15 Best LGBTQ Movies To Watch During Pride Month

Pride Month can be celebrated in a variety of ways. From parades and festivals all over to corporations adopting rainbow logos in June for their own gain, community-driven festivities stand in stark contrast to corporate-driven ones. Still, there are plenty of ways to celebrate that don’t involve partying or catching rainbow-colored swag from a T-Mobile float.

Why not plan your own queer film festival? LGBTQ+ films have become more prominent than ever, but that doesn’t mean they’re no longer important. Moreover, plenty of wonderful LGBTQ+ films don’t receive the attention they deserve. Watching older movies can also serve as a historical education of sorts, reminding us that queer filmmakers and films have always existed. Take, for example, the 1919 German film “Different from the Others,” one of the first films to depict gay people in a positive light, or the 1931 film “Mädchen in Uniform,” often considered the first lesbian film ever made.

This list of the best LGBTQ+ movies to watch for Pride Month offers up a diverse selection, including many films you might not know about. These movies come from different eras, genres, and countries, but they all have one thing in common: They depict queer and trans folks artfully and with a distinct perspective.

While movies about trans people often center on trauma and lack happy endings, the 2019 Brazilian film “Alice Júnior” breaks the mold. Directed by Gil Baroni, the movie follows Alice (Anne Celestino), a 17-year-old who moves to the countryside with her father. Though Alice is a social media star, she finds it more difficult to make friends at her new Catholic school than it was back home. Nonetheless, Alice is dedicated to achieving her goal: experiencing her first kiss. The bullies at school can’t bring her down.

We won’t spoil the circumstances of Alice’s first kiss for you, but trust that it delivers a satisfying and heartwarming payoff. Though “Alice Júnior” is a sweet film regardless of context, its novelty shouldn’t be overlooked. One of the only movies that can rightly be described as a trans coming-of-age story, “Alice Júnior” illustrates how absurd this scarcity is. Anne Celestino shines in the title role, and her charm and confidence carry the film to its joyous conclusion.

Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has included more trans women in his films than almost any other filmmaker. Almodóvar is well-known for playing with identity and self-image, and he sometimes casts cis women as trans women and trans women as cis women. The 1999 film “All About My Mother” his most trans-centric film, is also one of his best overall.

The movie follows Manuela (Cecilia Roth), a grieving mother who’s just lost her son Esteban (Eloy Azorín) in a car accident. She goes in search of Lola (Toni Cantó), a trans woman and Esteban’s other mother. She reunites with her old friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a cross-dressing sex worker, meets a pregnant, HIV positive nun (Penélope Cruz), and becomes friends with the closeted actress Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), her son’s favorite performer.

Like all of Almodóvar’s films, “All About My Mother” is bold and colorful, but this one has a unique tone. Roger Ebert once wrote that his films “are a struggle between real and fake heartbreak–between tragedy and soap opera,” and “All About My Mother” balances that dichotomy beautifully. You can’t go wrong watching a Pedro Almodóvar movie to kickstart Pride Month.

Though it was an oddity in its time, 2000’s “Big Eden” represents the best the newly minted genre of LGBTQ+ rom-coms has to offer. The film follows Henry Hart (Arye Gross), a New York City painter, as he returns to his hometown in Montana to care for his ailing grandfather, Sam (George Coe), who raised him. Henry reunites with many of the small town’s zany residents, including his first love, Dean (Tim DeKay).

Pike (Eric Schweig), who runs the town’s general store, is the real star of the film. Pike is shy and awkward around Henry because he likes him, but Henry remains oblivious to this fact. Though you might expect the residents of this town to be blatantly homophobic, they easily overcome any prejudices they might have had to support this burgeoning relationship, and Pike seems to have half the town on his side as he attempts to woo Henry with home-cooked meals.

It’s worth mentioning that Pike is an Indigenous character (played by an Indigenous actor), and his presence as the romantic lead in a rom-com, not to mention a gay rom-com, is unprecedented. Though the movie presents a utopian world where everyone supports gay people, the film never becomes too cheesy, as its warmth, humor, and optimism make it a reliable crowd-pleaser.

One of the most significant entries in the history of gay cinema, the 1970 film “The Boys in the Band” features an entire ensemble of gay characters during a period when gay people rarely appeared on screen at all. Helmed by William Friedkin, best known as director of the most respected horror movie of all time, “The Exorcist,” “The Boys in the Band” is based on the 1968 Off-Broadway film of the same name.

The movie follows Michael (Kenneth Nelson), a gay man hosting a birthday party for his friend Harold (Leonard Frey). The guests arrive one by one, and we meet the film’s eclectic cast of characters, all of whom are gay apart from one uninvited guest. As the evening drags on, tensions rise, and the ugly, self-destructive sides of these men emerge.

