The Male Gaze: Nocturnal Instincts

The Male Gaze is a new series of releases from New Queer Visions that showcases short LGBTQ films from across the world. The first instalment, First Kiss, brings together five shorts that are based around men experiencing romantic and/or sexual interaction with other men for the first time. It takes in films from Sweden, Indonesia, USA, Australia and France giving a rounded look at how similar experiences are depicted across the world. The films are: Naked [Naken] (2013); Pria (2017); Walk With Me (2018), One Night Only (2018); Michel's Mouse [Tapette] (2016).

When darkness falls, temperatures rise in these six stories about late night confessions, intimacy for sale, high speed hookups and full moon frissons. But when the sun comes up and reality reveals itself, will it have all been worth it? The short films are: Thirst (2018); According to Mateo [Según Mateo] (2017); Hardcore (2016); Beast [Séptimo] (2011); Petit Ami (2017); Skai Blue (2017).

Work up a sweat from the soccer field to the locker room in these drama-fueled four films from Germany, France and the UK that explore how rivalry between teams can spill over into teacher-pupil relationships, high school crushes and brotherly compassion. The short films are: Islands [Inseln] (2018); Play It Like a Man [Un été viril] (2018); Colours (2015); Through the Fields [Passer les champs] (2015).

We wish to make him ours, to keep and to hold forever - but will the boy reciprocate? And is he everything we expected him to be? In these five tales from the UK, France, Sweden, Mexico and the USA, a variety of characters throw caution to the wind and take their chances on a fleeting moment. The short films are: Uneven [Impar] (2016); Wolves (2016); Johnny (2018); Debut (2016); Guardian (2018).

Embark on a journey through celluloid from 1985 to present day in these freshly digitized cinematic pearls from around the world that explore an array of gay encounters from years gone by. The 7 short films are: Just Out of Reach (1998); Toto Forever (2010); Men Don't Cry [Οι άντρες δεν κλαίνε] (2001); Alger la blanche (1986); Unconfessions [Inconfissões] (2018); Same Difference (2002); Boychick (2001).

On an Italian beach a father leaves his wife and child to reignite an old acquaintance. In London an app hookup leads to more than just a fling. Meanwhile Slovak lovers Dominik and Adam have their relationship put to the test when secrets come to the fore. Popular with children across the globe, hiding and seeking is a game we never seem to stop playing - well into our adult years. The short films are: Lolo (2019); The Den [La tana] (2015); Stanley (2017); If Only You Were Mine [Keby si bol môj] (2017); No Strings (2015).

Two's company, three's allowed? From family disputes and unexpected babysitting duties to uncomfortable high school memories, manga drawing and friendships pushed to the next level - the Male Gaze series lifts the lid on six very different gay relationships and encounters. When two become three and outsiders enter the fray, what are the group dynamics at play? The short films are: Golden Boys (2017); In Beating Cells [In Pocheden Zellen] (2017); The Middle of a Lake [Le milieu d'un lac] (2017); Gilles (2016); Kiko's Saints [Les saints de Kiko] (2019); With Thelma [Avec Thelma] (2017).

A release that features 7 shorts from Italy, Israel, Tunisia, New Zealand, the United States and France, exploring those furtive first steps that men take as they decide to act on their sexuality. The 7 short films are: The First Time [La prima volta] (2012); Kiss Me (2022); Nidhal [نضال] (2022); Sparrow (2016); I Am Mackenzie (2019); The Place Between Us [Il posto fra di noi] (2010); By the End of the Night [Que la nuit s'achève] (2018).

​From a swimming pool in Brazil to the back seat of a car in Germany via an apartment in the early hours of the morning where three men dance to the beat of wild passions, here are four stories about the marks that can be left when skin touches skin. Even in brightness, some shadows will always linger. The 4 short films are: Offline [Desconexo] (2020); Hedon (2019); Adán & Esteban (2022); Private Photos [Fotos Privadas] (2020).

Go on an enriching journey from Mexico to Spain, onto Austria and then to China via Greece in these five moving short films where gay men overcome various obstacles in accepting who they are, and where they are going - things can only get better. The 5 short films are: If They Knew [Berak baleki] (2021); Xutaj (2022); Boom and Bloom [Neuzeit] (2022); Sexual Distancing (2022); And We Collide [潮汐平行时] (2021).

