Every Wednesday, we’ll be sharing short films that illuminate queer life. Welcome to #HumpdayShorts.

The intense relationship between a straight military man and a gay football player is explored in Dominic Poliquin's short Forces.

Suffering from PTSD after returning from Afghanistan, a veteran recalls his youthful friendship with his neighbor, Patrick, whose attempts at being "one of the boys" led to a violent outburst that got him kicked off the football team.

The two men reunite at adults, and realize the boundaries of their friendship are not as clearly defined as they thought.

"Maybe it would've been easier to be like Pat. Maybe it would've been simpler."

Bubbling with sexual tension, Forces reflects on male friendship and toxic masculinity, and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at Montreal's Image+Nation Film Festival. It was produced by actor Charlie David's (Judas Kiss, Dante's Cove) production company Border2Border Entertainment