a short film by Hong Khaou
2006 | 9 mins | UK
Peter Peralta .... Leung
Jay Brown .... Will
Summer
an intimate portrayal of coming out
and gay first love
Screened in Great Britain as part of the
21st London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
- 24 & 25 March 2007
AWARDS
Winner Best Short Film
Turin Int'l Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
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Firmly putting their rainbow coloured voice where their cinematic heart is, leading UK gay film
distributor Peccadillo Pictures heralded this strikingly realistic
depiction of gay first love.
For Will and Leung are best friends, so close in fact that they spend the summer together and on
this particular day find themselves walking through London's Hampstead Heath, contemplating
life in general. Or to be more specific, thinking and talking about sex, a subject that
soon gives way to Will boasting of his sexual experience of the fellatio variety.
Only Leung cannot help but wish that the lips that were those of Will's girlfriend, were instead
his. A hidden desire that is destined to come out in the open when a game of 'wish upon a
falling leaf' gives way to a bout of manly wrestling, that in turn sees Leung
plant his lips firmly upon those of his best friend.
Not realising that Leung is gay, let alone how he feels about him, Will reacts the way most
straight teenagers would. Or does he? For with Leung fearing the consequences of his actions,
a sexually confident Will reassures Leung that they're still mates, thereby allowing
his best friend to finally be open about his sexuality; if only to him.
Written and directed by Hong Khaou, this most intimate of works of the verbal nature has a
surprising raw edge to it, one that turns the celluloid medium on its head as the audience
find themselves not so much watching a film short; rather eavesdropping on a private
conversation, as two close friends come to realise that their
sexual orientation lies in opposite directions.
That they remain best friends afterwards, to the point that nothing appears to have changed
between them bar the revelation of their variant sexuality, is a positive bonus given the
scenario itself is hardly new, having been the foundation stone of many a title of late,
including the like of KRÁMPACK and the festival favourite that was SUMMER STORM.
Then again, this short still manages to push all the right buttons in showcasing the complex
emotions that go hand-in-hand with coming out and gay first love, feelings that are greatly
enhanced by the natural performances from Peter Peralta as Leung and Jay Brown as Will
who deliver convincing portrayals of their respective characters, backed by a script
that is both frank and open about teenage sexuality and experimentation.
Yet unlike other works of this kind, Khaou deliberately chose to end his piece with a cutting
closing comment, all of which makes this well-crafted tale an all the more pressing work,
given it details that the open arms of gay acceptance from a friend
are not necessarily guaranteed to be found on the home front.
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