I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
This tis the story of a married man grappling with his gender identity. He is married, so there is additional pressure from everyone. He wants to get a divorce and maybe even get a gender reassignment surgery, but. The last minute news of his wife being pregnant puts him in a further dilemma. He knows that one's true identity is what matters the most but will the society let him make this change?
Eloy, a 26-year-old man, remembers his first homosexual experiences in his hometown, entering a journey full of subjectivity and the anecdotes that have marked him. He remembers how the school father took his virginity and how he secretly enjoyed it all, the idea of being spanked or working as a hustler to avoid beatings form his father. Eventually he left home and is working in a cafe living life on his own terms.
Lucas and Caio are studying in the last year of high school and they are two inseparable friends. But when one of them is moving to Germany, they spend time together and their hidden feelings come out for each other and they finally kiss. They say goodbye but the ending was a bit muddled. Also the acting was quite amateurish.
Flavio, immersed in the sadness of nostalgia and regret, faces his daily loneliness, seeking solace in the solitary ritual of smoking a cigarette. He remembers his love and connection with his ex boyfriend and how they had a great time together. But also a reminder of how it wasn't meant to be when the ex wants out. He accepts the end of the relationship, with all its painful consequences, and launches himself into a new future, leaving behind what has been and opening his arms to the unknown that awaits him.
A young adult Xiao Lin is struggling to identify and accept his sexuality. When he visits his hometown, the pressure to get married gets to him. He meets a guy online, who is openly gay and talks him through the process of being true to himself and also taking him to a gay club. Will he be able to accept his sexuality or give into family pressure? The film delves into the gay community, which is still on the verge of self-identification and starts from the most realistic social environment, showing their psychological process and encounters, focusing on the plight of young gay people nowadays.
This was a weird film. 17 year old Teenage Branden is going through something an dis skinny but his parents are not able to get out of him on whats bothering him. When a new guy who moved into town becomes friends with hi, he starts to feel better and ends up kissing him, only to be told that the guy doesnt like Branden in 'that' way. Was this sexuality and coming to terms that was bothering him? I am not sure. The film tries to captures and portrays the elements of pain and heartbreak, but I am not sure of it does a job well.
A short comedy film where a mutual attraction towards a waiter helps a mother and son come to terms with their relationships and each other, on the other's birthday. The mom is going through a divorce, while the son has never been able to have an honest conversation about his sexuality with her. She had been avoiding all along, but suddenly when she asks all sorts of questions in one breath, he realizes that she has been thinking about her gay son for a while and wants to be a part of it.
A gay Latino doctor must decide between keeping his low-income clients or taking a job at a private practice for the kids of the mega-rich. The ways in which the film’s physical therapist, Ronnie, goes out of his way to care, despite the world giving him a million reasons not to, are inspiring. But honestly, the film has nothing to do with his sexuality. The fact that he is Latin and gay, is just about inclusivity and nothing else from the story's perspective.
A gay college student feels like he has a stalker. He gets text messages which makes him believe that someone is watching him all the time, but no one believes him. At a party, another student seduces him while he is drunk and sleeps with him but our hero finds something odd about him. When cops also cannot believe his theory, he is left by himself. The stalker finally arrives, reveals his identity and kills hi,. This was a bad movie with some real shitty acting. Just about nothing in this film was of any relevance.
Joe and Aidan decide to go on a night out in Manchester’s gay village and after a few drinks true feelings reveal themselves. Aidan recently broke up with his ex girlfriend and is exploring his bisexual side. Turns out that in college, both of these guys were the first male for each other and may have secret feelings. At the end of night first Joe wants to have sex but when Aiden declines politely since they ar both drunk, they decide to go on a proper date to see if something can come out of this.
Joe is invited for dinner at his estranged father’s house. He brings orange cheesecake and is greeted by his dad’s new girlfriend who is nice and friendly, but throughout the night tensions rise as his dad’s true intentions are revealed. Joe finally reveals how both his parents found a picture of him kissing a boy couple of years back and just like that disowned him of their life. Now that Joe has a partner and love in his life, he really doesn't care of his father can't understand him.
Joe has just hooked up with someone who leaves him a bet mark but is not interested in meeting again. In a twist, his ex-boyfriend Henry asks Joe to return his hoodie that he left behind. A gay dancer and how he shows his emotions through dance, Joe is forced to face the lingering pain of his breakup with Henry in this situation. This film alongwith above 2 films are from same universe of same character (Joe), actor and the director.
A camp, openly gay teen and a sullen, suicidal youth strike up an unlikely friendship in a foster home in this affecting drama. Liam has been in and out of care throughout his life, never finding a home that wants him, while Michael’s middle-class foster parents want him back, and are horrified by his new friendship. The ITV series Kids focused on different children in care each week back in 1978. So it is with Michael and Liam, a sudden switch in mood in the last scenes shows that not all problems can be so easily solved. 51 minutes long (so not really a short film).
College student Ennis is having the most confusing week of his life. The night after a party, an unexpected and intimate encounter with his best friend Sean, coupled with a complicated relationship with his ex-girlfriend, sends him into a state of severe anxiety. Battling internal demons, toxic relationships, and self-destructive tendencies, this will be a life changing night that will push him and leave him emotionally and physically scarred.
In Cuba in the 1970s, immigration officer Antonio sells exit visas illegally at exorbitant prices, but that's not his only secret. He's also hiding his homosexuality. He is forced to re-examine his life when his secret male lover comes looking for an exit visa for himself. To make matters worse, this guys is married and has a pregnant wife. Apparently the officer never wanted to leave Cuba leading to this situation eventually.
Alex is a young drug addict and prostitute who roams between clients and fixes. He ends up to a party where he drinks and takes drugs. As he passes out, Nick, the group leader takes the opportunity to rape him as the others wait and watch in silence. This depiction of a toxic world fueled by oppression and toxic masculinity was honestly a weird film. I am not sure what was it trying to say.
A group of unknown gay men connect via a dating app for casual encounters. The starting point is a chemsex party, where drug use intensifies sexual experiences, but also reveals the depths of human emotions. The film explores both the fascination and liberating energy of these encounters and the emptiness and loneliness that can haunt a gay man’s life. This 7 minute short film is not as profound as this summary makes it sound.
Elias dreams of a family. But his partner Christian is happy about their free existence in an open relationship, plus Elias has bit of depression. Elias has been able to keep his longing at bay for a long time, but when he starts his new job as a psychologist at a school home, it is as if the burden is overflowing. He connects with a boy who has just been abandoned. He must now face the fact that a life without a human responsibility for others than himself can never be a happy life for him. Beautiful short.
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