ONE OFF SCREENING!

Sometimes billed as ‘Beautiful Thing’ for surfers, ‘Shelter’ deftly deals with the conflict many gay men feel between responsibility to family and following your own dreams.

Recent high-school graduate Zach has one summer to reconcile the competing halves of his life. An aspiring artist, he lives in a blue-collar neighbourhood with his irresponsible sister, her five-year-old son, and their rarely-seen father.

Zach gave up his art school dreams to toil in a diner and help look after his much-loved nephew. With his best friend, Gabe, away at college, Zach draws, surfs, and skateboards by his lonesome.

When Gabe's novelist brother, returns home to recover from a broken heart, he and Zach alternate between riding the waves and encouraging each other to pursue their aspirations.

Shaun is gay, while Zach appears to be straight, but a casual kiss between the two soon leads to a secret relationship. Before the former returns to Los Angeles, the latter has to decide who he is--gay, straight, artist, cook, uncle, or father--and what he's going to do about it.