51 of the Best LGBTQ Films to Watch During Pride Month and All Year Long
Starring Rachel Sennott and The Bear's Ayo Edebiri, Bottoms focuses on the two most unpopular, queer girls in high school who are determined to get laid before they graduate. This raunchy comedy explores their plan to start a fight club as a way to hook up with cheerleaders, so it's kind of a queer twist on a classic coming-of-age scenario. The teen sex comedy is directed by Emma Seligman who co-wrote the screenplay with Sennott, and produced by Elizabeth Banks.
Based on the hit novel of the same name, the story follows Alex Claremont-Diaz, the first son of the United States, as he meets the U.K.’s Prince Henry during a diplomatic event. While the pair initially spar, they soon find that the sparks flying might have a different connotation. Due to the very public nature of their positions, they struggle to keep their romance a secret. But love finds a way.
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Moonlight famously won an Academy Award for Best Picture after what was the most talked about on-air moment at the Oscars until 2022. It follows Chiron Harris (Trevante Rhodes) from childhood to his adulthood, as he’s guided by a drug dealer named Juan, played by the incredibly compelling Mahershala Ali. Chiron’s story isn’t necessarily one with a happy ending, but it’s full of poignant observations about growing up with a queer identity.
Michelle Krusiec plays Wil, a lesbian who is deeply committed to the acceptance of her traditional widowed mother, Hwei-lan (played by Joan Chen). When she meets the out and proud Vivian and begins falling for her, she has to confront how much she values her family’s perception over love.
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The Normal Heart is a fictional film about the true story of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, and the men and women who gathered to address it within their own communities when they were abandoned by the state. It focuses specifically on New York City, and a writer played by Mark Ruffalo, as he organizes to survive in this moving drama.
Set in 1980s New York, this seminal documentary dives into the heart of ballroom culture in Harlem. It’s a vibrant and gritty celebration of drag balls and queer community in a time when AIDS and poverty are taking a grave toll on the city.
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Set in 1993, a teen girl is caught in a compromising position with the prom queen and sent to a conversion camp by her parents. At the remote treatment center, young queer people are abused, but Cameron finds new friends to connect with as she holds onto her sanity and sense of self.
Starring Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, this classic road trip film follows two queer friends trying to escape their regular lives after one of them goes through a regretful break up. In the tradition of road trip films, things quickly go awry as they make their way to Tallahassee, Florida.
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Based on the iconic Broadway musical and bursting at the seams with hit ballads, Rent is about young 20-somethings in the early 1990s living a bohemian lifestyle. While they share a vivid and exciting community, the story touches on the AIDs epidemic, drug addiction, and queer relationships from a raw and early perspective.
Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a gym manager who doesn’t have much of a social life. Lou comes from a rough family, who she has been doing her best to avoid. But when she meets body builder Jackie, their efforts to get Jackie to a competition in Las Vegas forces them to cross paths with the crime syndicate.
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Billy Eichner plays Bobby, a popular podcast host who doesn’t do as well with in-person interactions. Bobby hops from fling to fling via dating apps, but then one day he meets Aaron, a lawyer with his own commitment issues. Somehow, their mutual flaws connect them in ways they’ve never experienced before.
In the mid-1950s, American writer Lee (Daniel Craig) is living in Mexico City, enjoying drugs, alcohol, and a disconnected life. One day, he meets a much younger man, Eugene (Drew Starkey), becoming infatuated with the former soldier. The potential for connection is both destabilizing and exhilarating and changes Lee forever.
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Starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo as two all-star drag queens and one total novice, the film follows their efforts to land spots in a national competition in Los Angeles. The trio go on an epic journey across America, discovering new aspects of their identity and the value of their friendship on the way.
Pedro Almodóvar’s 2023 short film has so much going for it. It stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, who has been dominating our lives for the last six months and is welcome to continue indefinitely. The story follows two cowboys who haven’t seen one another in 25 years. They reconnect after one rides across the desert to see the other, but after a night of reminiscing about their friendship, things get complicated.
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Two narcissistic “identical twins” realize that they’re related and team up to create even more chaos and irreverent comedy. Full of fun musical performances, the film includes Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang and world icon Megan Thee Stallion.
Nothing like a campy horror movie to address queer issues through storytelling. In They/Them, kids are sent to Whistler Camp where they have been forced into conversion therapy by their abusive parents. As if that wasn't bad enough, a masked killer is loose in the campsite slashing and stabbing. These LGBTQ+ teens are on the case, trying to survive both murder and sexual suppression before summer ends.
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Based on Pride & Prejudice, this film follows a group of queer best friends who spend one week every summer at the Fire Island Pines. Love affairs quickly disrupt their usual patterns, but there's a traditional happy ending.
The star of Everything Everywhere All at Once is definitely Michelle Yeoh, who is a pleasure to watch. But the heart of the story is her relationship with her daughter Joy. Joy has been struggling with introducing her girlfriend to her mom, and if she doesn't get some love and support from her mother, she just might destroy the universe.
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Marsha P. Johnson was a beloved LGBTQ activist and trans woman, who was at the original Stonewall riot. Johnson died quite young, and her death was ruled a suicide. This documentary makes the case that Johnson was murdered—a danger trans people, and trans women in particular, face at horrifyingly high rates still. It also discusses her life, which was truly legendary.
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