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

In the quest to find his first boyfriend, a twentysomething gay guy meets up with a man he's chatted with online in Jamie, a new short directed by Christopher Manning.

As the story continues, it's clear Jamie is not only battling external obstacles, but the internal struggle that comes with looking for love for the first time.

"It's kind of awakening something in him, these new kinds of experiences," says Manning. "And that comes closer to reality—or a certain kind of emotional truth."

Jamie screened in March as part of FiveFilms4Freedom, a global digital LGBT short-film festival produced by the British Council and the British Film Institute.

"Jamie has hope, despite his innocence, his embarrassments, his lack of confidence and the difficulty in his past," Manning told BFI. "He has had a meaningful encounter, and there will be more meaningful encounters. The most important thing is that Jamie wants to be loved, and maybe so do you. And that's okay."