“Pretty Boy” is a coming of age story about Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his religious father finds some questionable magazines in his room, he will go to any lengths to get his son to find the light and “perform” the way a man should. Sean is introduced to Katie, a prostitute that understands the stigmas of modern society and helps him see the true light that is within him.
Daddy
After the death of his wife, an 80-year-old man checks into The Plaza Hotel to celebrate their first anniversary apart, hiring a male escort (played by Dylan Sprouse) to take her place.
Prora
Prora, on the Baltic Sea. Mysterious, endless. In this deserted former Nazi holiday camp, German and French teenagers Jan and Matthieu embark on an adventure that confronts their identities and puts their friendship at risk. A journey of self-exploration, an odyssey of male adolescence, Prora is a tender story about love and friendship.
If you’re interested, you can also watch the Making of Prora over here.
Pria
Caught between the traditions of his upbringing in rural Indonesia and his idealization of Western freedom, Aris struggles with the expectations of imminent manhood. Read more…
Arlo and the Sea
Arlo lives by the sea and spends most of his time alone, until he meets Finn.
Water | Vattnet
James leads a lonely life in a luxurious castle in which his parents run a hotel. He never goes out with friends, spends his spare time in his room and peeks at the hotel’s guests out of boredom. Generally hides in his room, to stay away from his wannabe-controlling mother, who has no insight in the life of her son, James is forced outside when a group of handsome Swedish soccer players staying at the hotel capture his interest.
When he finds one of the boys injured at the hotel’s swimming pool, James offers his help and smuggles the boy into his room and locks the door. Locked up with a strange boy in his own room, James experiences the complexity of his own sexual feelings and insecurities for the first time.
Hello Stranger
When you get harassed by a stranger in public, what if you got the chance to freeze time and explain to that person who you really are? Hello Stranger, a new film from Montreal-based filmmaker Amélie Hardy, explores that hypothetical question through the life story of Cooper Josephine, a 25-year-old trans woman living in the Canadian city.
The 15-minute long documentary short, premiering exclusively with Them on the International Transgender Day of Visibility, arose from a highly collaborative process between Hardy and Josephine. That’s clear from the first few seconds depicting a meta conversation between the two in a park as they discuss the format of the film that’s about to unfold.
Josephine proposes that it should open in a laundromat, because there’s a part of her that always fantasizes about confronting someone who she knows is staring at her. All of a sudden, we cut to Josephine sitting atop a washing machine in a laundromat. “I see you staring at me,” she says. “I wonder if you would still stare at me if you knew my whole story, like from the beginning.”
The Casting
A short film inspired by the banned Larry Clark CK ads of the 90s.
It’s Still Your Bed
David comes home from college to his family’s farm to find that his parents have hired a young man named Brent, who is also sharing his room. David is still in the closet and wants to come out to his high school friend, and he also finds himself drawn to his new roommate and tries to determine if he is gay.
Raw Love
A portrait of the last days of high school. Two friends spend all day long together, but this will inevitably come to an end. A beautiful sincere story of mixed emotions and secrets that dare not speak loud.
