XConfessions 18

An anthology of eleven short films from eleven directors featuring stories of life in Mumbai.

The yakuza have their best days behind them and are only a shadow of themselves. The old rituals seem out of date and their tattoos make them outcasts of society. The inexperienced student Ryō stumbles into their ranks by chance, and before he knows it, he becomes entangled in dark machinations. He quickly succumbs to the fascination of omnipotence fantasies and hedonistic decadence and sinks deeper and deeper into a parallel world of prostitution, blackmail and violence. However, there is one thing that Ryō has not considered in his naivety: once yakuza, always yakuza!

Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture. The junior high school boy with a zeal for finding fossils discovers the history of his hometown and experiences the changes around him. This is an ambitious work that depicts the land and time by blending various drama and documentary footage.

August 1st in Zurich. An unbearably hot day. While many are celebrating the Swiss national holiday, five individual fates take their course: 1. As a symbol against capitalism in Switzerland, Vinc is planning an attack in the city centre. 2. Tibetan descendent Sonam is struggling to settle into her new job as a police officer – worse still, she makes a major mistake during her first operation. 3. Hunter Edi’s status quo is unbalanced when a financial predicament puts his morals to the test. 4. Young Ukrainian Sonja arrives in Zurich full of hope to surprise the love of her life – but she is in for an even bigger surprise. 5. Chilean Javier no longer feels at home in Switzerland and decides to return – with his daughter, but without her mother’s knowledge – to his motherland.

In three separate segments, set respectively in 1966, 1911, and 2005, three love stories unfold between three sets of characters, under three different periods of Taiwanese history and governance.

Created by gay directors and actors, Boys On Film features numerous award-winning shorts that deal with all aspects of gay life. Volume 2: In Too Deep contains nine complete films: Till Kleinert's "Cowboy" starring Oliver Scherz and Pit Bukowski; Håkon Liu's "Lucky Blue" starring Tobias Bengtsson and Tom Lofterud; Matthieu Salmon's "Weekend In The Countryside" starring Théo Frilet, Pierre Moure, and Jean-Claude Dumas; Soman Chainani's "Kali Ma" starring Kamini Khanna, Brendan Bradley, and Manish Dayal; Julián Hernández's "Bramadero" starring Cristhian Rodríguez and Sergio Almazán; Craig Boreham's "Love Bite" starring Will Field and Aidan Calabria; "The Island" featuring director Trevor Anderson ; Arthur Halpern's "Futures (and Derivatives)" starring Kelly Miller, Cam Kornman, and Bill Barnett; and Tim Hunter's "Working It Out" starring Simon Kearney, Paul Ross, and Glaston Toft.

Created by gay directors and actors, Boys On Film features numerous award-winning shorts that deal with all aspects of gay life. Volume 3: American Boy contains seven complete films: Adam Salky's "Dare" starring Adam Fleming, Michael Cassidy, and Marla Burkholder; Jody Wheeler's "In The Closet" starring J.T. Tepnapa and Brent Corrigan; Dennis Shinners's "Area X" starring Matt Schuneman and Antony Raymond; Julian Breece's "The Young & Evil" starring Vaughn Lowery, Diana Elizabeth Jordan, and Reggie Watkins; Brian Krinsky's "Dish :)" starring Matthew Monge, Jeff Martin, and Octavio Altamirano; Carter Smith's "Bugcrush" starring Josh Caras and Donald Cumming; and Kyle Thomas Coker's "Astoria, Queens" starring Aaron Michael Davies, James Heffron, Sangeeta Parekh, and Hayley Thompson-King.

Elliot Tittensor (TV's Shameless) stars as Daz in headlining film PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT, a gripping British film debut that sees him woo a young lad in an underpass, only to be threatened with a break-up the following morning. Passive and submissive roles are tackled and tugged in gay graffiti tale VANDALS and Icelandic grapple-fest WRESTLING, while POSTMORTEM, MY NAME IS LOVE, and Iris Prize-winner STEAM look at promising encounters that turn awry. Rounding out the collection are HEIKO, an alternative ode to foot fetishes, BREATH where 12-year-old Erik swims out to sea to make a daring move on his best friend's father, and the crème de la crème from this collection TREVOR, which won multiple prestigious awards from Sundance, Berlinale, and even The Academy Awards (Oscar) for Best Short Film.

Steve Burdick is closeted television anchorman whose lover dies of an AIDS-related illness. Steve decides to come out and then tells his story about being gay and battling AIDS during a special segment of the nightly news. Originally episode eight of LifeStories, it was moved to later in the season due to the subject matter.

Who’s up for a sensual, seductive trip with some of the hottest Latin men that have ever graced the Silver Screen? ‘Mexican Men’ collects five of the most accomplished gay shorts from one of the homes of groundbreaking queer cinema. From short encounters, emerging love stories and deeply touching connections, these short films are sure to stir the heart... and body. Includes: Atmosphere [Atmósfera] (2010); To Live [Vivir] (2003); Tremulous [Trémulo] (2015); Wandering Clouds [Nubes flotantes] (2014); Young Man on the Bar Masturbating with Rage and Nerve [Muchacho en la barra se masturba con rabia y osadía] (2015).