The Gay Cinema Video On Demand experience at TLAgay.com has your entertainment needs covered! We’re always working to expand selection of new and old gay-themed movies available for your viewing pleasure. With hearts a-flutter this Valentine’s Day, we decided to put together a list of some of our favorite recent gay romances – ALL available to watch INSTANTLY!
Benjamin
British comedian Simon Amstell wrote and directed this charmingly offbeat gay romantic comedy about a filmmaker juggling the excitement of his upcoming film premiere with the fear and awkwardness of a burgeoning romance. Always ready with a self-defensive quip, indie film director Benjamin (Colin Morgan) nervously prepares for the premiere of his sophomore feature when he meets and falls for hard for Noah (Phenix Brossard), a young French musician. Will Benjamin’s insecurities and anxieties get in the way of success and happiness? Will his film be a critics-savaging disaster and he, a one-hit wonder? Benjamin is a charming, laugh-out-loud look at one man’s land mined road to success and love.
The Blonde One
In the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Gabriel (Gaston Re) has just moved in with his colleague, Juan (Alfonso Baron). Shy and reserved, Gabriel is reluctant to follow Juan’s wandering hands and meaningful looks. With a revolving door of beauties streaming out of Juan’s bedroom, his machismo seems firmly in place. However, the attraction between the two men is undeniable. What starts out as a sexual relationship based on convenience of location soon develops into the engrossing evolution of a tender and intimate relationship, which is as sweet as it is heartbreaking. But, as reality begins to set in on their homemaking fantasy, something needs to give… or does it?
Bromance
When four friends go on a camping trip in a remote part of Argentina, sexual tensions quickly bubble to the surface. Once in virtual seclusion by the beach, the line between friendship and love fade further for two of the boys in particular as their desire becomes too much to bear. When what started as a simple getaway quickly becomes tinged with sex, romance and conflict, everyone is forced to confront who they really are for the very first time. Starring Javier De Pietro, the scrumptious star of Absent and Sexual Tension: Volatile, Bromance uses a clever found-footage aesthetic to deliver a thoughtful and supremely sexy meditation on young, burgeoning gay love.
Brotherly Love
Brotherly Love is the movie adaptation of the Lambda Literary Award-nominated novel “Seventy Times Seven” by Salvatore Sapienza. Which “calling” do you answer? The one you feel from God or the one you feel about your true authentic self? That is the exact dilemma that Brother Vito (played by writer/director Anthony J. Caruso) is facing. He’s gay, but devoted to his less-than-accepting religious community. Soon, he must decide between becoming a Brother or declaring his love for Gabe (Derek Babb). Shot entirely in Austin, TX and with a local cast and crew, Brotherly Love is a fresh take on the traditional gay love story.
Center of My World
After a summer away at camp, Phil (Louis Hofmann, star of the hit Netflix series “Dark”) returns home to find that his mother and twin sister aren’t speaking to one another. Not willing to confront his family during the last days of the summer holidays, Phil escapes to hang out with his best friend, Kat (Svenja Jung), eating ice cream and playing dress-up. As the school year begins, a new student arrives – the handsome and mysterious Nicholas (Jannik Schumann). Smitten, Phil watches his crush as he runs around the track after school, and is thrilled when Nicholas returns his feelings. A touching must-see, Center of My World won numerous “Best Feature Film” and “Best Director” awards at festivals around the globe.
Children of God
Blond haired, blue-eyed Johnny (Johnny Ferro) travels to the island of Eleuthera intent on finding some artistic inspiration. After arriving, he meets the confident, attractive black musician Romeo (Stephen Tyrone Williams) and it is instantly clear that there is a spark between them. Although Romeo has a fiancé, he has secretly played with boys on the side before – but Johnny is not just any boy, and soon their relationship becomes far more complex than a simple fling. Struggling to overcome rampant homophobia, and an anti-gay crusade erupting around them, it is going to take more than wishful thinking for their love to last. A beautifully shot romance about desire, sexual conflict, tolerance and self-acceptance.
Do You Take This Man?
