The Male Gaze: Fleeting Glances
A release that features 7 shorts from Italy, Israel, Tunisia, New Zealand, the United States and France, exploring those furtive first steps that men take as they decide to act on their sexuality. The 7 short films are: The First Time [La prima volta] (2012); Kiss Me (2022); Nidhal [نضال] (2022); Sparrow (2016); I Am Mackenzie (2019); The Place Between Us [Il posto fra di noi] (2010); By the End of the Night [Que la nuit s'achève] (2018).
Welby Ings
Denoal Rouaud
Lorenzo Caproni
Artemis Anastasiadou
Bassem Ben Brahim
Johnny Doov
Casts & Crew
Sofian Khammes
Malik Issolah
Shonagh Smith
Alan Trong
Matthew Arbuckle
Paul Glover
Tama Jarman
Yishai Aminoff
Omri Danino
Antonio De Matteo
Sandro Giordano
Also Directed by Welby Ings
Munted is an unusual, multi-award winning, short film about an accusation of pedophilia and its terrible consequences. Set in 1961 in a remote rural community, it tells the story of a ten-year old girl and her friendship with a brain damaged artist. Told through erosions between film and drawing the film is a lyrical and brutal account of the cost of rumour and prejudice.
Boy is the unsettling story of a young male prostitute, or Rent Boy, in a small rural town who learns the truth behind a hit and run accident which has killed a local girl. When the news of the girls death spreads through the community, the driver and his family decide that the boy must be silenced. The set out to scare him into silence. The pressure becomes more and more violent, but despite this, the boy battles to expose the truth.
BOYS BRIEFS 4 is a collection of six short films about gay male hustlers. While sex plays a key role in these films they aren't mere exploitation vehicles. Instead BOYS BRIEFS 4 reveals the true experiences of the hustler resulting in a series of slice-of-life vignettes that are surprisingly poignant and emotionally compelling.
Welby's third short film Sparrow is a beautiful, non-spoken 15-minute story set in the 1960's, and is told from the perspective of Jim, a small boy who believes he can fly. Jim's life is overshadowed by a story about his grandfather who died a hero in World War 2, but he discovers that the legend that his father so adamantly clings to, is a lie. His grandfather was gay man who saw the futility of war and deserted in protest when his lover was shot in the dugouts of Egypt. In unraveling the truth behind what happened, Jim discovers strength in his grandfather's actions and stands up to the bullies at his school in an unexpected way.
Jim is preparing for his first professional fight but begins to rethink his life's trajectory and his sexuality after tangling with Whetu, a gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach.
Also Directed by Denoal Rouaud
Karim, 30, drives every night. One day at dawn, he drives his last client - a foreign artist, the same age than him. Karim feels irresistibly attracted towards this young man. What he feels will start questionning who he thaught he was.
Also Directed by Lorenzo Caproni
At a hilltop cottage, Giorgio and Matteo are hosting a dinner party for Giorgio's artistic friends from the city. As the group discuss art, cinema and gossip, Matteo becomes withdrawn. He goes inside and turns on his video camera, and through its lens he sees for the first time what his and Giorgio's relationship really is.
A parish and a parish priest just like many others. The re-enactment of the raising of Lazarus has been organised, and a new boy joins in. However, for these young people "raise" can also mean transform oneself and cast off hypocrisy?
From the rugged coastline of the Adriatic to the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean, The Italian Boys threads together a rich tapestry of enthralling LGBTQ stories. With each film in the NQV collection emanating the neorealist beauty and diversity of Italian cinema at its very best. The result, one of the finest collection of curated short films released by NQV to date. The complex and enthralling collection delving into a broad range of themes from regret to early desire and a new for freedom. While at the same time bathing the audience in the trademark Italian energy, sexuality and artistry we love.
Marco is a shy courier instructed to deliver some jewels in a photo studio. Here he meets Giorgio, the photographer: handsome, gay, cheeky.
Christian is on vacation with his family: wife and son. One day he meets Luca, an old friend, at the bar on the beach. This face emerged from the past bothers Christian: Luca asks Christian to restart a game interrupted many years ago…
A young man catches the eye of another in a public park. The dance begins, the public toilets beckon. For one of them, this is one of many such encounters. For the other, it's the first time.
Also Directed by Artemis Anastasiadou
Two siblings, one spell, wounded landscapes and an inevitable departure. "To Vancouver" is a short chronicle of a disappearing act in the times of the new Depression.
After a violent event comes to an end, a mother struggles to keep on being a caregiver to her handi-capable son.
Caught among toxic masculinity, a sequin dress and a teenage crush, a teen skater, growing up in rural Texas, will have sex for the first time in the back of their dad’s truck.
Also Directed by Bassem Ben Brahim
This animated coming-of-age story explores the familial, societal, and religious challenges a boy faces because of his sexual orientation.
An imaginative child, Salim feels like his family, composed of his grandmother and sister Farida, treats him differently. He does all the work while his sister only has to study. He learns that this is because of rules established by the red fish in his village. Farida tries to help her brother change these rules by travelling with him to his fictional worlds.
Between reality and animation, the story of Nidhal is told, a young homosexual Tunisian who defended individual freedoms in Tunisia through his work in radio. He found himself under a lot of pressure which forced him to leave the country and seek asylum in the Netherlands.
Also Directed by Johnny Doov
I Met You On My Way to the Cemetery
A late night hook-up leads Shay and Adam to the bedroom. Before long, chit-chat gives way to passion. But something is missing from their interaction – something that is important to Adam, repellent to Shay – and it soon becomes a sticking point.