If you are looking for queer films with lesser pedigree – and lesser price – GayBingeTV.com has some interesting possibilities, especially among the short films.
YOUR HEART IS HOMELESS, written and directed by Darren Brade, featuring James Buttling and Peter McPherson who connect in a shocking, sexy, and ultimately bloody way. It is an exciting twelve minutes.
Another exciting couple are Jeff Fey and Álvaro de Juanwhose love affair is interrupted by deadly news in MY BROTHER, another short – this time 23 minutes. When Alvaro returns to his hometown, the scenes with his parents are heartbreaking and true. Beautiful work all the way around.
Less successful is the full-length film RHAPSODY, the making of which is more interesting than screenplay. Filmed with Chicago actors in 1992 by Mark Bessenger, the footage was considered lost until a few years ago when it was found, remastered, and released. Alas, that did not make the story any stronger.
Nic Arnzen, who went on to have a strong career in Hollywood, plays a young musician who has writers block and cannot finish his masterpiece. When he meets Bill (DB Collins), it seems like life may indeed have a happy ending. But alas, Bill has intimacy issues, and a weekend away in a winter cabin (which is supposed to be without electricity, but which looks like a mansion on Chicago’s north side) cannot repair him or save the couple.
It is great the film got completed, and some went on to highly successful professional careers in the arts. But RHAPSODY on its own is less satisfying that its shorter counterparts on the site.