Summer Lust[2012]

Live for Sex... Die for Love(en)

A semi-surreal glimpse at two days in the lives of those who work in and visit an adult bookstore and sex club.

Happy Birthday(pt)

Birds(pt)

Jonas and David are best friends who spend their times watching soccer games on TV despite cheering for opposite teams. In one particular afternoon, as another game progresses, they discuss the girls they want to meet at a party they'll attend later on. However, with a strange tension in the air and some secrecy from one of them it all might change the course of their lives.

As Long As I'm Famous(en)

Writer/Director Bruce Reisman pays homage to the Golden Age of Broadway during the summer of 1948. Inspired by true events, this is the story of private, often forbidden romances of legends from Montgomery Clift to Richard Rodgers, told through the perspective of 24-year-old Sidney Lumet. This special director’s cut adds 12 minutes of previously-unseen footage.

I Am Desire(fr)

When a social worker comes home, a couple of men embellish their love story to get what they desire most in the world. This movie highlights the desire between two boys before gradually evolving.

Venus in the Garden(en)

Mid-summer heatwave. Nikos and Alain, two male prostitutes and a female pimp, Monica, get tangled in a peculiar relationship after meeting in a dark street called POUTANA. They fall in love, play with guns and talk about card games, money and theatre castings. Is this a game of role playing the three of them have invented to pass their time in a remote, empty summer house? Have they been reading Jean Genet? Whether a mirror image of the characters’ reality or an elliptic depiction of their distorted, dream-like perception of it, I Afroditi Stin Avli, by juxtaposing disparate literary and art references, leads its isolated characters towards dissolution. And yet, in its strange language, it presents this dissolution as a triumph.

Here I Am...Here You Are(ar)

Eccomi ... Eccoti unfolds as a virtual road trip navigating between Italy and Lebanon. Conditioned to live in a long-distance relationship with his partner because of strict European visa regulations, the director patches together the shared moments in an attempt to create a possible day-to-day reality for their couple. With a lyrical, ambient soundscape set atop a dreamy, atmospheric visual style that oscillates between still photography and moving images, the film explores what it means to be gay in contemporary Beirut and existential discomfort that blocks one from reaching a sense of complete-ness. Does such in-completeness have to do, in particular, with being gay? Or is it related to a grander malaise endemic to the human condition?

The Gay Rock & Roll Years(en)

A history of the anglo-saxon gay and lesbian movement scored to the liberating popular tunes of the last 25 years. Moving from the initial struggle for gay law reform, to the revolutionary politics spurned by Stonewall to the homophobic policies initiated under Thatcher and the New Right, this film is a celebration of the achievements and struggles of gay and lesbian activists. Funny, inspiring and bound to get your feet tapping “The Gay Rock and Roll Years” is a great introduction to queer history. Songs featured include Doris Day singing “Secret Love”, The Kinks doing “Lola”, Sylvester singing “You Make Me feel (Mighty Real) and Culture Club asking “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?”. From rockabilly to soul to glam to disco to punk to house: we’re gay, we’re proud, we don’t ever stop the dance.

My Mother's Lovers(es)

Luisa has a habit of bringing her dates home, irritating her son, Cesar. When Cesar invites his best friend Pablo over for a sleepover, Luisa's flirtations become too much to bear, especially as Cesar has his own feelings towards Pablo.

Carried by the Waves(fr)

Loïs, 22 years old, wakes up on the beach after a drunken night. In his distress, he approaches Killian, 20, who is jogging and falls for him at first sight.

Safe Word(en)

Cesar, an emotionally stunted masochist, must confront his self-loathing after his dissatisfied-yet-caring Dom, Bear, reinterprets the rules of their game. They arrive at a paradigm-shifting result neither one of them expects.

A Boy and Sungreen(ko)

Bo-hee, a 14 year old boy, was raised by a single mother and has always thought his father had passed away. Bo-hee hears that his father may be alive, and he sets out in search for him with his best friend Nok-yang. He finds his half sister on the way and forms a friendship with her boyfriend.

