graf is building a great resume of LGBT shorts, including the brilliant Dawn, which was included on Boy On Film 15. Chance follows middle-aged, slightly schlubby and easily ignorable Trevor, whose life has been completely empty following the death of his wife. When he’s threatened by two yobs in a park (one of whom is played by Graf), he’s rescued by an Arab man who doesn’t speak any English. Rather than say thank you, Trevor runs.

However, over the course of several meetings, and despite the language barrier, they begin to find an unexpected friendship and connection, that unlocks things neither of them expected. Chance is a genuinely sweet and charming film, which believes in hope even for those who have largely given up on life themselves. There are a few moments where it jumps forward so fast you feel like you’re missing something, but it certainly puts a smile on your face and keeps it there, with its belief that no matter where someone is in life or how different they are, happiness is possible.
4 out of 5

SIGN Dir. Andrew Keenan-Bolger & Adam Wachter (USA) 15 mins
Review originally posted following Iris Prize Festival screening
For this one, I really need another reviewer who knows ASL (American Sign Language) to add an additional take on the film, as it’s possible they may have a different view of it. The movie has no spoken dialogue, with hearing audiences only getting an evocative score. Everything is done through ASL, but there’s no subtitles – hence the need for two reviewers, as only those who know sign will be aware of what they’re actually saying.

Two men meet on the subway, one of whom is deaf and the other hearing. It’s the beginning of a love story, as each learns to deal with the other’s differences – one needing to learn sign language, and the other having to handle the communication barrier – with the film charting their ups and down, including whether they can stay together. Signs is kind of like a rom-com but speeded up. Indeed, it packs enough into 15 minutes with no spoken dialogue that you wonder why other filmmakers need 90 minutes and a lot of yapping. It’s one of my all-time gay short film faves.
5 out of 5

AWAY WITH ME Dir. Oliver Mason (UK, France) 11 mins
Having only just met and hooked up in London, Alex invites Paolo on a trip to his aunt’s house in Nice. Despite barely knowing one another, Paolo agrees, and they end up on the French coast getting to know each other a bit better. However, with the young men starting out virtual strangers, what each is expecting from their trip may be very different.

It’s difficult to figure out exactly what Away With Me is trying to do, other than showing you two hot guys having a decent time in a place where there there’s an excuse for them not to wear all that many clothes. Even when things take a darker turn as the men reveal their different expectations and the flaws in the characters, it feels a little extreme, confused and not how people really would react. Ultimately there’s not much in the movie beside the advice that most of us already knew – don’t go on holiday with someone you only met a few hours ago for random sex.
2 out of 5

WE COULD BE PARENTS Dir. Björn Elgerd (Sweden) 15 mins
Erik wants his ex-boyfriend Marely back and so is making a video in the hope of convincing him he’s made a mistake by leaving. Erik talks to the camera, trying to explain what went wrong, which was mostly Marely being unable to accept that Erik had secretly become a rent boy and was selling sex on the side. However, Erik is keen to explain his reasons, and that he wasn’t being selfish as he was hoping they could have a child.

I’d kind of like to get a 100 people to watch We Could Be Parents, and then do a poll to see who thought Erik was sweet but lost and deserved a second chance, and who thought he was completely nuts and Marely should steer well clear of film. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a fairly even split. Whether inadvertent or not, the film toes an interesting line between sweet naiveté and the lengths we’ll go to in order to make a dream come true, and the sort of behaviour that’s self-destructive, unfair and selfish. Whatever side you come down on, it’s an interesting watch.
3.5 out of 5

Overall Verdict: Another great Boys On Film outing. Perhaps not as sexy as some previous instalments, but it makes up for it with some strong gay-themed short film, and a couple of brilliant ones.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac