a short film by Lee Matthews 2009 | 5 mins | Australia ›› Housemates coming out to mother dearest. Screened at the 2010 Melbourne Queer Film Festival, this short film from first time writer and director Lee Matthews has a lovely natural feel to it, even if and like many a good tale, it ends with you wanting more. It tells the story of Aashiq; an Australian born Muslim cutie, out to his best friend and self-styled 24/7 housemate Alyena, but forever in love with his boyfriend David. Only when a family engagement threatens to come between a weekend spent with his one true love, has Aashiq got the courage to say it like it is, coming out fashion? Like many a feature, Chicken Tikka Masala and Touch of Pink included, here Matthews shines the spotlight on the pressures, be they cultural, religious or otherwise, to stay in the sexual closet. The result is an oh too short work in which the only compromise is the "to be continued" look and feel to the ending itself. Thankfully and to his credit, Matthews of Man Made: The Story of Two Men and a Baby / Two Babies fame, does not shy away from depicting the physical signs of same-sex love, in what amounts to a well played cinematic appetizer of hopefully more to come. See what you think. Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - strictly from the waist up.  Overall - file under ... 3 stars.  starring: Osamah Sami / Aashiq, Andrew Baker / David, Nicole Chamoun / Alyena and Victoria Goodyear as Mother Tont. Copyright 2012 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #474 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