LGBTQ+ Movies
Appropriate Behavior
NR. 2014. A secretly bisexual Brooklynite (Desiree Akhavan) from a traditional Persian family struggles with her identity and the disintegration of her relationship with her girlfriend.
Assasination Nation
R. 2018. High school senior Lily and her three best friends live in a haze of texts, posts, selfies and chats -- just like the rest of the world. Their small town gets turned upside down when an anonymous hacker starts to reveal personal messages and secrets of thousands of people. As anger erupts into full-blown violence, the four girls soon find themselves in a fight for their lives against an armed mob. Features transfemale rep.
The Birdcage
R. 1996. In this remake of the classic French farce "La Cage aux Folles," engaged couple Val Goldman (Dan Futterman) and Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart) shakily introduce their future in-laws. Val's father, Armand (Robin Williams), a gay Miami drag club owner, pretends to be straight and attempts to hide his relationship with Albert (Nathan Lane), his life partner and the club's flamboyant star attraction, so as to please Barbara's father, controversial Republican Sen. Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman).
BIT
R. 2019. A transgender teenage girl fights to survive after she falls in with four queer feminist vampires. Features transfemale and lesbian rep.
Booksmart
R. 2019. Academic overachievers Amy and Molly thought keeping their noses to the grindstone gave them a leg up on their high school peers. But on the eve of graduation, the best friends suddenly realize that they may have missed out on the special moments of their teenage years. Determined to make up for lost time, the girls decide to cram four years of not-to-be missed fun into one night -- a chaotic adventure that no amount of book smarts could prepare them for. Features lesbian rep.
Boy Meets Girl
NR. 2014. Ricky, a 21-year-old transgender young woman living in Virginia, dreams of becoming a designer in New York. Features transfemale and queer rep. Available on Hulu.
Boys
NR. 2014. The story of Sieger, a sporty, rather quiet 15-year-old boy who discovers love during the summer holidays. Available on Hulu.
But I'm A Cheerleader
R. 1999. Megan (Natasha Lyonne) considers herself a typical American girl. She excels in school and cheerleading, and she has a handsome football-playing boyfriend, even though she isn't that crazy about him. So she's stunned when her parents decide she's gay and send her to True Directions, a boot camp meant to alter her sexual orientation. While there, Megan meets a rebellious and unashamed teen lesbian, Graham (Clea DuVall). Though Megan still feels confused, she starts to have feelings for Graham.
Call Me By Your Name
R. 2018. It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.
Carol
R. 2015. Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) spots the beautiful, elegant Carol (Cate Blanchett) perusing the doll displays in a 1950s Manhattan department store. The two women develop a fast bond that becomes a love with complicated consequences.
G.B.F.
R. 2014. A closeted gay teen (Paul Iacono) wants to join the popular gals' clique, but his scheme backfires when his best friend (Michael J. Willett) is forced out of the closet instead.
Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas
NR. 2019. Jess goes on the greatest first date of her life, but inadvertently "ghosts" Ben when she tragically dies in a car accident on the way home. Features a lesbian main character. Available on Hulu.
Handsome Devil
NR/PG-13. 2016. A coming-of-age story of two underclassmen roommates at an all-boys boarding school eventually and unexpectedly bond, one a social outcast, the other a star rugby player. With a new English teacher challenging students to find their own voices, the boys' friendship is tested by the rugby-obsessed expectations of others after one is found to be gay. Available on Netflix.
Hedwig & The Angry Inch
R. 2001. A transgender punk-rock girl from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
Imagine Me & You
R. 2005. During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.
Into the Forest
R. 2016. In the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, two sisters (Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood) must fight for survival after an apocalyptic blackout leaves them without gas, water, electricity or cellphones. Available on Netflix.
Knife + Heart
NR. 2018. Horror. In the summer of 1979, Paris-based filmmaker Anne is a producer of third-rate gay porn. After her editor and lover Lois leaves her, she tries to win her back by shooting her most ambitious film yet with her trusted, flamboyant sidekick Archibald. But when one of her actors is brutally murdered, Anne gets caught up in a strange investigation that turns her life upside-down. Selected for the Pom d'Orr at Cannes.
