He meets Daz (Elliot Tittensor) in a gay cruising spot, and they spend the night together.įollowing the encounter Saleem immediately shows signs of regret and internalised homophobia, something I am sure a lot of the audience has experienced at some point, however upon leaving he does turn round to smile at Daz. Saleem is an Indian student living in Leeds (UK) with his parents. This was one of the first gay short films that I watched, mainly because I had a crush on the actor Elliot Tittensor. 33 of the Best Gay Short Films and Movies Protect me from what I Want (2009) The challenge is to create a gripping, deep and meaningful storyline in a very short time – the gay short films in this shortlist certainly hit these markers. What is a Gay Short Film?Ī gay short film is an original motion picture with a running time of 40 minutes or less focusing on a topic relevant to the LGBTQ community or focusing an LGBTQ cast. Many of these can easily be found on YouTube and you will notice a lot of common themes amongst them coming out, bullying, break ups and secret love to name a few. Whilst there are more and more full-length gay films available (check out the Best Gay Movies on Netflix), historically these have been few and far between which is why directors have often turned to gay short films instead. There are so many incredible gay short films and movies available, it was hard to narrow them down to this shortlist.