A stranger by the lake with a valuable possession. A journey home after serving time in jail. A friendship evolving from childhood to adulthood. Discover five risky situations where men and young boys take the plunge. The 5 short films are: A King, Gazing at the Sea [Le roi qui contemplait la mer] (2022); A Drowning Man (2017); Reo (2016); Summer Friends [L'amie de l'été] (2021); Summer Memories [Souvenir d'une après-midi d'été] (2021).

Four countries, four men - and four encounters that will call into question everything about themselves they thought they were sure of. Just when you thought things couldn't get any more complicated, along comes a boy to add a fresh perspective. The 4 short films are: Billy Boy (2021); Summer [Verano] (2022); Fabiu (2023); Czechoslovakia [Checoslovaquia] (2022).

A love left unsaid on the football field, a third invite to a high-rise tête-à-tête, a fast-approaching farewell and a friendship that evolves into something complicated. Lose yourself in these five stories from France that are handled with grace, maturity and a tender touch. The 5 short films are: 9th Floor to the Right [9ème étage droite] (2022); Hugo: 6:30 [Hugo : 18h30] (2020); Cary & James (2023); For the Love of the Game [Pour l'amour du jeu] (2023); Youssou & Malek [Youssou et Malek] (2022).

Take a trip on the wild side with these six daring short films from Mexico, Portugal, Brazil, Spain and France that uncover the power of nature and mysticism, family ties that bond yet suffocate, the vagaries of same sex attraction, the pain of memory, the thrill of what's to come. The 6 short films are: Memory of An Afternoon On the Roof [Recuerdo de una tarde en la azotea] (2022); Afternoon Sun [À Tarde, Sob o Sol] (2020); Sweet Water [Água Doce] (2023); Cor Petit (2023); Haiku (2022); The Boy Who Wanted to Fly [El niño que quería volar] (2018).

There exists a line between resistance and satisfaction, faith and sin, pleasure and danger. These six short films explore how in all our lives, there exists the temptation to cross that line.

Galis is a spin-off of the series "The Dreamers", The series focuses upon a summer camp called Galis, and the adventures of campers to Treasure Sargon - Boards Fate and Lost City.

A gay New York Times travel writer comes to Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The energy of the city and his relationship with a younger man brings him back to life.

Gili is a teenager who decides to change schools. She is determined to improve her lame social status. Over the course of a few weeks she hooks up with several different boys, all from her new school. Their encounters get more and more sexual, each time exploring their limits a little further. The boys are eager to take what is so generously offered, and Gili is thrilled with the attention. Just as Gili is trapped in the zone where it's not certain if she is giving her consent to what is happening or not, the viewer too feels trapped in the same zone, feeling for certain that something terrible is happening, but unable to pin point exactly when, and what...

For their sixth anniversary, Dekel sweeps Neri into a journey through their memories with the help of a new drug which makes you re-experience memories. This trip reaches a breaking point when they go back to a joint sexual encounter which floods Neri with feelings he tried to suppress.

Yonatan abandons the army in an attempt to reunite with his ex-boyfriend. After it turns into a failure, he finds himself alone in Tel Aviv, without a place to sleep. Broken and confused, he goes on a wild night's journey looking for consolation.

One apartment, three people, in one long afternoon. Omri is having a troubled sex with Yonatan, his boyfriend, while his mother, Esther, comes on an unexpected visit. She enters the house like a storm and it's clear that something is wrong with her and she's not going to leave. She came with a purpose, she needs her son's warmth. Omri is still in the closet, try to hide the romantic relationship between him and Yonatan and almost ignore Yonatan's appearance. The three of them are trying to act regularly while the tense spreads in the air. They eat dinner, watch a french movie, Yonatan from one side, Esther from the other and Omri is in between. When Yonatan feels it's time for him to go and leaves them alone, the real purpose of the visit is revealed.

Ashdod. Summer. Very hot weather. The sea is polluted. One afternoon. Mother. Son. This film is a documentation of a city, of a neighborhood, of a summer- but more than all, of a dismantled internal world of a child. sad and frustrated child.

Itzik Zaza is an amateur photographer who makes video portraits of random people he finds in the street and invite them to his place. Today's star is Tuti, a 16 year old street girl who dreams of being an actress. Itzik told her that she's going to be a star of a movie just about her, and she couldn't refuse. During the shooting Tuti doesn't understand what kind of a movie Itzik is making. She stands in his room, and he asks her to talk about herself. "It's like a picture with time" he tells her again and again. Slowly Itzik's questions become more and more invasive, and Tuti is starting to feel uncomfortable. She wants to leave, but Itzik is convincing her to stay while he shoots both of them. "You see, now I'm also in the movie" he tells her and ask if she wants to make a scene of the two of them.