In honor of the last week of Pride Month 2025, we wanted to revisit one of our epic posts . . . Our Big Queer List of Essential LGBTQ+ Films!
Since our initial post in June 2023, we've been continually updating the list and have since added *over 200* additional queer films that will be of interest to the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies. (Including several fantastic new documentaries that recently premiered this month.) Check it out!
And don't forget our Aesthetic Arrest Podcast will be returning later next month with the debut of Season 4! Cheers to that!
[Updated 7/10/25: Added Benediction (2021)]
[Updated 6/26/25: Added Enigma (2025)]
[Updated 6/25/25: Added I’m Your Venus (2024); Janis Ian: Breaking Silence (2024); and Sally (2025)]
Happy Pride Month everyone! It’s time for a deep dive!
We’ve seen A LOT of great LGBTQIA+ films over the years, so we decided to compile a giant list of films and documentaries for your viewing pleasure.
The films below range from aesthetic masterpieces to camp classics to groundbreaking works of historical significance. Enjoy!
[Editor’s Note: Please keep in mind that every work of art is a product of its time, and many of the older films need to be understood in the context of the eras when they were originally created.]
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) — directed by Stephan Elliott
Ahead of the Curve (2020) — directed by Jen Rainin & Rivkah Beth Medow
AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman (2021) — directed by Dante Alencastre
Ailey (2021) — directed by Jamila Wignot
Aimée & Jaguar (1999) — directed by Max Färberböck
Albert Nobbs (2011) — directed by Rodrigo García
All About My Mother (1999) — directed by Pedro Almodóvar
All of Us Strangers (2023) — directed by Andrew Haigh
Ammonite (2020) — directed by Francis Lee
And the Band Played On (1993) — directed by Roger Spottiswoode
Andy the Furniture Maker (1986) — directed by Paul Oremland
The Angelic Conversation (1985) — directed by Derek Jarman
Another Country (1984) - directed by Marek Kanievska
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (2024) — directed by Michael Mabbott & Lucah Rosenberg-Lee
Are You Proud? (2019) — directed by Ashley Joiner
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2022) — directed by Aitch Alberto
Art and Pep (2022) — directed by Mercedes Kane
Bad Education (2004) — directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Bambi (2013) — directed by Sébastien Lifshitz
Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker (2013) — directed by Lily Keber
Beau Travail (1999) — directed by Claire Denis
Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar (2010) — directed by James Rasin
Beautiful Thing (1996) — directed by Hettie McDonald
Beefcake (1999) — directed by Thom Fitzgerald
Before the Last Curtain Falls (2014) — directed by Thomas Wallner
Before Night Falls (2000) — directed by Julian Schnabel
Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (1984) — directed by Greta Schiller
Beginners (2010) — directed by Mike Mills
Benediction (2021) — directed by Terence Davies
Bent (1997) — directed by Sean Mathias
Bessie (2015) — directed by Dee Rees
Better Than Chocolate (1999) — directed by Anne Wheeler
The Birdcage (1996) — directed by Mike Nichols
Black is... Black Ain't (1995) — directed by Marlon Riggs
Blackbird (2014) — directed by Patrik-Ian Polk
Blue (1993) — directed by Derek Jarman
The Blue Caftan (2022) — directed by Maryam Touzani
Born in Flames (1983) — directed by Lizzie Borden
The Bostonians (1984) — directed by Merchant/Ivory (Ismail Merchant & James Ivory)
Both (2005) — directed by Lisset Barcellos
Bound (1996) — directed by Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski
Boys Don't Cry (1999) — directed by Kimberly Peirce
BPM (Beats per Minute) (2017) — directed by Robin Campillo
The Boys in the Band (1970) — directed by William Friedkin
Breakfast on Pluto (2005) — directed by Neil Jordan
Brokeback Mountain (2005) — directed by Ang Lee
Bros (2022) — directed by Nicholas Stoller
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003) — directed by Nancy Kates
The Business of Fancydancing (2002) — directed by Sherman Alexie
Butley (1974) — directed by Harold Pinter
Cabaret (1972) — directed by Bob Fosse
La Cage aux Folles (1978) — directed by Édouard Molinaro
Call Me By Your Name (2017) — directed by Luca Guadagnino
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) — directed by Marielle Heller
Caravaggio (1986) — directed by Derek Jarman
Carmin Tropical (2014) — directed by Rigoberto Pérezcano
Carol (2015) — directed by Todd Haynes
Carrington (1995) — directed by Christopher Hampton
Casa Susanna (2022) — directed by Sébastien Lifshitz
Chavela (2017) — directed by Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi
Check It (2016) — directed by Dana Flor & Toby Oppenheimer
Chris & Don: A Love Story (2007) — directed by Guido Santi & Tina Mascara
The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970) — directed by Irving Rapper
The Celluloid Closet (1995) — directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
The Children's Hour (1961) — directed by William Wyler
Chutney Popcorn (1999) — directed by Nisha Ganatra
Circus of Books (2019) — directed by Rachel Mason
City of Lost Souls (1983) — directed by Rosa von Praunheim
Claire of the Moon (1992) — directed by Nicole Conn
Close (2022) — directed by Lukas Dhont
Close to You (2023) — directed by Dominic Savage
Cloudburst (2011) — directed by Thom Fitzgerald
The Cockettes (2002) — directed by Bill Weber and David Weissman
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (2021) — directed by Ryan White
The Color Purple (1985) — directed by Steven Spielberg
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) — directed by Robert Altman
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) - directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) — directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
The Critic (2023) — directed by Anand Tucker
Crossing (2024) — directed by Levan Akin
Dakan (1997) — directed by Mohamed Camara
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) — directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Dance of the 41 (2020) — directed by David Pablos
The Danish Girl (2015) — directed by Tom Hooper
Daughters of Darkness (1971) — directed by Harry Kümel
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017) — directed by David France
Death in Venice (1971) — directed by Luchino Visconti
Desert Fury (1947) — directed by Lewis Allen
Desert Hearts (1985) — directed by Donna Deitch
Die, Mommie, Die! (2003) — directed by Charles Busch
Different from the Others (1919) — directed by Richard Oswald
Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020) — directed by Sam Feder
Doña Herlinda and Her Son (1985) — directed by Jaime Humberto Hermosillo
The Dreamers (2003) — directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
The Dresser (1983) — directed by Peter Yates
The Dresser (2015) — directed by Richard Eyre
Drunktown's Finest (2014) — directed by Sydney Freeland
Dzi Croquettes (2009) — directed by Tatiana Issa & Raphael Alvarez
Edge of Seventeen (1998) — directed by David Moreton
Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement (2009) — directed by Susan Muska & Gréta Ólafsdóttir
Edward II (1991) - directed by Derek Jarman
Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate (2023) — directed by directed by Benjamin Cantu
An Englishman in New York (2009) — directed by Richard Laxton
Enigma (2025) — directed by Zackary Drucker
Every Body (2023) — directed by Julie Cohen
Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021) — directed by Jonathan Butterell
Everything Went Fine (2021) — directed by François Ozon
Fanny: The Right to Rock (2021) — directed by Bobbi Jo Hart
A Fantastic Woman (2017) — directed by Sebastián Lelio
Farewell My Concubine (1993) — directed by Chen Kaige
Fire (1996) — directed by Deepa Mehta
Fire Island (2022) — directed by Andrew Ahn
Fireworks (2023) — directed by Giuseppe Fiorello
Fish and Elephant (2001) — directed by Li Yu
Four Mothers (2024) — directed by Darren Thornton
Foxfire (1996) — directed by Annette Haywood-Carter
Framing Agnes (2022) — directed by Chase Joynt
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) — directed by Jon Avnet
Frybread Face and Me (2023) — directed by Billy Luther
Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) — directed by Toshio Matsumoto
Funny Boy (2020) — directed by Deepa Mehta
Gay Sex in the 70s (2005) — directed by Joseph Lovett
Gay USA (1977) — directed by Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.
Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities (1999) — directed by Monika Treut
Gerontophilia (2013) — directed by Bruce LaBruce
Girls Will Be Girls (2003) — directed by Richard Day
Glen or Glenda (1953) — directed by Ed Wood
Go Fish (1994) — directed by Rose Troche
The Goddess Bunny (1994) — directed by Nick Bougas
God's Own Country (2017) — directed by Francis Lee
Gods and Monsters (1998) — directed by Bill Condon
Golden Gate Girls (2013) — directed by S. Louisa Wei [Wei Shiyu]
The Gospel According To André (2017) — directed by Kate Novack
Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2018) — directed by Tourmaline & Sasha Wortzel
The Happy Prince (2018) — directed by Rupert Everett
Happy Together (1997) — directed by Wong Kar-wai
Heartbeats (2010) — directed by Xavier Dolan
Heavenly Creatures (1994) — directed by Peter Jackson
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) — directed by John Cameron Mitchell
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes (2023) — directed by Sam Shahid
Hilma (2022) — directed by Lasse Hallström
The History Boys (2006) — directed by Nicholas Hytner
History Trilogy [Nitrate Kisses (1992), Tender Fictions (1996) & History Lessons (2000)] — directed by Barbara Hammer
Housekeeping for Beginners (2023) — directed by Goran Stolevski
How to Survive a Plague (2012) — directed by David France
The Hunger (1983) — directed by Tony Scott
I Am Divine (2013) — directed by Jeffrey Schwarz
I Am My Own Woman (1992) — directed by Rosa von Praunheim
I Killed My Mother (2009) — directed by Xavier Dolan
I Love You More (2023) — directed by Erblin Nushi
I’m Your Venus (2024) — directed by Kimberly Reed
In a Year of 13 Moons (1978) — directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995) — directed by Maria Maggenti
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) — directed by Patricia Rozema
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence (2024) — directed by Varda Bar-Kar
Je Tu Il Elle (1974) — directed by Chantal Akerman
Jeffrey (1995) — directed by Christopher Ashley
Jobriath A.D. (2012) — directed by Kieran Turner
Joyland (2022) — directed by Saim Sadiq
Jubilee (1978) — directed by Derek Jarman
Julia Scotti: Funny That Way (2020) — directed by Susan Sandler
Kate Bornstein is a Queer & Pleasant Danger (2014) — directed by Sam Feder
Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story (2019) — directed by Posy Dixon
Kiki (2016) — directed by Sara Jordenö
The Killing of Sister George (1968) — directed by Robert Aldrich
Kinky Boots (2005) — directed by Julian Jarrold
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) — directed by Héctor Babenco
Kokomo City (2023) — directed by D. Smith
Kumu Hina (2014) — directed by Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson
Landscape in the Mist (1988) — directed by Theo Angelopoulos
The Legend of the Underground (2021) — directed by Nneka Onuorah & Giselle Bailey
Les Biches (1968) — directed by Claude Chabrol
Leslie Jordan: My Trip Down the Pink Carpet (2010) — directed by Amanda Bearse
Lie with Me [Arrête avec tes mensonges] (2022) — directed by Olivier Peyon
Lilies (1996) — directed by John Greyson
Lingua Franca (2019) – directed by Isabel Sandoval
Little Richard: I Am Everything (2023) — directed by Lisa Cortés
Lizzie (2018) — directed by Craig William Macneill
The Long Day Closes (1992) – directed by Terence Davies
Longtime Companion (1989) — directed by Norman René
Looking for Langston (1989) — directed by Isaac Julien
The Lost Boys [Le Paradis] (2023) — directed by Zeno Graton
Love in the Time of AIDS (2006) – directed by Deepa Dhanraj
Love Is Strange (2014) — directed by Ira Sachs
Ludwig (1973) — directed by Luchino Visconti
Luminous Procuress (1971) — directed by Steven Arnold
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) — directed by George C. Wolfe
Ma vie en rose (1997) — directed by Alain Berliner
Mädchen in Uniform (1931) — directed by Leontine Sagan
Maggots and Men (2009) – directed by Cary Cronenwett
Major! (2015) — directed by Annalise Ophelian
Making Love (1982) — directed by Arthur Hiller
Making Montgomery Clift (2018) — directed by Robert Anderson Clift & Hillary Demmon
Mala Mala (2014) — directed by Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles
Mama Gloria (2020) — directed by Luchina Fisher
A Man of No Importance (1994) — directed by Suri Krishnamma
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016) — directed by Randy Barbato & Fenton Bailey
Match (2014) — directed by Stephen Belber
Maurice (1987) — directed by Merchant/Ivory (Ismail Merchant & James Ivory)
Max (1992) — directed by Monika Treut
McQueen (2018) — directed by Ian Bonhôte
Merchant Ivory (2023) — directed by Stephen Soucy
