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WATCH: Secret sauna sessions, mosh pit make-outs & more as this short film anthology reaches its climax

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Image Credit: Beautiful Stranger – Boys On Film 24,’ Peccadillo Pictures

Here at Queerty, we’ve long sung the praises of Boys On Film, the anthology series that has regularly assembled the sultriest and most thought-provoking gay short films from all over the world.

Since 2009, the U.K.-based LGBTQ+ film distributor Peccadillo Pictures has been behind the series, platforming global filmmakers on the rise and giving audiences everywhere a chance to see these stories that they might otherwise miss—unless they’re frequenting international queer film festivals.

So we were bummed to hear that last’s year Boys On Film 23: Dangerous To Know was the penultimate edition, and that we’d soon have to say goodbye.

With that in mind, today, we bring you a first look at Boys On Film 24, the final entry in this long-running landmark series…. or is it? Fittingly subtitled Happy Endings, this fresh batch of 11 short films is centered around the idea that all good things must come to an end—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Image Credit: ‘Aloof – Boys On Film 24,’ Peccadillo Pictures

Boasting stories from the U.K., Uruguay, Belgium, Colombia, New Zealand, and France, the collection also features a number of familiar faces, like Pose star Jeremy McClain (in his directorial debut You Like That), the Oscar-nominated Society Of The Snow‘s Enzo Vogrincic (in Sea Sparkles), and George Webster, who made history as the BBC’s first children’s TV host with Down’s syndrome (seen in the short S.A.M.).

As the trailer calls this “the final edition” of Boys On Film, we couldn’t help but notice the question mark that appears on screen—might this not be the end of the anthology after all? In the press notes we received, they’re also careful to include that this is “the 24th and final physical edition,” which makes us wonder: Could the series live on in a digital form?

For now, we’ll just be glad Happy Endings manages to give best-selling Boys On Film collection the climax it deserves.

You can watch the trailer here, and then check out a brief synopsis for each short below:

We Collide

A queercore romance – a visceral and immersive exploration of the power of the mosh pit and finding love in the most unlikely of places. U.K. Director Jason Bradbury.

Firsts

On the eve Chinese New Year, Steven, a closeted Chinese international student living in New Zealand oppressed by the expectations of his parents, plans to lose his virginity to a stranger that he meets online. New Zealand. Director Jesse Ung.

Sea Sparkles

Just hours before Lucas is set to leave Uruguay in search of a better future, a one-night-stand with Juan, a Venezuelan immigrant, turns into a meditation on happiness, ambition and the struggle to truly enjoy the present moment. Uruguay. Director Diego Alvarez Parra.

Image Credit: ‘Sea Sparkles – Boys On Film 24,’ Peccadillo Pictures

Aloof

Yariv is a shy photographer charged to take photos at a family birthday. The photographs he takes highlight his problematic relationship with his brother, and increasingly intertwine to his extreme sexual experiences at the gay sauna. Israel. Director Itai Jamshy.

The Rev

A queer comedy about a vicar in the midst of an identity crisis whose imagination runs wild when he’s asked to organize a funeral. U.K. Director Fabia Martin.

Image Credit: ‘The Rev – Boys On Film 24,’ Peccadillo Pictures

Prelude

Samuel tries to win a piano competition. In the journey, he’ll find out a different way of playing his instrument and discover a much more important value to do so. Colombia. Directors Sara Larota and Alejandro Sandoval.

Beautiful Stranger

Romain, in his thirties, has just been dumped by his boyfriend. Lonely and romantic, he tries a dating app and will make two surprising encounters in a two-star hotel. France. Director Benjamin Belloir.

You Like That

Lost in a hypersexual digital world, Joshua dreams of the kind of love he’s only read about in classic literature. U.K. Director Jeremy McClain.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

During a factory work stoppage, two employees decide to spend three days together in the mild summer as two very close friends know how to do. France. Director Arthur Cahn.

S.A.M.

Two young men form a connection on the swings of their local park. U.K. Directors Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan.

L’Homme Inconnu

The Flemish writer Louis decides to isolate himself at the Côte d’Azur, hoping this place will bring him inspiration. Belgium. Director Anthony Schatteman.

Boys On Film 24: Happy Endings will be available beginning April 15 on Blu-ray/DVD and on VOD via Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and PeccadilloPOD.com

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