DEPARTURES

When Benji first meets Jake, the muscular soccer coach, at the airport, it’s love at first sight for him. The fact that the two can only meet secretly in Amsterdam once a month—because Jake doesn’t want to come out—doesn’t bother him at first. But then the excitement of their secret meetings gives way to a disturbing power dynamic. Benji craves a kind of love he isn’t getting from Jake—and falls into a dangerous spiral from which only his best friends can save him.

TRAINSPOTTING meets LGBTQ+! DEPARTURES is a dramatic comedy packed with British humor, ripped muscles, and a warm heart. The story was inspired by toxic dating experiences that the directing duo Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and Neil Ely went through themselves. Their first feature film together is an authentic portrayal of chaotic gay desire in contemporary cinema—thanks in part to the film crew, which consisted largely of other queer, working-class creatives.