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) — directed by Clint Eastwood
Mikaël (1924) — directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Milk (2008) — directed by Gus Van Sant
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) — directed by Paul Schrader
Monica (2022) — directed by Andrea Pallaoro
Monster (2023) — directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Montreal Main (1974) — directed by Frank Vitale
Moonlight (2016) — directed by Barry Jenkins
Mosquita y Mari (2012) — directed by Aurora Guerrero
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020) — directed by Cristina Costantini & Kareem Tabsch
Mulholland Drive (2001) — directed by David Lynch
My Beautiful Laundrette (1986) — directed by Stephen Frears
My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021) — directed by Betsy West & Julie Cohen
My Own Private Idaho (1991) — directed by Gus Van Sant
Myra Breckinridge (1970) — directed by Michael Sarne
The Naked Civil Servant (1975) — directed by Jack Gold
Narcissus (1983) — directed by Norman McLaren
Neptune Frost (2021) — directed by Saul Williams & Anisia Uzeyman
A Nice Indian Boy (2024) — directed by Roshan Sethi
No Ordinary Man (2020) — directed by Aisling Chin-Yee & Chase Joynt
The Nomi Song (2004) — directed by Andrew Horn
North Sea Texas (2011) — directed by Bavo Defurne
Nowhere (1997) — directed by Gregg Araki
Olivia (1951) — directed by Jacqueline Audry
Operation Hyacinth (2021) — directed by Piotr Domalewski
Orlando (1992) — directed by Sally Potter
Orlando, My Political Biography (2023) – directed by Paul B. Preciado
The Orphic Trilogy [The Blood of a Poet (1930), Orpheus (1950) & Testament of Orpheus (1960)] — directed by Jean Cocteau
P.S. Burn This Letter Please (2020) — directed by Michael Seligman & Jennifer Tiexiera
Pain and Glory (2019) — directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Paragraph 175 (2000) — directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Pariah (2011) — directed by Dee Rees
Paris Is Burning (1990) — directed by Jennie Livingston
Paris Was a Woman (1996) - directed by Greta Schiller
Parting Glances (1986) — directed by Bill Sherwood
Paul & Trisha: The Art of Fluidity (2024) — directed by Fia Perera
Pee-wee as Himself (2025) — directed by Matt Wolf
Peter von Kant (2022) — directed by François Ozon
Pink Narcissus (1971) — directed by James Bidgood
Pixote (1980) — directed by Héctor Babenco
A Place of Rage (1991) – directed by Pratibha Parmar
Polygraph (2020) – directed by Samira Saraya
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) — directed by Céline Sciamma
Portrait of Jason (1967) — directed by Shirley Clarke
The Power of the Dog (2021) — directed by Jane Campion
Predestination (2014) — directed by Michael & Peter Spierig
Presque Rien (2000) — directed by Sébastien Lifshitz
Prick Up Your Ears (1987) — directed by Stephen Frears
Pride (2014) — directed by Matthew Warchus
The Prince [El Príncipe] (2019) — directed by Sebastián Muñoz
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) — directed by Angela Robinson
Purple Noon (1960) — directed by René Clément
The Queen (1968) — directed by Frank Simon
Queen Christina (1933) — directed by Rouben Mamoulian
The Queen of Ireland (2015) — directed by Conor Horgan
Queendom (2023) — directed by Agniia Galdanova
Queer Futures (2024) — a curated collection of 4 short films executive produced by J Wortham
Querelle (1982) — directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Quinceañera (2006) — directed by Wash Westmoreland & Richard Glatzer
Rafiki (2018) — directed by Wanuri Kahiu
Rebels on Pointe (2017) — directed by Bobbi Jo Hart
Resident Alien (1990) — directed by Jonathan Nossiter
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) — directed by Jim Sharman
Running with Scissors (2006) — directed by Ryan Murphy
Rustin (2023) — directed by George C. Wolfe
Sally (2025) — directed by Cristina Costantini
The Same Difference (2015) — directed by Nneka Onuorah
Satyricon (1969) — directed by Federico Fellini
Sebastiane (1976) — directed by Derek Jarman
Saving Face (2004) — directed by Alice Wu
Scala!!! (2023) — directed by Ali Catterall & Jane Giles
Scorpio Rising (1964) — directed by Kenneth Anger
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017) — directed by Matt Tyrnauer
Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria (2005) — directed by Victor Silverman & Susan Stryker
A Secret Love (2020) — directed by Chris Bolan
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story (2015) — directed by Michael Stabile
Shinjuku Boys (1995) — directed by by Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams
A Single Man (2009) — directed by Tom Ford
