There is all sorts of work going on in the world of LGBT-themed cinema, from films that desperately want to be commercial to those that are always going to struggle to find a wide audience due their avant garde nature.
Adam Jones’ Teaser definitely skews towards that end of the spectrum. As he told us, ‘I’m a student filmmaker [making] a video project on gay men & the drug scene, a great story of recovery.
‘The short film starts shooting next month. The story is based on my story and recovery with drug use, we are shooting in a super 8 style to bring the daily issue to a whole new level cinematically. The teaser has shots of old cell phone footage of drug use, but a strong 2 min visual of imagery and symbolism. The story begins at Azure Acres Treatment where a young man’s recovery takes place.
‘I’m looking forward to present the short film in April at a live screening.’
He adds, ‘As the film begins at Azure Acres treatment center (Napa,CA), we go back in time to a year before entering treatment. Not only capturing every detail of how meth was introduced into the young man’s life, we are showing the actual steps he took to the road of destruction through dream sequences & cinematic clips pieced together into a story.’
The teaser for the film below certainly suggest this isn’t going to be an easy movie, but it could be a very intriguing one with its use of montage, contrasting images of gay life with drug imagery. Take a look. [Read more…]
Films about first kisses are often rather sweet, although as The Boy Who Couldn’t Swim is half an hour long, it would easily outstay its welcome if there wasn’t more to it than that. Thankfully there is, as it’s a good story with some naturalistic acting and moments that will put a smile on your face.
Two people having to deal with their feelings when they’re about to be split apart is a popular subject in short films, but it’s often an effective one, as it is here in Dear Friend.
If you put the words ‘modern’ and ‘dance’ together a lot of people immediately roll their eyes. Perhaps this video will change your mind though.
100m Freestyle is a great little film about a subject many gay men will know well – trying to deal with your feelings for someone you know is almost certainly straight and won’t feel the same way you do.
We’re loving the web series McTucky Fried High, which takes a smart look at teen issues, sexuality and gender politics, and does it all with animated food. In the 
Grinders is ‘a fake trailer that explores the world’s perception of skateboarders. For many people in the “real world”, a skateboard is nothing but a useless wooden toy, something that gets thrown away when you grow up. This film is for the misunderstood people who never threw it away.’
In the past few days a short film made by PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) China has viral, which seeks to get parents of gay children to accept their child’s sexuality when they come out. It tells the story of a young man who is shunned by his parents when he comes out, but they eventually comes to acceptance of their child.
Some of the best short films realise that finding great locations that add to the story can really raise the piece above the ordinary. That’s certainly true here, with director Manfred Rott taking his characters to places in Paris that were built decades ago in the hope of creating a better, futuristic utopia, but which are now strange looking hulks, that are often decaying, impractical and have become hives of dystopia – but still retain an essence of hope.
I’m slightly in two minds about the short film Out Of The Closet, as I like it a lot but I’m not sure about how self aware it is.