This film is part of Rentals
Boys on Film 17: Love Is the Drug
An intoxicating and entrancing selection of gay short films from around the globe.
Director: Nicholas Colia, David Ullgren, Andre D Chambers, Brendon McDonall, Lorelei Pepi, Eyal Resh, Martin Edralin, Marco Leão, André Santos and Anthony Schatteman
Overview
Explore hidden desires on a sleepover, fall in love with the handyman and be seduced by a stranger on the beach, in the latest selection of intoxicating and entrancing gay shorts from around the globe.
The full list of featured short films is as follows: ALEX AND THE HANDYMAN Dir. Nicholas Colia (USA) 14 mins When Alex, a precious nine-year-old boy, develops a crush on Jared, the moody twenty-five-year-old handyman who works in the mansion where he lives, he will stop at nothing to get his attention. MR SUGAR DADDY Dir. Dawid Ullgren (Sweden) 13 mins Fifty-something Hans is looking for a fresh start. When he is pursued by the handsome younger Andrej, he falls for him fast. As the pair get closer, his wallet becomes looser. Is Andrej interested in Hans, or just the perks of an older man? SPOILERS (Iris) Dir. Brendon McDonall (UK, Australia) 22 mins Leon’s loved and lost. Scarred by his experiences, his life takes a turn for the better when he meets the ideal man. Life seems full of possibility again, but what if he knew the ending before it even began? TELLIN’ DAD Dir. André D Chambers (UK) 15 mins A year into his relationship, Dan finally agrees to come out to his family. He writes letters to all of them. As each arrives, he deals with the aftermath, until there’s only one left… Starring Ricky Tomlinson (The Royle Family) BOYS Dir. Eyal Resh (USA) 14 mins Set on the first day of summer, Brian sleeps over at Jake’s house, as they have done countless times before. This night however, the two encounter unfamiliar desires that illuminate a new side of themselves. HOLE (Iris) Dir. Martin Edralin (Canada) 15 mins A daring portrait of a disabled man yearning for intimacy in a world that would rather ignore him. HAPPY AND GAY Dir. Lorelei Pepi (USA) 10 mins A queer revisionist history of 1930’s black and white cartoons, Happy and Gay is a musical cartoon inspired by the power of representation. PEDRO Dir. André Santos and Marco Leão (Portugal) 24 mins When Pedro gets home at dawn exhausted, he is dragged to the beach by his loving mother. Initially reluctant, his interest is peaked when he catches the eye of a handsome stranger by the water. KISS ME SOFTLY Dir. Anthony Schatteman (Belgium) 16 mins An unexpected kiss from a friend brings a shaft of light to 17-year-old Jasper’s dull existence. It provides the spark he needs to embrace who he is, but how can he persuade his self-involved father to do the same?
strong sex, nudity, very strong languageRelated
It's Raining Men It's Raining Men
Comedy 2023 123 mins Director: Caroline Vignal
Iris (Laure Calamy) disrupts her bourgeois routine by joining a dating app and embarking on an amusing, sensual quest for identity and lost desire.
Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
Luxor Luxor
Romance 2020 86 mins Director: Zeina Durra
Andrea Riseborough stars as an aid worker processing the trauma of working on the frontline on the Jordanian-Syrian border.
About Dry Grasses About Dry Grasses
Romance 2023 198 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Turkish Palme d’Or-winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan returns with an icy portrait of a teacher whose life unravels following an accusation of inappropriate behaviour.
If Beale Street Could Talk If Beale Street Could Talk
Crime 2018 119 mins Director: Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins follows his Oscar®-winning Moonlight with an audacious, distinctive and assured adaptation of James Baldwin’s account of love, injustice and racism in America.
The Pass The Pass
Drama 2016 86 mins Director: Ben A. Williams
Russell Tovey stars as a Premier League footballer who shares a fumbled pass (of the sexual kind) with a teammate (Arinzé Kene), changing everything - both on and off the pitch.
Remembering the Man Remembering the Man
Documentary 2015 83 mins Director: Nickolas Bird and Eleanor Sharpe
Telling the true story of Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo, whose AIDS-afflicted relationship became the basis of bestselling gay memoir, Holding the Man.
Girls on Film 2: Before Dawn Girls on Film 2: Before Dawn
Anthology 2017 111 mins Director: Lorelei Pepi, Anne Claire Jaulin and 8 more
An electric collection of 11 award-winning, lesbian and feminist short films exploring fantasies, dreams, desires, love and transgression.
Body Electric Body Electric
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Marcello Caetano
Young factory manager Elias finds distraction in some of his fellow workers, but is he getting too close?
The Ornithologist The Ornithologist
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
A lone scientist in Portugal’s Douro region embarks on an unexpected transcendental journey. Beautiful, erotic and baffling.
Palace of Fun Palace of Fun
Thriller 2016 82 mins Director: Eadward Stocks
The spirit of Patricia Highsmith comes to Brighton in this ominous psychological thriller about a young man who takes gleeful advantage of his sister's new boyfriend, upon discovering his dark secret.
When Autumn Falls When Autumn Falls
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: François Ozon
The ever-inventive François Ozon offers a bittersweet tale with a twist or two, about age, youth, the past and the art of breaking the rules.
Gholam Gholam
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Mitra Tabrizian
An Iranian exile in London, who is haunted by his past, gets involved in the conflicts of a total stranger and has to see it through until the end, in this mesmerising slow-burn thriller.
When the Light Breaks When the Light Breaks
Drama 77 mins Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
A young woman is forced to reframe the future she’d hoped for, in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s quietly breathtaking elegy of love, loss and acceptance.
Words of War Words of War
Drama 2025 117 mins Director: James Strong
Maxine Peake leads an excellent cast in this true story of journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s fight to expose corruption and abuse in Putin’s Russia.
The Return The Return
Drama 2024 116 mins Director: Uberto Pasolini
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are superb in this moody and poignant adaptation of the final sections of Homer's Odyssey.
E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea
Drama-documentary 2024 90 mins Director: Beatrice Minger
A love triangle of jealousy in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in a stylish docufiction about the iconic artist and architect.