Remember how the critical and financial success of Brokeback Mountain was supposed to be the catalyst for productions of new gay-themed movies? You don't? Well, maybe it's because that chain reaction simply fizzled out. That's not to say that gay cinema has had a "down" period. There have been many quality GLBT movies that have been made and released in the last few years and several noteworthy mainstream films (and TV shows) with LGBT elements. But, lets be honest. There hasn't really been much buzz about a film in awhile. Until now.

  Shelter FINALLY comes to theaters in March courtesy of here! Films and Regent Releasing after generating lots of critical praise at various GLBT film festivals last year. And the publicity on this upcoming release is starting to accelerate (and get our hopes up again). While Brokeback Mountain got the nickname as "the gay cowboy movie", Shelter is the "gay surfer movie". And we can't wait.

 In a nutshell, Shelter is a love story, a coming-out story, a coming of age story and a family drama all set against the backdrop of Southern California surf culture. We'd be doing the movie a disservice by giving away the plot, but we can tell you this--it's a beautifully photographed film with genuinely emotional and romantic themes that should resonate with a great many people who view it. Surfing is a big part of the movie but it's a plot device used to bring characters together just as cowboy culture was the set piece of Brokeback.
 
 Shelter was directed by Jonah Markowitz who had some association with the surfing  theme as an art director on Blue Crush. It stars Trevor Wright, whose work has been seen mostly on series TV, as Zack. Also starring is Brad Rowe, who has done TV and movies and is familiar to gay cinephiles as Sean Hayes' crush Gabriel  in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss. 

 For those who won't get to see it when it's released in theaters, Shelter is also going to air on here! in April. We recommend not just to help promote gay cinema, but also because it's a very good film and deserving of your attention.