The Rev(en)

Once, Neil Marlow's life was a spontaneous festival of frivolity, friends and funk music. Now, it's one of OAPs, weekly bingo and ready-meals. Neil Marlow (aka The Rev) has chosen a life of the cloth above a life of liberalism. Like so many before him, he is convinced that his sexuality and extroverted personality are incompatible with his religious beliefs. This is the story of that struggle. The struggle of repression and rejection, of the vain attempt to leave a part of himself behind in the belief that he will somehow be happier if he inhibits his true self.

Private Lessons(ko)

Yeong-il is often attached to Jae-hyun, who always attends to his poetry lectures. Jae-hyun is not interested in poetry, but he doesn't want to miss out on Yeong-il's class. After all, Yeong-il decided to give private lessons to Jae-hyun, who failed to submit his assignments.

5 Lessons in Happiness: Baby Maybe(zh)

Fong and Fang are a gay couple together for eight years. Even after the same-sex marriage has been legalized in Taiwan, Fong, his family’s only son, still cannot accept Fang’s proposal. Fong is also being pressured to have offspring, and he actually wants to have a child of his own. Fong’s student, Sayuri, happens to be pregnant at this very moment and seeks help from Fong to get an abortion, but Fong comes up with a different plan… Will everything work out for Fong?

5 Lessons in Happiness: Little Man(zh)

Hsuan is a professional swimmer insecure about his “size” since he was young. He is unable to land a boyfriend because of this, and getting laid is completely out of the question. During a race, his swimsuit comes off, and his small secret is exposed to everyone there. After a month in isolation, Hsuan is encouraged by a friend to go back to the pool again. He then runs into his junior classmate, Fong, who he had a crush on. Will he overcome his shame and finally find love?

Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding(en)

On February 5, 2015, Lance Bass and Michael Turchin made television history when their wedding, which took place Dec. 20, 2014, premiered on E!. LANCE LOVES MICHAEL — a 90-minute special — follows the couple from the early stages of planning right up to their vows on the altar.

Never Tear Us Apart(en)

An aging spy, his delusional wife, and promiscuous son are driven into madness as they confront the terrors caused by the monster known as The Shadow.

Boys On Film 20: Heaven Can Wait(en)

On the cusp of adulthood, the world's longest running gay short film series is only getting started. Boys On Film 20: Heaven Can Wait includes eleven complete films: Bassem Ben Brahim's animated "Chromophobia"; Jimi Vall Peterson's "Sleepover" starring Hjalmar Hardestam and Simon Eriksson; Mickey Jones's "Just Me" starring Philip Olivier and Carl Loughlin; Matthew Jacobs Morgan's "Mine" starring Joshua McGuire and John Macmillan; Dale John Allen's "Don't Blame Jack" starring Jordan Tweddle and Kane Surry; Timothy Ryan Hickernell's "Foreign Lovers" co-starring Lucio Nieto; Layke Anderson's "Mankind" starring Ricky Nixon and Alexis Gregory; Christopher Manning's "Isha" starring Horia Săvescu and Dario Coates; Jay Russell's "ruok" starring Peter Mark Kendall, Zachary Booth, and Sydney James Harcourt; Chintis Lundgren's animated "Manivald"; and Zoe McIntosh's "The World In Your Window" starring Joe Folau and David Lolofakangalo Rounds.

Lost(zh)

In the middle of the night, Kevin, a solitary young man, met George when he was exploring on a homosexual dating apps. They decided to meet up and had one night stand. George came to Kelvin’s place and they started to make out. When they were in the midst of making out, George asked Kelvin if he can take off the condom, and declared that anal sex without condom will be better. Kelvin hesitated, but accepted his offer eventually. After that day, Kelvin’s life backed to the normal routine. He couldn’t forget about that night, to the point where he would take the initiate to contact George. Until one day, Kelvin realized he couldn’t recover from cold. This immediately reminded him of the risky sexual behavior. Kelvin went hospital for a medical checkup. However, he couldn’t get a completely accurate result and couldn't seem to reach George either...