A Sinner in Mecca (2015) — directed by Parvez Sharma
Small Town Gay Bar (2006) — directed by Malcolm Ingram
Sordid Lives (2000) — directed by Del Shores
Southern Baptist Sissies (2013) — directed by Del Shores
Southern Comfort (2001) — directed by Kate Davis
Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen (2008) — directed by Kortney Ryan Ziegler
Stranger Inside (2001) — directed by Cheryl Dunye
Strangers on a Train (1951) — directed by Alfred Hitchcock
The Stroll (2023) — directed by Kristen Lovell & Zackary Drucker
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) — directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Summer of 85 (2020) — directed by François Ozon
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) — directed by John Schlesinger
Superstar in a Housedress (2004) — directed by Craig Highberger
Swan Song (2021) — directed by Todd Stephens
Swoon (1992) — directed by Tom Kalin
Tab Hunter Confidential (2015) — directed by Jeffrey Schwarz
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) — directed by Anthony Minghella
Tangerine (2015) — directed by Sean Baker
Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2023) — directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
Tea and Sympathy (1956) — directed by Vincente Minnelli
Teorema (1968) — directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Thérèse and Isabelle (1968) — directed by Radley Metzger
This Filthy World (2006) — directed by Jeff Garlin
Time to Leave (2005) — directed by François Ozon
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) – directed by Rob Epstein
Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin’ Women (1989) — directed by Greta Schiller
To Be Takei (2014) –- directed by Jennifer M. Kroot
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) — directed by Beeban Kidron
Tomboy (2011) — directed by Céline Sciamma
Tongues Untied (1989) — directed by Marlon Riggs
Torch Song Trilogy (1988) — directed by Paul Bogart & Harvey Fierstein
Total Eclipse (1995) — directed by Agnieska Holland
Touch of Pink (2004) — directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid
Tramps! (2022) — directed by Kevin Hegge
Transamerica (2005) — directed by Duncan Tucker
The “Trash Trilogy” [Pink Flamingos (1972), Female Trouble (1974) & Desperate Living (1977)] — directed by John Waters
Tricia’s Wedding (1971) — directed by Milton Miron
Trick (1999) — directed by Jim Fall
Trilogy of Life [The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1927) & Arabian Nights (1974)] — directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Two Spirits (2009) — directed by Lydia Nibley
Un Chant d'Amour (1950) — directed by Jean Genet
The Unabridged Mrs. Vera’s Daybook (2023) — directed by Robert James
Uýra: The Rising Forest (2022) — directed by Juliana Curi
Vegas in Space (1991) — directed by Phillip R. Ford
Velvet Goldmine (1998) — directed by Todd Haynes
Venus Boyz (2002) — directed by Gabriel Baur
Vera (1986) — directed by Sérgio Toledo
Victim (1961) — directed by Basil Dearden
Victor/Victoria (1982) — directed by Blake Edwards
Vita & Virginia (2018) — directed by Chanya Button
Vito (2011) — directed by Jeffrey Schwarz
Water Lilies (2007) — directed by Céline Sciamma
The Watermelon Woman (1996) — directed by Cheryl Dunye
The Way He Looks (2014) — directed by Daniel Ribeiro
The Wedding Banquet (1993) — directed by Ang Lee
Were the World Mine (2008) — directed by Tom Gustafson
Wham! (2023) — directed by Chris Smith
What We Do Is Secret (2007) — directed by Rodger Grossman
Wigstock: The Movie (1995) — directed by Barry Shils
A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here (2021) – directed by Éri Sarmet
Wilde (1997) — directed by Brian Gilbert
Wildhood (2021) — directed by Bretten Hannam
Will & Harper (2024) — directed by Josh Greenbaum
Women in Revolt (1971) — directed by Paul Morrissey
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977) - directed by the Mariposa Film Group
Working Girls (1986) – directed by Lizzie Borden
Woubi Chéri (1998) — directed by Laurent Bocahut & Philip Brooks
The Wound (2017) — directed by John Trengove
XXY (2007) — directed by Lucía Puenzo
Y Tu Mamá También (2001) — directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Young Hearts (2024) — directed by Anthony Schatteman
Young Soul Rebels (1991) — directed by Isaac Julien
Tell us in the comments which LGBTQIA+ films you love! What are some of your favorites?
OMG!!!! 🥳 🌈
What a list! I have seen several of these films and it's hard to pick a favorite-- la Cage aux Folles, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hedwig, Sordid Lives among others. I can't pick just one. I really liked the Cockettes documentary as well.