WAKING UP IN VEGAS

At the beginning of puberty, Yael is searching for his identity and finds himself conflicted be-tween his virile big brother Silas and his queer best friend Aaron. In the process he does not only struggle with himself but also risks his friendship with Aaron.

Ever since he can remember, Yael wants to be like his older brother Silas: Tall, strong, and incredibly cool. However, at the invisible gap between childhood and puberty, something changes. Yael feels no longer comfortable in the presence of his brother and seeks the company and closeness of his best friend Aaron instead. With him, Yael feels free and happy but is also afraid of what this newfound connection might do to him.
One late summer afternoon, the two friends play football and go swimming in the nearby stream. As always, Aaron takes off his clothes and jumps into the stream, whilst Yael suddenly struggles to be naked. When Aaron also mentions that he finds Yael beautiful, the mood changes. Yael cannot handle the emotional openness of his best friend and rejects him. The tension continues through the rest of the afternoon and finally escalates into an argument. Back home, Yael walks past Silas’s room and sees him crying in front of the mirror. Moved by his brother’s emotional behaviour, Yael realises that he made a mistake rejecting Aaron and drives to his house to apologize. The two boys reconcile and manage to create a new intimacy that gives Yael the opportunity to get one step closer to himself.