Our Big Queer List of Essential LGBTQ+ Films!

Celebrating Pride Month with Queer Film History!

[Updated 11/16/24 with 140 (!) more films, including many great documentaries that weren’t on the original list.]

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.]

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• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 My Own Woman (1992) — directed by Rosa von Praunheim

• 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 Am Divine (2013) — directed by Jeffrey Schwarz

• I Killed My Mother (2009) — directed by Xavier Dolan

• I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) — directed by Patricia Rozema

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Neptune Frost (2021) – directed by Saul Williams & Anisia Uzeyman

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 Soul Rebels (1991) — directed by Isaac Julien

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Tell us in the comments which LGBTQIA+ films you love! What are some of your favorites?