The knocks on the door kept ringing. Jian Xiaoning seemed to sense impatience, so he shouted, "I'm coming..." while trying to open the door as quickly as possible. But he couldn't be quick, because he had just learned to use crutches, and he always felt uncomfortable using them, and his walking was very awkward. Finally, he reached the door and looked out through the peephole. There was a boy holding a snack box standing outside. He knew that this was the waiter from the "Aegean Sea Pastry Shop" who had brought him the egg tarts he ordered. Today was his birthday, and he didn't order a birthday cake, but only some egg tarts. So he opened the door. But after opening the door, he was stunned. The delivery boy was about his age, wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, blue and white sneakers, and had a handsome face. Jian Xiaoning actually knew this boy, but he didn't know his name. A month ago, when Jian Xiaoning went out with her boyfriend Zhu Yuliang, she met a few friends in the same circle. Some of them were friends with Zhu Yuliang, but Jian Xiaoning was not familiar with them. Only one person named Xiaohai was Zhu Yuliang's classmate, whom he had met once. Later, they went to a big food stall to eat barbecue, and the delivery boy was also there. They sat together while eating and chatted for a while. Jian Xiaoning knew that the 19-year-old boy was a freshman like her and was Xiaohai's buddy, but that was all. The…

For his first short film as director, Frédéric Lavigne hits hard and right in the heart with the hyper sensitive Coeurs perdus .  Paris, 1992. Julien (Guillaume Soubeyran) is a science thesis student. A bisexual who doesn't really accept himself, he logs on to a gay phone line from time to time to have anonymous encounters. It is through this channel that he meets Christophe (Isaak Dessaux), a boy his age who is a bit of his complete opposite. Julien is taciturn, discreet, speaks little, internalizes or even represses his feelings, dresses in little vintage T-shirts. Christophe, who is a hairdresser, is an assertive gay man, who may seem extravagant at first glance, extroverted, with a queer look. Opposites attract and their first meeting immediately causes sparks: Julien is clumsy and not very comfortable but Christophe with his kindness and spontaneity will quickly take the lead. In the weeks and months that follow, they will live an up-and-down relationship: while Christophe becomes attached, Julien remains elusive, inaccessible, and undemonstrative. We understand that he feels things but blocks them, does not fully assume them. And then one day he learns news that will shake him up forever...  There are films that have this rare little magic that makes you know from the first scenes that you are going to love what you are going to see. Hearts lost to this magic. Everything rings true in this highly melancholic short film that is extremely promising. Obviously, the director Frédéric Lavigne was not mistaken in choosing the ultra-cute Guillaume Soubeyran in the lead role, who explodes here on the…

Never Let Him Go is a gripping four-part docuseries that delves into the enigmatic death of Scott Johnson, a gay academic found dead at the bottom of a cliff near Sydney in December 1988. His brother, Steve Johnson, spent over 30 years relentlessly pursuing justice, determined to uncover the truth behind Scott's tragic death. Scott, a promising American prodigy studying in Australia, had a bright future ahead of him. Tragically, it was cut short when his body was discovered naked and mutilated at the bottom of a cliff, with police hastily concluding suicide as the cause. However, over the years, numerous leads suggested that Scott might have been another victim of hate crimes—a violent, bias-motivated death that had been dismissed for too long. Across four tightly edited and emotionally compelling episodes, Never Let Him Go chronicles the investigation, which evolves from a simple unresolved mystery into a landmark case. The docuseries highlights the challenges of seeking justice within the context of systemic bureaucracy, while shedding light on the plight of the LGBTQ community, which suffered widespread violence that often went unnoticed. The documentary follows Steve’s unyielding quest for answers, showing the toll it took on him and his family. The show features testimonies from Scott's partner, his friends, his siblings, and key figures in the investigation, including police officers and journalists who covered the case. However, the real heart of the story is Steve, whose pursuit of justice forms the backbone of the series. In 2007, Steve enlisted journalist-turned-private investigator Dan Glick, and together they spent the next 15 years…

My hair grows close to my scalp, and it is naturally wavy. It grows in a messy direction and is very difficult to manage, so I have never been able to find a suitable barber. Two years ago, I went to a barber shop by chance, and a strong and handsome guy helped me to manage my hair easily. From then on, I became dependent on him and developed a good friendship with him. I remember when I first walked into that barbershop, he stood up to greet me, very polite, and spoke like a mosquito. His white and tender face was revealed under his thick stubble, which formed a huge contrast with his thick arms and sexy chest muscles. But I liked him, so I let him cut my hair. I sat down and looked at him in the mirror, wondering, "Could he be gay, too? Could he be a strong man who looks masculine but is actually soft on the inside?" My feeling was soon confirmed. When he was cutting my hair, he deliberately put his strong legs close to me, and sometimes even pressed the bulge in the front of his jeans against my arm, which made me feel numb. He kept calling me "handsome guy"... Doesn't that mean he was very sure? He must be... the same kind of person. I was thinking about what to do with him, but he had already finished my haircut. When I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes lit up. It was perfect! His craftsmanship was superb, which…

