The Male Gaze: Wandering Hearts is an eclectic mix of global short films that never quite find their voice as a whole. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t several standout shorts in Wandering Hearts that deserve your attention.
Much like the recent release Upon Her Lips: Kiss Me, The Male Gaze: Wandering Hearts is an eclectic mix of global short films that never quite find their voice as a whole. However, also like Kiss Me, that doesn’t mean there aren’t several standout shorts in Wandering Hearts that deserve your attention. While many of the short films in this collection focus on the wanderer, whether through love, separation, oppression or choice, the opening two films also focus on hope, a spirit of rebellion, and the courage to be you in a country that rejects you and denies your rights.
The first of NQV’s The Male Gaze: Wandering Hearts short films is the delightful stop motion, 2D and classic animation, CONFUSION OF THE AFTERNOON (午後的迷茫), directed by Lee Yung-Chieh. With a runtime of just 3 minutes, Lee Yung-Chieh’s film is about the moment a touch sparks feelings we have never encountered before; feelings that are exciting, scary and full of hope. Brought to life through a mosaic of animated styles, Confusion of the Afternoon sees two boys’ worlds suddenly expand, as a single light touch opens a new world of imagination, possibilities and love.
The second short is a documentary, a rarity in The Male Gaze series. MAGHREB’S HOPE, directed by Bassem Ben Brahim. Focusing on the Big Maghreb region of western and central North Africa, Bassem Ben Brahim brings together four LGBTQ+ people from four countries to share their stories, battles, fears, and hopes in countries where LGBTQ+ rights are fragile and freedoms are often limited. The bravery of each person in allowing a film crew to follow them, whether in Algeria, Morocco, or Libya, is not to be underestimated, with the subjects risking further persecution and violence in telling their stories. But the key here is the word ‘Hope,’ for while Bassem Ben Brahim’s documentary lays bare the risks and challenges, it also celebrates the courage, hope, bravery and spirit of each of our brave subjects.
Chaud
The third film in the collection takes us in a new direction as the wanderer comes into focus, and The Male Gaze: Wandering Hearts shifts tone. ASSI DOESN’T LIVE HERE, directed by Rotem Murat and Murat Neta, takes us to a port town in Israel, where a sailor intends to use his shore leave to reconnect with a child he has never seen. But there’s a problem: not only is Assi not wanted by those he left behind years ago, but he also doesn’t even know the child’s name or gender.
The complicated, fun, yet often edgy world of casual hook-ups takes centre stage in CHAUD, directed by Franck Hourliac. A random hotel hook-up using a popular gay app was meant to be a horny, fun-filled night for two men looking for a sexual release. But as with many casual encounters, expectations can weigh heavily, especially when sex really isn’t the motivating force. Sometimes, we all need some company, a friendly face, and the freedom just to be ourselves. After all, sex doesn’t have to be the outcome of every encounter, and sometimes it’s all so much better if it’s not.
The final two films of the collection are undeniably the strongest. TSHUVA, directed by Afek Testa Launer, takes us back to Israel, where Avihum is grieving the loss of his brother, who recently committed suicide. Full of guilt and haunted by the things he did and did not say to his brother, Avihum encounters a transgender woman who is a mirror image of the brother he lost. A window suddenly opens to healing for Avihum through an unexpected and at times unnerving connection with a woman who will challenge him to confront his guilt and the deep loss eating away at him. Unconventional while at times bordering on thriller, Afek Testa Launer’s edgy short is fascinating, engaging and unnerving in equal measure.
The final film of The Male Gaze: Wandering Hearts takes us back to France, where a famous author is about to face an uncomfortable truth. SUNFLOWERS AT NIGHT, directed by Quentin Delcourt, carries several similarities to the fabulous Lie With Me, directed by Olivier Peyon, as a well-known author returns to his hometown, where locals intend to celebrate his success with a lavish ceremony and party in his honour. However, unlike Lie with Me, which sees our author, Stéphane, face the ghosts of his past and a love born in his teens that never died, here the author, David, played by Delcourt, will confront a host of personal truths he has long attempted to bury.
An unplanned and uncomfortable rebirth sits at the heart of Sunflowers at Night, as David faces the choices, decisions and behaviours that have led him to success but also created self-inflicted loneliness as he wanders from one partner to the next in a short that is both vibrant, engaging and compelling as David finally breaks the chains that bind him before dancing into the night.
The Male Gaze: Wandering Hearts is now available to stream on Prime Video and Payhip Worldwide.
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