Gay Short Films & Web Series

Teens Like Phil has won several awards and also featured in the gay short film collection Boys On Film X, but now it’s available online and you can watch the moving teen drama below. However be warned it’s not always an easy watch, as it takes a close look at homophobic bullying and gay teen suicide.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Phil, a shy, insecure teenager growing up in an affluent American suburb, is trapped in the painful throes of adolescence and the internalised struggle in coming to terms with his sexuality. At his elite private school, Phil is bullied by Adam, his former friend and love interest. Adam frequently lashes out against Phil and enjoys humiliating him in the locker room. When Phil can no longer tolerate the situation he takes drastic action to bring it to an end.’

As we said we when reviewed it, ‘It’s clear Teens Like Phil has absolutely the right intentions and in the early stages manages to look with great insight into the issues of being young and gay, not least the complicated emotions of teenagers and the role of authority figures in all this’.

Watch Teens Like Phil below. If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]

Tonight It’s Me was one of our favourite films in the recent Boys On Film 12: Confession gay short film collection, but if you need to be convinced that the whole DVD is worth a look, we’ve discovered that the complete Tonight It’s Me short is online and you can watch it below.

The short is about, ‘A hot young hustler who finds himself in uncharted waters when he spends the night with a client who is far from the “Johns” he’s used to servicing.’

In our review we said, ‘It’s an oddly sweet, well-made film that looks at disconnected souls coming together and finding common ground, even if their experience of life is very different. It’s well worth watching, making you consider the different marks that our encounters with other people leave on us.’

Unfortunately we found it a bit too late to help with the crowdfunding for a possible sequel, as a few days ago a Tonight It’s Me: Part II IndieGoGo campaign closed having reached its $3,000 goal. We’re going to have to keep our eyes open as this sequel will only be available on Youtube and is going to be released April 1st 2015, and will let us know what happened to CJ and Ash after the short below.

If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]

Until recently when watching the gay-themed short film We Are Animals, it would be easy to say, ‘well, that would never happen’, but considering the panic and virtual house arrest imposed on those potentially exposed to Ebola recently, it’s perhaps not as extreme as it might initially seem.

The short takes us into an alternate version of the mid-1980s, where panic over HIV and AIDS has caused chaos and an authoritarian regime to be imposed, where gay and HIV+ positive people are being quarantined, locked up and forcibly castrated. However one young man has to face his own truth after becoming involved in a breakout.

The short gave its name to last year’s gay short film collection, Boys On Film 11: We Are Animals, and at the time we said, ‘We Are Animals is an angry, intense, intriguing and pretty dark film. It’s also very challenging, leaving you to wonder if either side of the argument is completely right or completely wrong, or if intolerance and rhetoric has pushed both sides far further than ought to be justified. It’s a poem to the resolutely queer who will not pass in ways that heteros deem acceptable. However it doesn’t give them a free pass, asking the audience to question what’s going on.’

You can watch the full 13-minute film below. If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]

The Tanti Man was made a few years ago but looks much, much older thanks to its 70s/80s setting and being shot on 16mm film. Rather than telling a finite story it’s more of a montage of images and reminiscences of filmmaker Bobby Abate’s youth, from memories of a seaside town to when things got sexy with another young man.

It’s strange and yet oddly hypnotic – oh, and it’s also rather NSFW as the footage includes some rather rude pics, so make sure the boss isn’t watching over your shoulder if you view it.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘A summer memoir of my love affair with Salisbury Beach and a strange and charming drifter. When I lived in Boston, I was obsessed with a beach town on the north shore of Massachusetts complete neon pizza shacks, a run-down amusement park, pin ball machines, and a roller skating rink collapsed into the ocean. Populated by colorful weirdos and misfits, I felt more at home here then I did in Boston — it was a place for those who somehow felt protected amongst the crumbling facades and faded memories. At the time, I felt most comfortable in tenuous spaces and in fleeting encounters with unavailable men. THE TANTI MAN is highlighted by melodramatic, self-destructive journal entries from my teenage years that kept me fumbling though uncertain places and relationships for too long. (Camera: Bobby Abate & Tracey McGuirl and featuring Chad Cooper)’

And if you’re wondering what a Tanti Man is, it’s derived from French Creole/Caribbean term for an effeminate man and/or homosexual.

Take a look at the film below. If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]

We loved The Last Time I Saw Richard when we reviewed it as part of the short film collection, Boys On Film 11: We Are Animals, giving it 9 out of 10. Now the fab short is online for all to see and you can watch it below – it’s a film full or surprises, moving from the emotionally affecting to the very creepy, all while building a sense of tension and successfully bringing you into the world of lost teens looking for something to hold onto.

As we noted in our review, the short was designed as a prequel to a movie, and director Richard Verso has given is an update on the project, saying, ‘The feature is called Boys In The Trees.  I’ve written it and will be directing. It’s produced by John Molloy for Mushroom Pictures (Wolf Creek, Chopper) and we’ll be shooting in South Australia later this year.

‘On Halloween 1997, two years after The Last Time I Saw Richard, teen skater Corey encounters Jonah, a former childhood friend and now nemesis. He begrudgingly agrees to walk Jonah home after an accident leaves Jonah concussed. What starts off as a normal walk through empty suburban streets descends into something surreal and magical as they tell each other ghost stories, drawing upon their fears, dreams and memories.

‘Toby Wallace will be returning as Jonah.’

Before that movie is made, we can enjoy The Last Time I Saw Richard, which you can watch below.

If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]