Comrade, once a common name, has now become a synonym for homosexuality. In the more than one year since I entered this circle, I have experienced so much. When I really experienced the taste of love, the sudden change made me panic. I know it is my fault, and it is my suspicion that made love leave me, but my tears and my calls can no longer win his heart back... I am an ordinary college student from a county town. Although the results of the college entrance examination were far from my ideal, I still required myself to do my best. Soon, I stood out among many of my peers and became a student leader. But I was born to be playful. I started surfing the Internet in my first year of high school. Now, surfing the Internet is still a "compulsory course" for me. The Internet has changed my life and also allowed me to enter the "gay" circle. Yu is the second friend I met. He has a family and a very cute son. He is mature, steady, and his smile is very attractive. Yu and I met last summer. We both went to the "gay chat room" on a certain website. That day, we chatted for a long time and got along very well. Later, Yu said he wanted to invite me out for dinner, and I agreed without thinking. About half an hour later, Yu came downstairs to my dormitory. The first time I saw Yu, I fell in love with him. He wore a…

Zhao, a paraplegic man from Jilin, was sentenced to serve his sentence in Siping Prison on January 15, 2009 for robbery and attempted murder. He tested positive for HIV antibodies in prison in June 2011. Zhao and his family believed that the prison management had problems that led to his infection, and filed an administrative compensation lawsuit. The Compensation Committee of the Jilin Provincial High Court and the Compensation Committee of the Supreme People's Court both determined that Zhao was infected with HIV while serving his sentence in Siping Prison, and that Siping Prison had faulty supervision and should be held responsible for compensation.Zhao's family said that Zhao was released from prison in early March and they were worried about his follow-up treatment and care. The Jilin Provincial Prison Administration Bureau confirmed that Zhao would be released from prison and was carrying out resettlement work, such as applying for minimum living allowance and contacting the Disabled Persons' Federation. Zhao's family said that after Zhao tested positive for HIV in prison, they filed an administrative lawsuit against Siping Prison and demanded state compensation of about 8 million yuan.On January 24, 2019, the Compensation Committee of the Jilin Provincial High Court revoked the previous relevant compensation decision, ordered Siping Prison to pay Zhao 100,000 yuan in mental damages, and rejected other compensation requests. On October 14 of the same year, the Supreme Court Compensation Committee rejected Siping Prison's appeal and upheld the Jilin Provincial High Court's decision on state compensation for Zhao's HIV infection in Siping Prison. Zhao's family said that Zhao…

You can't read this article. But I still say these words in my heart to you. Coming out to you is so simple and natural. But behind it is my difficult journey of self-awareness. Coming out to someone you once loved I have known you for 14 years. From a very early time, you have been my teacher, close friend, sister, and mother. We have always talked about everything. But I know that the fact that "Yingya may be a homosexual" is a forbidden area between us that we cannot step into. In your heart, you must have used various methods to blur this gap. 14 years have passed, and I finally mustered up the courage to tell you: I am a homosexual. Telling you means admitting to you that my feelings for you back then were love; it means telling you that I loved you. After confirming my orientation, I have always wanted to tell you so that you can understand the real me. This means a lot to me. But I have been hesitating. This may be too shocking news for you. Born in 1972, you are open-minded and have a good mind, but you have too little knowledge about homosexuality. I don't know what you think. I dare not touch that forbidden area, and I dare not confess to you many years later that I really loved you back then. That day we went to see Harry Potter 7 with your daughter. On the way back, the topic of homosexuality came up. I finally said, "Me too."…

I should be the most unlucky gay. I am only in my early 20s and a college student. I don’t understand why those gays are so fickle, like one-night stands, promiscuous sex, and all kinds of sexual behaviors with their gay friends, while I am so lucky and healthy. I am not a very promiscuous homosexual, and I had just started to get involved in the gay circle. I had sex with a gay college student who was studying in the same city as me, and as a result I contracted AIDS. When I was donating blood voluntarily, I received a blood test notice saying that I had AIDS. I didn't believe it at all at the time, and I secretly went to the most prestigious hospital in the city for a check-up. I hoped so much that I was lucky, but the test result still showed that I was infected with AIDS! The news was like a bolt from the blue. I was completely thrown on the brink of life and death. The thought of suicide suddenly sprouted from the bottom of my heart. I felt that life was playing a cruel joke on me, but I had to accept this joke. When I committed suicide, I was in great pain. Thinking of my parents, I just couldn't bring myself to end my life and say goodbye to this ruthless world. I could imagine that if I died, my parents would definitely not be able to live. I used to be their hope. I was always praised by my…

