"Ekaj," a Movie Not to Be Missed

-

Back in July 2012, I wrote a blog post about an LGBT film, “Prince and Ekaj,” which was being made by Mike and Cati Gonzalez. (Read the original post here.) The trailer was very promising and I was excited to see the film giving voice to LGBT youth who often remain invisible, voiceless.

So, I was delighted when I got an email from Cati telling me they had completed the film, now titled, “Ekaj,” and asking if I wanted to preview it. My answer, in a heartbeat, was, “heck yeah.” And I am so glad I said yes. The movie covers topics not often seem or spoken of—homeless youth, finding a way to survive and love in a harsh world. Happily the film doesn’t dwell on any one thing but it covers a range of very real issues that are seldom spoken of anymore, and when they are they are it is in whispers, or spoken of as if they existed in the distance past: AIDS, drug abuse, domestic violence, rape. This is a socially responsible film that is never pathetic or preachy.

Filmed in the Bronx and Harlem and Washington Heights, L.E.S., the film is at once claustrophobic and lonely. The two main characters—the eponymous Ekaj, and the vividly tattooed Mecca—effectively homeless LGBT youth, drift through life. Their story plays out against the stark, unforgiving and unwelcoming landscape of a barren, loveless New York. Flashbacks with Ekaj’s father illuminate why Ekaj is in the situation he is in, and reminds us that he is not alone or unique; each day thousands of our children experience the same rejection and shaming.

Alienation and disconnection are also major themes. Ekaj’s ever-present cellphone embodies his attempt to connect, to join the world around him, yet his calls often go unanswered; he remains tethered to…nothing. Except, perhaps, his dreams, his romantic hope, and in his own way, Mecca.

“Ekaj,” is an incredible film in its own quiet— and at times not so quiet— way. As wordsmith, as a writer in love with words, I find it amazing how much Cati conveys with so little dialogue, so few words. This is Ekaj's movie, and it is very much his story, and he is so beautiful it’s disconcerting, but it is Mecca who is the film's heart. He's like a one man Greek chorus, lending wry observances, dispensing hard won wisdom, and humor.

Watching the film is a moving experience, one that changes you. At least I feel it changed me and in Ekaj’s words, “I would never, ever, ever, ever, want to go back to the person I was.”

Don’t miss this movie, it is way better than a lot of what is on LOGO and HERE.

I’ll be catching up with Cati and Mike Gonzalez in next week’s post so be sure to check back. Meanwhile, you can learn more about them and their remarkable movie here:
www.catiandmikegonzalezfilms.com

ekaj-the-movie.tumblr.com
_____________
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
My allegorical novella, Vampire Rising, is now available for pre-order.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Catching Up With...Stacey Thomas, the Philadelphia Wedding Chapel

-
Image
If you read this blog regularly, you know that I recently married my longtime partner (see Musings Stanley (left) and me with Stacey Thomas of a New Husband, June 29, 2014 . Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of marrying some bright prince. And as a writer of gay romance, I’ve written gay weddings into two of my books, brilliant, extravagant affairs both. The wedding in What Binds Us ,  included a groom on horseback and “Ten thousand pale pink roses—an entire crop from Holland flown in that morning,” while at the comparatively simpler wedding in Unbroken “it seemed everyone in the world was there” including a flock of startled peacocks. Yet, when it came to my own wedding, panic set in. I didn’t know where to start. I knew I didn’t want to get married in a church and I knew there wouldn’t be hundreds, or even dozens of guests in attendance. In desperation—at that point we only had two weeks to get married on our 17 th anniversary—I goggled “weddings in Philadelphia.” The Phila
Read more

On Writing Part Two: (You’ve Got to be) Ruthless

-
Image
I remember when I first started writing seriously, I would come across all these articles where writers talked about “honing their craft.” That would immediately trigger an eyeroll and a metaphorical flipping of the page (after all most of these articles appeared online). Now seven years later as I begin work on my fifth novel, I’m rethinking that. I still dislike the term, sounding as it does as if one was practicing sorcery. Though, now I’ve come to realize that when we write, we create something out of nothing, which is kind of a neat conjurer’s trick; you (hopefully) pull gold from straw like a literary alchemist. And sometimes, too, being a writer can feel like you’re playing God playing house. You breathe life into your characters after all and give them companions and adventures. The story itself is the Universe you created for them. The characters are the bones of the story; the plot and the conflicts are the capillaries and veins and arteries. And the words are the skin. T
Read more

A Fatherless Father's Day

-
Image
Max as reluctant to let Dad go as we were. I remember the accident as if it was yesterday. I had been living in Washington, D.C. for three years. That particular morning, a Saturday, I was running late for work. It was a gray, wet morning at the edge of Winter. Heavy rain, like molten white gold, fell from an aluminum sky as I blazed along at 80 mph. A gray car merged onto the roadway from the right, then proceeded to move into my lane without signaling. The car was moving so slowly it looked like it was moving backwards. I pressed the brakes hard, pumping steadily with increasing pressure, my right hand tight on the gearshift ready to down shift. Realizing collision was inevitable, I glanced at the speedometer: 60. The impact sent my little car spinning towards the concrete divider separating west-bound traffic from east. The world seemed upside down. I remember thinking, I’m going to die and I never got to be friends with my father . I glanced up at the sky, oddly unafraid,
Read more