Lez Bomb
TV-14. 2018. A closeted woman brings her girlfriend home for Thanksgiving, only to have her coming-out efforts thwarted by the unexpected arrival of her male roommate.
Love, Simon
PG-13. 2018. Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it's a little more complicated. He hasn't told his family or friends that he's gay, and he doesn't know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing.
Moonlight
R. 2016. A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Papi Chulo
R. 2019. After a newly-single TV weatherman is put on leave following an on-air meltdown, he directs his energy into home improvement and hires a middle-aged Latino day laborer named Ernesto to help. Despite a language barrier and having nothing in common, the two men develop an unexpected but profound friendship. Features a gay main character. Available on HBO Now.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
R. 2019. France, 1770. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly.
Sorry Angel
NR. 2018. Set in 1993, 39-year-old gay author Jacques begins an intense romance with 22-year-old Arthur. Between looking after his son and coming to terms with his impending fate, Jacques struggles to keep things platonic with Arthur to prevent heartache.
The Thing About Harry
TV-15. 2020. Sam is a young gay man who's forced to share a car ride with Harry -- a popular jock who was his enemy in high school. But things take an unexpected turn when Sam learns that Harry has come out, opening the door for a potential romance. Directed by Peter Paige. Available on Hulu.
Tell It To The Bees
TV-MA. 2018. In 1952 Dr. Jean Markham returns to her Scottish hometown to take over her late father's medical practice. She soon becomes ostracized by the community when she begins a passionate romance with a woman who has a young son. Starring Anna Paquin. Available on Hulu.
The Crying Game
R. 1992. Irish Republican Army member Fergus forms an unexpected bond with Jody (Forest Whitaker), a kidnapped British soldier in his custody, despite the warnings of fellow IRA members. Jody makes Fergus promise he'll visit his girlfriend, Dil, in London, and when Fergus flees to the city, he seeks her out. Hounded by his former IRA colleagues, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the enigmatic, and surprising, Dil. Dil is a transwoman, who works at a trans/queer bar. TW for some transphobia (does get resolved).
The Favourite
R. 2018. In the early 18th century, England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne, and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead, while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance to return to her aristocratic roots. Features sapphic relationships.
The Hours
PG-13. 2002. "The Hours" is the story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
NR. 2018. In 1993 after teenage Cameron is caught in the backseat of a car with the prom queen, she is sent away to a treatment centre in a remote area called God's Promise. While she is being subjected to questionable gay conversion therapies, she bonds with some fellow residents as they pretend to go along with the process while waiting to be released. TW for attempted conversion therapy.
The Truth About Jane
NR. 2000. High school student Jane finds herself drawn to a new girl in her class, and quickly discovers that her feelings are sexual in nature. Realizing that she is gay, Jane tries to talk to her parents, who are horrified by their daughter's revelation. Jane struggles to find love and acceptance, turning for support to her mother's friend Jimmy (RuPaul), the only gay adult she knows well enough to trust.
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar
PG-13. 1995. Elite Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes) impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) -- one of the losers that evening -- the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time. Available on Netflix.
Water Lilies
NR. 2008. Set during a sultry summer in a French suburb, Marie is desperate to join the local pool's synchronized swimming team, but is her interest solely for the sake of sport or for a chance to get close to Floriane, the bad girl of the team? Sciamma, and the two leads, capture the uncertainty of teenage sexuality with a sympathetic eye in this delicate drama of the angst of coming-of-age. Subtitled.
Wild Nights With Emily
PG-13. 2019. In the mid-19th century, Emily Dickinson is writing prolifically, baking gingerbread, and enjoying a passionate, lifelong romantic relationship with another woman, her friend and sister-in-law Susan...yes this is the iconic American poet, popularly thought to have been a recluse. Beloved comic Molly Shannon leads in this humorous yet bold reappraisal of Dickinson, informed by her private letters. While seeking publication of some of the 1,775 poems written during her lifetime, Emily (Shannon) finds herself facing a troupe of male literary gatekeepers too confused by her genius to take her work seriously. Instead her work attracts the attention of an ambitious woman editor, who also sees Emily as a convenient cover for her own role in buttoned-up Amherst's most bizarre love triangle.