Anthony Rapp leads an impressive ensemble cast in this touching comedy-drama about a long-term gay couple having last-minute jitters before they get married. On the eve of their wedding, Daniel (Rapp) and Christopher (Jonathan Bennett) are having their closest friends and family over for dinner. But when a long-lost friend of Christopher’s shows up unexpectedly, and their already stressful day spirals out of control, the couple realizes they must rely on the kindness of their pals and relatives to get through the event in one piece. Co-starring Thomas Dekker, Mackenzie Astin, Marla Sokoloff and Alyson Hannigan, Do You Take This Man looks at what it takes to make a relationship work.
Fair Haven
After a long stay in ex-gay conversion therapy, James (Michael Grant), a young piano prodigy, returns home to his family farm and his emotionally distant father, Richard (Tom Wopat). After Richard pressures James to give up his music career and take over the farm, James agrees as a way to make up for his past. Soon, however, James finds himself face-to-face with his former lover, Charlie (Josh Green), who wants to help him turn away from his new beliefs and family expectations, and follow his dreams of studying music. A touching and deeply romantic drama, Fair Haven is often heartbreaking, but ultimately life-affirming – and the two leads make their forbidden romance feel palpable (and very sweet).
The Falls
In this must-see romantic drama, two Mormon missionaries fall unexpectedly in love and risk their future in the Church to be together. RJ and Chris (Nick Ferrucci and Benjamin Farmer) are poster boys for the Mormon Church: both have pretty girlfriends, were Eagle Scouts at a young age and have perfect academic records. Unknown to them, serving their mission will not only open the doors to strangers’ households, but it will open up secrets in their own lives – and feelings that they’ve long kept buried. The Falls captures the lives of two young men struggling to make sense of their desire for each other. The film’s two sequels, The Falls: Testament of Love and The Falls: Covenant of Grace, are also available now on-demand.
4 Days
Taking place over four consecutive Valentine’s Days, this indie film from the Philippines takes an intimate look at the complicated relationship between two college buddies. Derek (Sebastian Castro) has had a string of girlfriends. All the while, after each break-up, his best friend Mark (Mikoy Morales) has been waiting on the sidelines – ready to clean Derek’s wounds while harboring secret romantic feelings. Through intrusive, carefully selected long takes, we’re invited to observe the pair and witness as the tension between them escalate. The lead actors give exceptional, often heartbreaking performances in this thoughtful and patient romance – wherein the awkward silences and furtive glances speak volumes.
From Zero to I Love You
Jack (Scott Bailey) has a beautiful wife, two daughters, a big house and a great job. He also has a secret that has been eating him alive for most of his life. Jack is attracted to men. He tries as hard as he can to be the faithful husband and good father until one night, he can’t do it anymore. Pete (Darryl Stephens) is a guy who happens to have a history of getting involved with married men. His father (Richard Lawson) and his soon-to-be stepmom (Leslie Zemeckis) are on him to find someone who’s actually available and to settle down. A chance encounter at a party leads Jack straight to Peter who will change his life forever and upend everything Jack has built. What begins as one-night stand turns into a once-in-a-lifetime romance.
Last Summer
High school sweethearts, Luke and Jonah (Samuel Pettit and Sean Rose), spend their final months together over the course of a long, quiet summer in the rural South, contemplating their uncertain future. Jonah, sensitive, quiet and artistic, prepares to leave his small town for college, leaving Luke behind, but all he wants is for Luke to ask him to stay. But Luke, an athlete struggling through summer school, knows that his boyfriend needs to experience the world beyond their home. A beautiful melancholy romance, Last Summer takes on an almost other-wordly vibe – set in an idealistic American South where Luke and Jonah’s relationship is never taken as anything other than a normal high school romance.
Mixed Kebab
Tall, dark and handsome Bram (Cem Akkanat) lives a mysterious life in Antwerp that is very different from his conservative, religious upbringing. By day he is the dutiful son and brother, but by night he is a casual drug dealer partying around town and hanging out with the very cute Kevin (Simon Van Buyten). Rumors fly around the neighborhood about Bram, so his father lays down the law that his eldest son needs to be a role model for his younger brother Furkant (Lukas De Wolf), a hoodlum turned Islamic fundamentalist. The platonic friendship with Kevin, however, rapidly turns to a seductive love affair that will shake up everyone’s old-fashioned values.
