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The Danish Boys VOD review

The Danish Boys
Credit: NQV Media

The Danish Boys is a new short film collection released by NQV Media. Featuring 5 shorts from Danish directors to watch, the release showcases rising talent in front of and behind the camera. Each short tells a very different but compelling story, giving glimpses into the lives of young gay men living in Denmark. Opening with Hotel Boy by Michael SĆøndergaard, The Danish Boys starts strong as the tale of a young Samir (Youssef Wayne Hvidtfeldt) unfolds during a night in a motel with politician Stefan (Claes Bang).

Samir is ready to abandon his life and go all in with Stefan, thinking that his politician lover is ready to give up his family and live as an out gay man. What starts off as an excited hook-up soon turns into an argument as Samir realises that he had read far more into his relationship than he should have done. Hotel Boy captures the feeling of being young and in love, unable to see what’s pretty clearly right in front of you. It’s an engaging start and settles you in nicely for the other shorts on the release.

The Danish Boys
Credit: NQV Media

One of the collection’s most disturbing shorts follows Hotel Boy. Poz, by Helle Rossing and Christian Edvard Halberg, follows needy Oliver (Max Raundahl) who wants his sister Britt (Ina-Miriam Rosenbaum) to be reliant on him and spends his days sleeping with people who are HIV positive. One scene in the short sees Oliver getting angry at a nurse because his HIV test has come back negative so he escalates his reckless behaviour by lying to someone he’s met on an app, pretending to be HIV positive and encourages the man to have unsafe sex with him. It’s unclear what Oliver is ultimately trying to achieve so this short left me a little cold.

Forbidden love is the subject of third short Young Man’s Dance by Mathias Broe, which focuses on dancer Mattis (Lior David Cohen) who is enjoying an inappropriate relationship with his dance teacher after feeling rejected by his father. Mattis orchestrates a way to be alone with his dance teacher and the night takes an unexpected and dark turn. The strongest of the shorts is Svans by Martin Reinhard, a story of a school boy who is having a secret relationship with a male classmate and is terrified of telling his friends. It perfectly captures the struggle of coming out and it puts a nice twist on the oft-tread story.

The Danish Boys
Credit: NQV Media

Ladyboy by Aske Bang is the final of the five shorts. Kristian (Casper Castello) is gay and a transvestite, and he lives with his mother Emma (Birthe Neumann), who is supportive of him. Performing in a bar at night time as Kristine, Kristian is unaware that his boss Rodney (Stanislav Sevcik) has feelings for him and that his mother has a new man in her life. When Kristian finds out about his mother’s boyfriend and is attacked, he realises that the world is not as accepting of him being a transvestite as he previously thought. It’s a tender and at times shocking short, that definitely packs a punch.

The Danish Boys is a solid collection of Danish short films. Each one is very different and for the most part they are hugely enjoyable. At times a little dark, these five shorts showcase the talents of their directors and their talented casts. The Danish Boys is the first in a new World Series from NQV and I’m looking forward to more releases in the future.

Cast: Claes Bang, Birthe Neumann, Lior David Cohen Directors: Various Certificate: 18 Duration: 96 mins Released by: NQV Media Release date: 7th November 2019 Buy The Danish Boys

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

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