The Male Gaze: The Boy Is Mine is the new short film collection from New Queer Visions and is released in the UK on 18th December. Featuring shorts from Mexico, France, Sweden, the US and the UK, take a look at each of the shorts below.
UNEVEN (Mexico)
Starring: Nathaniel Medina
Director: Rafael Ruiz Espejo
A lonely odd sock on a beach is overjoyed when he’s taken home by a handsome young man. A silly and cheeky short about discarded objects, it’s surreal but funny and revels in objectifying the male form from the perspective of, well, a sock. It’s peculiar, but totally works. Quirky, vibrant and kitsch, this is slick and innovative filmmaking glistening with the sparkle of a director who’s taken an idea and just run with it. This is great.
WOLVES (UK)
Starring: Roly Botha, Jay Walker, Ryan Davies
Director: Fuoco Maria Balduzzi
Josh lives in the English countryside with father, with whom he has a strained relationship. He escapes from his tense home by roaming in the forest, where he meets a mysterious young man living wild in the trees. Unable to communicate, they explore silently together, loving each other’s company and the newfound intimacy they share. But as both boys are hunted by the lives they have left behind, their tranquil time together is shattered forever. An atmospheric and nuanced film about love and the wilderness, this is a bleakly romantic short.
JOHNNY (France)
Starring: Roman Kané, Julien Drion, Anaïs Thomas, Jéromine Chasseriaud
Director: Jerome Casanova
Aurélien is new to the big city and spots Johnny dancing alone at a party. He’s a wild child, who drinks heavily and whose aloofness has put everyone off being his friend. But his enigmatic smoulder is what attracts Aurélien, even though it’s increasingly clear that this bad boy is bad news. A film about wanting what will damage you, as well redemption too and growth, we see exactly why Johnny is so appealing, as well as his very deep flaws. With a thumping soundtrack that underscores these creatures of the night, which is where their truths become apparent, this is a slick and sexy film about new beginnings and the consequences of the past.
DEBUT (Sweden)
Starring: Hannes Fohlin, Karl-Henrik Franzén, Oldoz Javidi
Director: Anette Sidor
Philip is at a casting for a well-known photographer, but when he finds himself posing for her after hours with well-known model Sebastiaan, she senses the sexual tension between the two and uses it to take increasingly risqué photos. As the two men are increasingly objectified, each feels different about their complicity. A complex exposé of modelling and its relationship with consent, this short exists entirely in the grey areas and darker recesses of fashion.
Guardian (USA)
Starring: Carlos Flores Jr, Virginia Blanco, Connery Morano
Director: Nicolas Jara
A mother makes video diaries for her suicidal son from afar, unable to be with him as he struggles to come out to his homophobic father. She is full of love and adoration for him, but tremendous guilt that she has been prevented from being with him at this momentous juncture of his life. A thoughtful and fragmented short about a mother’s feelings of failure, this is moving and desperately sad.
UK RELEASE: 18th December 2020 On Demand, released by New Queer Visions.