Backdrop fallback

Keep the Lights On

Keep the Lights On

Share

Keep the Lights On

2012

1h 42m

5.7(105 votes)

Drama

Romance

Overview

In 1997 New York City, filmmaker Erik bonds with closeted lawyer Paul after a one-night fling. As their relationship evolves through dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries while being true to himself.

Links & Resources

Website IMDbView

Social & External

Production Companies

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Thure Lindhardt

Thure Lindhardt

Erik Rothman

Zachary Booth

Zachary Booth

Paul Lucy

Julianne Nicholson

Julianne Nicholson

Claire

Souléymane Sy Savané

Souléymane Sy Savané

Alassane

Justin Reinsilber

Dan

Ed Vassallo

Ed Vassallo

Thomas

Paprika Steen

Paprika Steen

Karen

Marilyn Neimark

Marilyn Neimark

Sebastian La Cause

Sebastian La Cause

Russ

Sarah Hess

Katie

Creative team

Directed by: Ira Sachs
Written by: Ira Sachs
Mauricio Zacharias
Produced by: Marie Therese Guirgis
Lucas Joaquin

Similar Movies

Running with Scissors

Running with Scissors

Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.

Amarcord

Amarcord

In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.

Pool Blue

Pool Blue

Pool Blue is an attempt which tells, without dialogue nor rationality, a connection fantasized between two men. It is the fantastical projection which reveals certain eroticism. Pointless and discreet, the desire is present, two men are careful, gauge to the point to create a link of seduction. This link is intelligently staged, it is invisible with the eyes of the other swimmers, mysterious for both men and very explicit for the spectator.

Hotel Boy

Hotel Boy

The young Samir accompanies the politician Stefan to a hotel room. Samir is in love and has set everything aside to be able to go with Stefan, as they had planned. But under the surface lies a big misunderstanding, and outside in the rain a journalist is waiting for the next big headline.

Beautiful Mystery

Beautiful Mystery

Shinohara, a young bodybuilder, joins a para-military sect in northern Japan. His instructor, Takizawa, takes a liking to the new recruit. After an early “special” training session the two develop a lasting and loving relationship.

An Actor's Revenge

An Actor's Revenge

An onnagata (female impersonator) of a Kabuki troupe avenges his parents' deaths. Remade in 1963 as Yukinojô Henge.

A Fantastic Ghost Wedding

A Fantastic Ghost Wedding

A Fantastic Ghost Wedding is the story of a young popular spirit medium, who is hired to find a spouse for a dead teenage boy. The chosen bride turns out to be an unexpected person, and this snowballs into a series of events culminating in a Chinese ghost wedding.

La León

La León

Deep in the lush river jungles of Argentina, Alvaro lives a solitary existence fishing and harvesting reeds. What sets him apart from the rest of his village is that he is gay. There are no other gay men in his world, his only means of expression is with the occasional outsider who passes through. Most of these men come via the river taxi El León, whose captain El Turu is a mean man with a homophobic streak and a secret. When illegal loggers appear in the jungle El Turu accuses Alvaro of aiding them, a dispute which leads both men towards confrontation.

High Tide

High Tide

When the recently divorced Tarik spends time alone in a holiday cottage on the Veluwe, he meets the owner of the house, Jonas. But when they seem to grow towards one-another, it proves difficult for Tarik to not let his true feelings emerge.

In a Moment

In a Moment

Max isn't sure about his sexual orientation until he meets Leon at his new school. When Max is singing a song at a school concert something beautiful happens.

Juan Gabriel is Dead

Juan Gabriel is Dead

Best friends Beto and Daniel spend most of their time together. Daniel struggles with his gender identity just to hide his feelings for Beto. To be himself, he has to overcome his fear by showing Beto what he truly feels.

Life in Color

Life in Color

An aging, closeted Alzheimer's patient, clashing against his strong-willed daughter, struggles to hold on to the memory of his long lost lover.

Ever

Ever

While struggling to cope with the death of her boyfriend, a young woman begins to form romantic feelings for her new supportive female friend.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.

