WATCH: Gays go cruising, hiking & “sexual distancing” in this collection of steamy short films

Here at Queerty, we spend an awful lot of time keeping track of all the upcoming LGBTQ+ feature films you’ll want to know about. But the truth is that some of today’s best queer filmmaking can’t be seen in theaters or your major streaming platforms—we’re talking indie short films!

But thanks to the work of distributors like NQV Media (“New Queer Visions”), excellent shorts from all over the world area readily available at the click of a button.

The latest entry in their popular, M4M series The Male Gaze is called A Better Tomorrow—a collection five short films all about gay men facing problems big and small in order to find themselves as they push forward to a brighter future.

There are stories of cruising, cross-generational bonding, imaginative encounters, and intimacy in the age of the internet. And it’s no accident that a handful of the shorts address the pandemic, whether directly or indirectly—after the global event confined many of us to isolation, it’s helpful to be reminded that there’s so much more out there beyond our four walls.

Featuring up-and-coming filmmakers from Austria, China, Greece, Mexico, and Spain, these stories may be told in different languages, but they all understand the universal message of hope and perserverance.

As the official A Better Tomorrow logline puts it, “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.”

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

And We Collide

On the tropical island of Hainan, an unexpected encounter sparks a fragile romance between an aspiring astronaut and a village farm boy. China. Director: Dongni Lanca Li.

Boom And Bloom

A father and his son set out on an Alpine hike in the Austrian Alp. The pair have never entirely felt at ease when in conversation, so for the first time, they decide to open up a little bit and get to know each other. Austria. Director: Stefan Langthaler.

If They Knew

Every day, Martin goes to work at a recording studio for aspiring actors—a job that he loves. However, in his personal life he feels a great emptiness, his evening spent cruising the local parks. One day, he meets a young actor with whom things might play out a little differently. Spain. Director: Aitor Gametxo.

Sexual Distancing

Kostas and Andonis both while away the days swiping left and right on various dating apps, attempting to explore new hobbies while occasionally going outside to exercise during allotted time —all while a virus rages across the globe. Who knew that a city in quarantine contained so much sexual desperation? Greece. Director: Dimitris Asproloupos.

Xutaj

In rural Mexico, teenager Xutaj and his boyfriend find themselves separated by a worldwide pandemic and Xutaj’s overbearing father. As solitary confinement takes its toll, Xutaj relies on his imagination for company—with surprising results. Mexico. Director Jonathan Anzo.

The Male Gaze: A Better Tomorrow will be available worldwide via Amazon Prime Video and Vimeo on Demand beginning October 23.

Related:

WATCH: Zachary Quinto leads this seductive collection of shorts about, ahem, alluring encounters

10 queer short films from around the world, each about meeting the perfect stranger.