Every June, we celebrate Pride Month by spotlighting art that honors the LGBTQ+ community. Although cinema has a long way to go in terms of full inclusivity, we want to spotlight several films and documentaries that feature nuanced and authentic portrayals of individuals across the gender and sexuality spectrum. These exceptional titles would make terrific additions to your LGBTQ+ shelves and programming.
Trans in Trumpland
A trans man investigates the devastating impact of the Trump administration on the lives of four transgender Americans in this polemic and timely documentary.
The result is a deeply moving film that reveals again the pure, sometimes lethal hatred in the land aimed at trans folks and cynically exploited by monsters in public office. Diving into the deep end of his theme, Zosherafatain turned his camera on individuals living in states Trump won in 2016 and 2020.
Read our review here
Shiva Baby
A sharp-witted comedy that takes place at a Jewish funeral service where a young college student runs into her sugar daddy in front of her prying family and ex-girlfriend. Shiva Baby offers a modern perspective on bisexuality in Rachel Sennott's charismatic lead performance.
It is refreshing to see a lead female character that is so unapologetically and proudly bisexual . . . [Director and star] Seligman and Sennott are a dream team, capturing female insecurity and the clumsy transition into adulthood with a fresh and contemporary shrewdness. Their intelligence and creativity make Shiva Baby destined to become a comedy classic.
Read our review here
Reel in the Closet
This archival gem unearths never before seen vintage home movies made by queer people as far back as the 1930s. The film is an important preservation project that normalizes the LGBTQ+ community's presence in the past.
Yet the film is also more than a collection. Maddux, as well as others he interviews, talks about the shock of pride and connection he felt seeing tangible evidence that LGBTQ society did exist in robust if discreet forms from one American era to another. Mixed in with the homemade footage are raw news images that capture moments both tragic and incendiary in the long struggle for recognition. Taken together, the film is a startling experience. Strongly recommended.
Read our review here
My Fiona
My Fiona is a lesbian and bisexual-centered indie that explores grief and intimacy with a raw truth and open heart. The romantic drama centers on a young woman who finds purpose in helping her friend's wife and child after she unexpectedly commits suicide.
Showing different portrayals of grief, the film includes fantastic performances from [lead actors] Maus and Reid. Walker’s script features fully-fleshed-out characters that try to comprehend the pain and sorrow they go through . . . My Fiona is a remarkable debut from a director on the rise. The intimate drama is sure to tear audiences' hearts.
Read our review here
Gen Silent
A hard-hitting documentary that exposes the elder LGBTQ+ community's fear of discrimination that causes them to hide their sexuality, refuse to ask for help and die earlier. Gen Silent centers on a small group of professionals who fight for these vulnerable citizens.
Although his film is no doubt coming from a place of empathy, at the same time it can also be an unflinchingly unsentimental look at the various pathways, some smoother than others, through the twilight of life that a few featured elderly LGBTs have taken . . . This is a worthy LGBT activist documentary that tackles some crucial but often disturbing issues.
Read our review here
Rialto
A romantic gay drama that centers on a middle-aged family man who, after the death of his father, enters an intimate relationship with a 19-year-old male prostitute. It's a melancholy study of grief and masculine crisis that features extraordinary central performances.
Filmmaker Peter Mackie Burns gets a couple of extraordinary performances from his two leads and beautifully paces this difficult story in a way that makes the most shocking behaviors here a series of descending efforts to feel alive when all else seems dead.
Read our review here
Also check out our list of LGBTQ period films