Marco cuts class to spend the afternoon with his boyfriend, Graham, in this tender portrait of young love and intimacy. Matthew Puccini’s “Dirty” is minimal but lush, a coming-of-age snapshot that tackles an uncomfortable first-time sexual experience with sensitivity and warmth. After ditching school, Marco and Graham arrive at Marco’s home with a clear agenda — the more experienced of the two, Graham, is calm and patient while Marco is self-conscious and nervous. The encounter is shown in forthright detail and captures the awkwardness and fumbling in the lead-up to the act, and the uneasy aftermath when things don’t go exactly as planned. Puccini maintains a delicate precision of mood, and gets great performance from Morgan Sullivan and Manny Dunn. See also: Puccini’s 2017 short, “The Mess He Made” (which won two NoBudge Awards), a riveting character study of a man waiting for the results of his rapid HIV test at a small-town strip mall.
Sarah gave Ezra a soul crystal, and that may have been a mistake. “I Love to Wait,” directed by Harrison Atkins, is an imaginative, free-roaming vision of an on-and-off relationship in Los Angeles, a rare melding of the mundane and the mystical. In a world where couples communicate via crystals (...
Davey needs to win the high school QuizJam to help pay for his girlfriend Lex’s abortion. Habitually oblivious but generally well meaning, he's only a few answers away from the $125 they need. “Más Bowls,” directed by Max Tullio, is a well-drawn coming-of-age drama carried by its subtly affecting...
