The Danish Boys is a new collection of short films, out now from NQV Media. With five diverse films from Denmark, we see a philandering politician, a newly diagnosed HIV+ man on a self-destructive path, a dancer intent on sleeping with his teacher, a teenager consumed by his internalised homophobia and a cross-dresser who locks horns with his new step-father.
HOTEL BOY Starring: Claes Bang, Youssef Wayne Hvidtfeldt. Director: Michael Søndergaard Stefan, a renowned politician heads to a hotel room with young Samir, a boy many years his junior with whom he has been engaging in an illicit liaison. A committed family man with a public image to uphold, for Stefan this is just sex but for Samir this is much more. And outside is a journalist waiting for his next big story. A moody and tense piece laden with subtext and threat, this feels like a scene from a play in which all the action is happening off-stage and we watch the characters react. If anything, you’ll want far more than its ten minute runtime. POZ Starring: Morten Christensen, Helle Rossing, Max Raundahl. Directors: Christian Edvard Hellberg, Helle Rossing A troubled young twunk sets on a self-destructive hedonistic path in an attempt to deal with a new secret with which he has not yet come to terms. Telling the story mostly in extreme close-up, we see the anguish in his eyes as he engages with increasingly dangerous behaviours to help him cope. At its centre, though, is the relationship with his sister, whose love he cares about the most. A 21st century portrait of the ramifications of diagnosis, this is a moving piece whose drama comes from its bristling subtext as the characters continue not speaking to each other and lash out with their pain. YOUNG MAN'S DANCE Starring: Niels Bender, Lior Cohen. Director: Mathias Broe A young ballroom dancer feels rejected by his father when he doesn’t attend his competition so he takes out his anger on his dance teacher. Comeing out as sexual aggression that only accelerates once the older man tries to enforce boundaries, it turns into a battle of wits and of fists. This is a piece that makes humanity seem animalistic as the pair of duelling beasts cannot separate nor be together. Dark, moody and passionate, this is the nightmare for any teacher on screen. SVANS Starring: Jonathan Jarvel, Mikkel Møller. Director: Martin Reinhard With a title that literally translates as “fag”, this film about internalised homophobia follows Aksel, a young gay man wholly incapable of admitting to himself he’s gay. Scared that his friends won’t accept him, he goes to great lengths to hide who he is, even beating his lover in the process. But as he finds himself outed to the world, it becomes clear that it is him who has the problem, not his friends. A story about self-discovery with a dark underbelly, this is a powerful and moving piece. LADYBOY Starring: Casper Castello, Birthe Neumann, Peter Aude. Director: Aske Bang Kristian lives with his mother, sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman. Having lived for years in harmony with each other, their lives are thrown into disarray when his mother begins to date Søren, who is far less tolerant of Kristian’s lifestyle. A kitchen sink drama for the Queer Community, this is a strong character piece about the relationship between a parent and (grown up) child.