No Hard Feelings
Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), the son of exiled Iranians, copes with life in his small hometown by indulging himself with pop culture, Grindr dates and raves. After being caught shoplifting, he is sentenced to community service at a refugee shelter where he meets siblings Banafshe and Amon (Banafshe Hourmazdi and Eidin Jalali), who have recently fled Iran. As a romantic attraction between Parvis and Amon grows, the fragile relationship between the three is put to the test. They find and lose each other throughout a summer of fleeting youth, and intense first love. A critically-acclaimed new romantic drama, No Hard Feelings won the coveted Teddy Award for Best Queer Feature Film.
Orpheus Song
Philipp and Enis (Sascha Weingarten and Julien Lickert) have become workout buddies. The two hunks quickly fall into an intense friendship. When Philipp wins a trip to Greece, he invites Enis along. During a hike, they become lost and tempers flare, escalating to a violent scuffle. A mysterious young man, Hercules (Henry Morales), happens upon them and leads them to a magical underground cave. During the night, fueled by forbidden fruit Hercules has warned them against eating, passion ignites between our two lead buddies. The next day, nothing between the two will ever be the same. This wildly erotic variation on Greek mythology will quickly have you falling under its sensual spell!
Out in the Dark
Out in the Dark follows a young, affluent and ambitious Palestinian grad student and a Jewish lawyer who fall in love. The adorable Nimr (Nicholas Jacob) crosses the border to study and occasionally to meet his friends at a gay nightclub in Tel Aviv. One night, he is introduced to the handsome and wealthy Roy (Michael Aloni) and an instant attraction ensues. While Tel Aviv is more accepting, Nimr’s homeland is not. He struggles to keep the peace with his Muslim family – especially his brother, who is now a member of a radical, extremist anti-Palestinian organization. Despite being surrounded by all of these weighty (and sometimes dangerous) obstacles, the budding couple cannot help but fall immensely in love.
Screwed
Screwed takes us to the Finnish countryside for an unforgettably romantic summer. Seventeen-year-old Miku (Mikko Kauppila) is trying to come to terms with his sexuality and find his place in the world. After his parents find out that he threw a wild party while they were away, he is ordered to spend the summer with them at their cottage. A flirtation soon develops between he and Elias (Valtteri Lehtinen), the irresistible boy next door. As they spend the summer together, escaping the turmoil offered up by their uniquely dysfunctional families, a passionate relationship quickly blossoms. But the boys soon realize that love is not as easy as it seems… especially when it comes to first love.
A Skeleton in the Closet
When Manuel (Facundo Gambande) returns to his hometown on the occasion of his parents’ wedding anniversary, he has a bit of an ulterior motive. He’s planning to ask for money so that he can move to Denmark with his boyfriend. The last time he saw his family, he came out of the closet – and things have been tense ever since. When his boyfriend suddenly dumps him, Manuel finds himself diving head-first into an existential crisis. Now more in need of his family’s love and support than ever, an unexpected opportunity to reconnect presents itself. Featuring a terrifically endearing lead performance, A Skeleton in the Closet is a tender and heartfelt Argentinian family comedy-drama that you don’t want to miss.
Song Lang
Set in a richly imagined 1980s Saigon, Song Lang is both a gritty underworld noir and an operatic romance. An unlikely bond develops between hunky, brooding Dung (Lien Binh Phat), a tough debt collector for a ruthless loan shark, and Linh Phung (popular V-pop singer Isaac), a charismatic young opera singer. The two meet when Dung comes to forcefully collect a debt from the struggling opera troupe. But when their paths cross again, a deep friendship develops, awakening romantic feelings in both men. Making his feature debut, Vietnamese director Leon Le serves up a uniquely lush melodrama, teasing a smoldering relationship between two apparent opposites set against the backdrop of a gorgeous art form as it fades out of fashion.