I Am My Own Woman

I Am My Own Woman

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

Outage

Outage

With a storm going on outside, Lucia and Regina are forced to confront each other about what is really happening between them.

Nobody's Watching

Nobody's Watching

Nico is a famous actor in Argentina, but in New York, nobody takes notice. He needs to juggle bartending, babysitting and odd jobs to keep himself afloat. But when old friends from Buenos Aires come to visit, he needs to juggle the image of his old life with the reality of the struggling actor in New York City.

Failure to Launch

Failure to Launch

At 35, Tripp has an interesting job, a hip car, a passion for sailing, an active dating life, and a great house - trouble is, he still lives with his parents, Al and Sue, who are not happy about it. Al and Sue are fascinated when friends whose adult son has recently moved away from home reveal they hired an expert to help. In desperation to push Tripp out of the nest once and for all, Al and Sue hatch a plan to hire Paula, an "interventionist," who has a formula in these cases.

The Cure

The Cure

Erik, a loner, finds a friend in Dexter, an eleven-year-old boy with AIDS. They vow to find a cure for AIDS together and save Dexter's life in an eventful summer.

Guacho

Guacho

'Guacho' narrates a summer day in the life of two teenage friends, Maikol and Darío, who want to escape their everyday crushing reality, at least for a day. They spend up to the last penny to get to the mountains where, taking refuge in tranquility and mutual love, they manage to get a grasp of happiness. But freedom does not seem to be so available to them.

Recommended Movies

A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces

A young drug-addled writer approaching the bottom of his descent submits to two months of agonizing detox at a treatment center in Minnesota.

High Art

High Art

When Syd, a young editor at an influential art magazine, becomes involved with her neighbor, a drug-addicted lesbian photographer, both seek to exploit each other for their respective careers while slowly falling in love with each other.

The Souvenir

The Souvenir

A shy but ambitious film student falls into an intense, emotionally fraught relationship with a charismatic but untrustworthy older man.

The World Unseen

The World Unseen

A drama centered on two women who engage in a dangerous relationship during South Africa's apartheid era.

Malcolm & Marie

Malcolm & Marie

As a filmmaker and his girlfriend return home from his movie premiere, smoldering tensions and painful revelations push them toward a romantic reckoning.

Beach Rats

Beach Rats

On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men.

Gia

Gia

Gia Carangi meteorically rises to modeling fame in the late 1970s but becomes overconsumed by persistent loneliness and drug addiction.

Elena Undone

Elena Undone

The wife of a pastor who preaches against homosexuality embarks on an affair with a female writer.

Kids

Kids

A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.

Maurice

Maurice

After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.

Camp Belvidere

Camp Belvidere

Camp Belvidere is a lesbian romance set in the 1950s about the coming of age of Camp Leader Rose and her forbidden encounter with Nurse Gin. It depicts the journey and evolution of a friendship into a romance between two women when their rapport would have been unlikely.

Femme

Femme

Jules is a drag artist in London who withdraws into himself and loses his career after a horrific attack. Months later, he recognizes one of his assailants in a gay sauna and quickly realizes he has the perfect opportunity to get revenge.

The Living End

The Living End

Two HIV-positive young men — a semi-employed film critic and a hot hustler — tear off on a cross-country crime spree.

Beautiful Boy

Beautiful Boy

After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.

Behind the Candelabra

Behind the Candelabra

Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted.

The World to Come

The World to Come

In 1856, two women forge a close connection despite their isolation on the American frontier.

Moonlight

Moonlight

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

My Policeman

My Policeman

In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

If These Walls Could Talk 2

If These Walls Could Talk 2

The stories of three lesbian couples -- who live in the same house at different periods of time -- who are at a crossroads in their lives. In 1961, Edith loses her lover, Abby, to a stroke. Linda and Amy struggle with feminist issues in 1972. And, in 2000, Kal and Fran try to have a baby with the help of sperm donor.

From Straight A's to XXX

From Straight A's to XXX

When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.