The Grey Zones

A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.

David, a naive graduate student, has volunteered to work as a 'buddy' for people dying of AIDS. Assigned to the intensely political Robert, a lifelong activist whose friends and family have abandoned him following his diagnosis, the two men, each with notably different world views, soon discover common bonds, as David's inner activist awakens and Robert's need for emotional release is fulfilled.

The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.

Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. "Pretty Boy" is a coming of age story of a young bullied teen, Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his father finds some questionable magazines in his room, this devout Christian 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.

Veneno, a rebellious young drifter, frequents roadside diners where he sleeps with truck drivers. Urgently needing a ride, he meets Muñeco, a hard-edged driver who keeps to himself. He convinces Muñeco to take him deep into the hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking across the north of Mexico. As they travel together and an unexpected intimacy builds between them, shadows from Veneno’s past resurface, putting both their lives at risk.

Salvador Mallo, a filmmaker in the twilight of his career, remembers his life: his mother, his lovers, the actors he worked with. The sixties in a small village in Valencia, the eighties in Madrid, the present, when he feels an immeasurable emptiness, facing his mortality, the incapability of continuing filming, the impossibility of separating creation from his own life. The need of narrating his past can be his salvation.

A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.

Nick, a gay, HIV-positive architect, begins to display severe symptoms of AIDS and makes preparations to kill himself before he is unable to function normally. He arranges a party to reconnect and say goodbye to his closest friends and his confused parents. But when his ex-partner, Brandon, a television director who left Nick when he was diagnosed with HIV, shows up, what was supposed to be a celebratory event becomes much more difficult for everyone.

Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Alex, an intersexed 15-year-old, is living as a girl, but she and her family begin to wonder whether she's emotionally a boy when another teenager's sexual advances bring the issue to a head. As Alex faces a final decision regarding her gender, she meets both hostility and compassion.

After the suicide of his best friend and the fire of a local dance called Cromañón, including recitals, illegal parties in an abandoned warehouse and high school, a year passes by in the life of Zabo who writes everything he feels and lives in his blog, "Memories of a teenager".

The story of several friends in New York City facing financial poverty, homophobia, AIDS, and, of course, rent.

Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.

Ariel is a good-looking farm boy who lives with his father and sister in a rural part of Buenos Aires province. He has become familiar with sex thanks to Omar, a priest with whom he has a secret affair.

When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.

Eight short stories of seduction and illicit encounters between lovers, filled with humor and eroticism, which use a circular structure located in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a colonial city of Mexico.

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Biographical drama based on the last 20 years of Crisp's life. The literary figure and gay iconoclast emigrated to New York in 1981 and lived there until his death. The film observes Crisp in both his public and private lives, from his seemingly cavalier response to the outbreak of AIDS to his tender relationship with his friend Patrick Angus and his own response to growing old.

High school music teacher, Morimura Yuuki, is the concert master and first violinist of the amateur orchestra, Fujimi Orchestra. Surprisingly, a young conductor named Tonoin Kei (known as a musical genius) joins this small orchestra to conduct. Even though Tonoin is a strict conductor, all the members adore him for the notable improvements in their performances and soon Yuuki feels his efforts for the orchestra have been fruitless. Yuuki soon comes to the conclusion that his crush of 3 years likes Tonoin, and he decides to give up on her and leave the orchestra. Tonoin refuses to let him quit, confessing that he loves Yuuki, which reveals that he's gay. Tonoin's love confession confuses Yuuki and it leads to a very horrible misunderstanding.

A day in the life of a six-year-old child in Calcutta, who lives shut up in the family home, insulated from the city by a park. The father is away at work. The grandfather is alone in his room, ill and confined to his bed. The mother receives her lover.

Constantly orbiting at 400 km (250 mi) above the earth, the ISS is perfectly situated to witness the beautiful streamers of green and red light emanating from the collision of highly charged solar wind particles with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the earth's atmosphere. Centered about the northern (Aurora Borealis) and southern (Aurora Australis) poles the Auroras move in an almost hypnotic dance below the space station.

In the midst of political upheaval in Brazil, Travis Mathews directs this startling and moving film of the intersection between class, privilege and sex. A man lives a lonely, exquisite lifestyle in his large, empty apartment. He hears a noise, of a man stumbling through the window in his bedroom. The man has a gun, and he shakes while he holds it. What follows is a tender, complex exploration of lust and desire between two very talented performers and the faultless Direction of Mathews.

A teenage girl is outed as lesbian in gossip that spreads quickly across her school. She finds herself judged and insulted by her peers, and coerced into trying to change herself by someone she took to be her friend.

After the devastating suicide of her best friend Coli, 15 year old Natalie turns to journaling to cope with her overwhelming grief. Struggling with guilt and isolation, she pours her emotions onto the page and joins a support group for teens. A deep conversation with Ezra, a friend who understands silent pain, inspires her to transform her journal entries into a novel. As Natalie writes, she begins to confront hidden truths about her friendship with Coli, unspoken struggles, and the weight of what was left unsaid. Through storytelling, she finds healing, connection, and the courage to speak the truth—not just for herself, but for others who need to hear it.

A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.

Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan?

A ship sets sail on an epic voyage through malignant natural and supernatural elements from which one man alone survives. An adaptation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner illustrated by19th Century wood engravings which are animated by scratching directly into the surface of color filmstock. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner with its message of ecological redemption has a curiously contemporary resonance, but it is at the level of the mythic that the poem has lasting relevance; for this epic tale of extraordinary events simply mirrors the struggle that each human being faces on their own in his or her life. -VDB

Selma and Sinan are a couple who now find it difficult to endure each other. At the end of high school, rumors start circulating about their son Umut, who is gay. While Selma and Sinan are trying to cope with their tiring marriage, Umut suddenly disappears.

Amanda heads to her families beach cottage for a little family vacation for the hundredth or so time, unfortunately, this time without her wife Drew. Will Amanda she get a little rest and relaxation she so desperately needs or does someone else have different plans for her?

Making his way home in the Bronx, a young boy plays basketball in his backyard after hearing people talk about a kid who passed away in his neighborhood.

Albert has spent his whole life wanting to travel but he has been stuck at home, living in a small town making enamel signs. He has saved up everything he has and reluctantly sells his home and livelihood to embark on this trip, a lifelong dream that will honor a deceased friend. But the journey he will embark on is not what he has anticipated.

Russian stop motion animation depicting the court of the Duke and Duchess as they mock and abuse the titular hero.

On average, high-risk victims live with domestic abuse for over two years before getting specialist help. 1.9 million people experienced domestic abuse last year and almost two people a week were killed by their current or former partner. This short film powerfully demonstrates that there is a way out and encourages victims, or those that suspect they might know someone in an abusive relationship, to #breaktheroutine

A disturbed young man pushes away his exurban family to seek wildness in the woods. The boy's urge for the primitive manifests in his bedroom at home and in a wild dog he follows through the countryside.