The world of love falls apart That day, we had been together for three years and one month. In the past, she would definitely be watching the news at around 7 o'clock every day, while I would be surfing the Internet. But that night, before the news was over, he said he was not feeling well and wanted to rest early. I have always been in poor health, but he has almost never felt unwell, and the twice-a-year physical examinations at his company showed that he was in good health. I obediently accompanied him to bed, turned on the bedside lamp on my side, and leaned against the bed to read. At around nine o'clock in the evening, he woke up and told me that he couldn't breathe. I persuaded him to go to the hospital, but he didn't want to, saying "It's okay, just sleep for a while", but I couldn't fall asleep because of my worry. At midnight, I found that he began to breathe heavily, and it was obviously very difficult, so I persuaded him to go to the hospital again. He was afraid that I would worry, so he said it was okay. At three o'clock in the morning, I turned on the light and saw that his lips were purple and his face was blue. I wanted to wake him up, but he didn't respond. I quickly called 120, then dressed him, and carried him, who weighed 150 pounds, on my small body of 100 pounds, from the third floor to the first floor. At…

It was late, but I still couldn't sleep. My chest was so stuffy that I could hardly breathe. At the beginning of this year, I had some physical symptoms, the most serious of which was blood in my stool, which was extremely painful. It was not until April that I had the courage to go to the hospital for treatment because I felt embarrassed to take off my pants in front of the doctors and nurses. After an electronic anorectal examination, the doctor found many problems and recommended that I have an operation. An hour after the preoperative examination, the blood test results came out, but the doctor refused to perform the operation on me because I was HIV positive. This result was not a bolt from the blue for me, but the looks from the doctors and nurses made me want to jump directly from the outpatient building (since this was a rapid test, the hospital was afraid that the test results would be inaccurate and asked me to go for a re-examination the next day. If the result was confirmed to be positive the next day, they would ask for my identity information). When I came out of the hospital, it was drizzling in Shenyang in April and the sky was gray, just like my mood. I called my two best friends and told them the test results. They said, "It may be a misdiagnosis. Go to the CDC tomorrow for an accurate test. Don't worry about it." "Your heart is not good. Don't think too much. Rapid…

For a change, this BL story feels surprisingly realistic, from the storyline to the way the characters speak and react. They’re messy and unpredictable, which gives viewers a roller coaster of emotions as the leads try to figure out themselves and their complicated relationship. I didn’t expect much from a BL series featuring a Filipino and a Korean guy set in LA, but it actually turned out to be quite enjoyable. With just seven episodes, each around 22-25 minutes long, it’s an easy and fun watch. The story follows Filipino filmmaker Andre Lee, who wins the Grand Jury Award at a Los Angeles film festival for his short film. His celebration is short-lived, however, when he falls victim to a scammer who steals a large sum of his money with promises of big Hollywood dreams. Now in need of a place to stay, Andre also becomes determined to track down the thief. He finds Joshua, a hardworking Korean immigrant, online, who is looking for a roommate. As they share the space, Andre becomes drawn to Joshua, though Joshua is a reserved man who keeps his distance. Joshua secretly cares for Andre, finding him small jobs here and there, but there’s something holding him back. We eventually learn that one of Joshua’s exes, someone he deeply cared for, cheated on him for a green card, and his conservative father threw him out when he found out he was gay. Despite these challenges, the two develop a happy relationship, but Andre faces an obstacle—he doesn't have the proper paperwork to stay in…

This film feels like one of those breezy, emotionless movies where the filmmaker is possibly lost in trying to convey some deep message. It's disappointing because it's from the same director who made The Way He Looks, one of my all-time favorite films. It’s not that the movie is bad, but by the time it’s over, there’s really nothing memorable to take away from it. João is a 32-year-old filmmaker living in São Paulo, who, after ending a 10-year relationship with Hugo, turns to dating apps in search of another boyfriend. He believes the relationship ended on a high note, which is a good thing— after all, like any good TV show, you don't want to stay when things start getting boring. He throws himself into the world of dating apps, but isn’t in any rush to meet anyone. He wants to take things slow. He meets up with a couple, Alexandre and Rodrigo, and his voyeuristic tendencies lead to an unexpected flirtation with his career. He also meets Viktor, a guy he likes, but after a few flings, the connection fades. João is also a struggling filmmaker, his screenplay delayed by the production company. Fed up with editing tedious educational films, he finds success as a cameraman for amateur art porn, filming private couples. Some of these couples even invite him to join in, but João declines, largely due to the influence of the gay couple he met earlier. João decides to channel his life into writing, turning his experiences into a script. But as his romantic life doesn't…