Love stories

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. Achim's girlfriend Sandra is on the girl's team and he enjoys spending more time with her. Tobi becomes increasingly skeptical of their relationship. Anke, the pretty girl who has fallen for Tobi, doesn't make things any easier, then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The storm that breaks out the evening before the race begins is more than meteorological in this sensitive story about the complexities of growing up.

Craig is a rough kid in Blackpool, picking up cash as a bare-knuckle club fighter; he's also having a hard time accepting that he's gay. Outside a dance club, he meets Matt, a Londoner working for Kelvin, a shady but enterprising music producer. Matt's flatmate is a client, singer Paula Poptart, who's Matt's good friend but also insecure and needy as a performer. Craig comes down to London to join Matt, but this presents problems for Matt, who's had lots of blokes but never fallen in love. Matt's feelings, Kelvin's demands, Matt's dream to run a rock club, Paula's snits and jealousy, and Craig's lack of job skills combine to put Craig and Matt's relationship in jeopardy.

In the cloistered world of competitive surf-lifesaving, an Australian hero is de-throned as the reigning champion by a younger, gay competitor. He embarks on a campaign of intimidation and bullying against the newcomer but is forced to confront his own repressed homoerotic desire. A booze-fueled night out brings jealousy, homophobic fear and unrequited lust to a tragic and shocking climax.

Griff wants to maintain just a superficial relationship with his all-gay boyfriend, who gets seriously wounded in a gay bashing.

'Newcastle' is a coming-of-age/family drama/surfing movie. 17-year old Jesse lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor's failure to become surfing's Next Big Thing. Even when he's in his natural habitat of magnificent surf breaks, his blue-collar future is brought home by the coal barges that constantly line his horizon. Jesse has the natural skills to surf his way out of this reality and onto the international circuit but can he overcome his equally natural ability to sabotage himself? A momentous weekend away with his mates that includes first love and tragedy leads him to discover what's really important, and also to the performance of a lifetime.

The star player of Icelands top football team causes a stir when he admits to being gay to his team mates and then goes on a journey to discover himself (with the help of the local press). He soon finds himself on the bench for most of his teams matches and decides to call it quits and join a small amateur team made up of men like himself - gay guys trying to play football in a straight world of Icelandic fishing culture machoism.

With a promising police career and a baby on the way, Marc's life seems to be right on track - then he meets fellow policeman Kay. During their regular jogs, Marc experiences a never-before-felt sense of ease and effortlessness - and what it means to fall in love with another man. Torn between his family and his new feelings for Kay, Marc sees his world careening more and more out of control. Suddenly, his life is in free fall and Marc realizes that, try as he may, he can't make everyone happy - least of all himself.

Morgan comes home after a tragic accident in a bikers race leaves him paraplegic, binding him to wheelchair use for the rest of his life. He tries to stay positive, not letting the accident end his life, but deep-rooted feelings of uselessness make him rather wish he were dead. Rolling out for beer, he meets Dean, and the two strike up a friendship that quickly develops into a romantic connection. Morgan wants to participate in the biking race in the handicap category, more so because of his competitive nature than to prove his ability. Everyone is against it, even Dean, leading to differences between the two. Finally, he realizes that he's at fault and makes peace with himself.

After a summer spent with his his best friend Kat to escape his family, Phil goes back to school and starts to question his feelings towards Nicholas, a new classmate.

Matias and Jeronimo have known each other since childhood, but their friendship took a new turn during the holiday before starting high school when they both sexually awoke together. Matias's father indirectly broke up their relationship by accepting a job very far away. More than ten years later, Matias returns to his old town for carnival with his girlfriend and unexpectedly runs into Jeronimo. Feelings will slowly reappear and will reach a climax, but at what price?

Tim is a grade 11 student dealing with loss of his mother several years ago and his own sexuality at 16 going on 17. He was a star runner as a 12 year old with his mother as his coach. With his mother's death he gave up running and him and his friend are chemistry nerds who are bullied and harassed by the jocks at school. Tim eventually returns to running and expands his group of friends. HIs main competitor on the track, Jeff, continues his harassment and resorts to blackmail to hurt Tim's performance on the track with disastrous results.

Fair-haired Ecki, the baker's son, has grown up the golden boy of his home town. All that changes the instant he and his soccer teammates discover he's gay. Now the object of scorn and ridicule (and finding himself unceremoniously kicked off his team), Ecki travels to the city of Dortmund to recruit an all-gay soccer team to return and prove to his town and his former soccer mates who the best men are. As first-time-out Ecki searches blindly through gay watering holes for players, his parents endure a rash of derisive gay jokes from the townies, leaving Ecki's gruff father to hope for a change in his son's orientation while also considering closing down the family business.

Pim, the emotionally abandoned and affection-starved young gay son of a small seaside town's resident floozy, grows up dreaming intensely of a loving father who will someday come for him, but never does. Frequently home alone, Pim often spends time at a neighbor's house where another single mom and her two teenage children accept him matter-of-factly. As Pim is about to turn 15, he and neighbor boy Gino become each other's friend-with-benefits, entering a period of sexual awakening together. Life, however, is all about change, and while Gino (a couple years older) is ready to move on and move out, Pim is not, leaving Pim behind to carry on with his continuing crush for Gino (while Gino's sister Sabrina develops an unrequited crush for Pim).

Young Swiss soccer player Mario has devoted his entire life to fulfilling his and his fathers dream of becoming an international professional soccer star. All this changes when his club recruits a rising star from Germany Leon Saldo. Now as pressure increases, he is forced to choose between love and happiness and his dreams of success and stardom, a choice that might hunt him until the end of his life.

WONDERKID is a film by Rhys Chapman, which tackles one of football's biggest issues - homophobia. WONDERKID is a film by Rhys Chapman, which tackles one of football's biggest issues - homophobia. Starring Chris Mason and featuring Sky Sports' commentator Martin Tyler, pundit Alan Smith and presenters Geoff Shreeves and Guy Havord, the film depicts the inner turmoil of a gay professional footballer. After earning a dream move to a London Premier League club, 'WONDERKID' should be on top of the world. The reality? He's faced with callous friends, a hostile changing room, vitriol-filled messages on social media and, crucially, WONDERKID's having to deal with himself. The film highlights the key issue - why should his sexuality be an issue?

Mark is the main character - his older, richer, mostly absent partner is Richard. Warren is the second main character - his less seen partner is John. Henry is Mark's good friend and team mate. Mr Pink/Pinky is the big guy who tries to bring people together. Gareth is the gossipy one in the team. Jimmy is the team captain - an older, calmer character. Stuart is the team coach. Leonard is the club chairman - a grumpy old man character. Carlos is another member of the team with a few lines. Assorted team mates appear - but no others are central to the story line. Mark's parent feature.

Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead-end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe, who lives on the wealthy side of town. When Gabe's older brother, Shaun, returns home, he is drawn to Zach's selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family.

This is a combination coming out and first love story. The swimmer and diver Lucard is interested in attractive Martin. The film follows the characters' coming out with all its difficulties, the bitter-sweet pleasures of first love and the dreadful moment when one comes down to reality and realizes that one's beloved friend has a hard way to go yet. The positive message the film tries to transmit is the somewhat common motto "Live each day of your life as if it were your last."