Contemporary reviews of the film were generally positive, though gay critics have noted how much it relies on stereotypes and depicts gay men as inherently self-hating. Whether ultimately positive or negative, “Boys in the Band” occupies an important place in both cinema history and LGBTQ history. Indeed, if you need a reminder of what gay life was like in the 20th century, consider the fact that more than half the cast died from AIDS in the following decades.

The groundbreaking “Matrix” franchise is the primary source of their renown, but the Wachowski sisters’ first film, “Bound,” is a masterpiece worthy of just as much praise. A neo-noir thriller love story, “Bound” paved its own way. The film follows Corky (Gina Gershon), a swaggering, formerly incarcerated plumber, and Violet (Jennifer Tilly), a flirtatious sex worker dating a mobster named Caesar (Joe Pantoliano).

Their chemistry is flaming hot and immediate; they fall into bed together shortly after meeting. Violet wants to leave the mobster life, so she enlists Corky (a former thief) to help her steal two million dollars. Scheming and bloodshed ensue, but Violet and Corky remain committed to one another through it all.

The film is very steamy, but it also has interesting things to say about gender and sexuality, as Violet and Corky discuss and disrupt the butch/femme dynamic. Gershon and Tilly, though both straight-identifying, go all-in with their performances. It was a risk to play lesbian characters in the ’90s, and Gershon’s agents told her she would never work again if she took the role. Luckily, the risk paid off, as Gershon and Tilly’s careers survived and the Wachowskis became a household name by the turn of the century.

Camp art tends to be associated with gay men and drag queens, while lesbian art has a reputation for being serious and heady. There are numerous examples of lesbian camp we could highlight to refute this assumption, but one film stands out as the pièce de résistance. Jamie Babbit’s 1999 film “But I’m a Cheerleader” traffics in humor while also serving up a biting political critique, an essential element of camp.

The film follows Megan (Natasha Lyonne), a cheerleader sent to conversion therapy because everyone thinks she’s a lesbian. Megan learns all the wrong (or right) lessons at camp, falling for her fellow camper, Graham (Clea DuVall), and learning to accept who she is.

Though it wasn’t particularly well-received upon its release and suffered from discrimination by the MPAA, “But I’m a Cheerleader” has since become a cult classic, and it’s easy to see why. Hearing its premise, one might assume the movie features a fair amount of traumatic moments, but that’s far from the case. “But I’m a Cheerleader” is an innovative reminder that lesbian and gay films needn’t be sob stories, even when they’re about the tragedy of conversion camps, and a film that prominently features RuPaul in jean shorts and pom-poms can be just as valuable.

Many consider the 1985 film “Desert Hearts” to be the first of its kind, because it rejects tragedy and depicts its queer characters in a positive light, which was a rarity at the time. Directed by Donna Deitch, the film takes place in 1959, Nevada. Columbia professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) comes to Reno to get a divorce. While staying on a ranch to establish residency, Vivian Bell meets Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau), a free-spirited sculptor and the adoptive daughter of ranch owner Frances Parker (Audra Lindley).

Cayy, something of a cowgirl, slowly gets the uptight Vivian to loosen up, and they grow close. They fall for each other, but their environment doesn’t make things easy for them. Still, the two women find both freedom and security in one another, and the film gives us hope that their love will endure.

Robert Elswit, a frequent collaborator of Paul Thomas Anderson, does cinematography for the film, and the colors he coaxes out of the desert landscape are stunning. The period-appropriate clothing is just as dazzling, and the two lead actors express their characters’ opposing sensibilities with nuance and specificity.

In 1992, film critic B. Ruby Rich coined the phrase New Queer Cinema to describe a wave of inventive queer films screening at film festivals. A rare lesbian hit in a sea of films made by gay men, Rose Troche’s “Go Fish” embodies queer cinema in both senses of the word.

Our protagonist, Max (Guinevere Turner, who also co-wrote the film), is unhappily single. She meets Ely (V.S. Brodie), and despite initially dismissing her, they become romantically entangled. Though light on plot, Troche shot the film with an artistic flair and a keen eye for cultural anthropology. It’s hard not to be charmed by the lengthy food/sex montage or cheeky shots of a ring of Doc Martens. “Go Fish” comments on lesbian stereotypes and delivers plenty of in-jokes, giving us a fly-on-the-wall perspective of this community.

Sadly, “Go Fish” didn’t receive the attention it deserved despite receiving a respectable amount of critical acclaim. In the documentary “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Turner notes that she and Kevin Smith were on the festival circuit together, and while “Clerks” screened everywhere, became a darling indie, and made Smith a star, “Go Fish” didn’t provide any opportunities for the filmmakers and cast. Troche’s work was pioneering, and it’s fitting that we celebrate her contributions to LGBTQ cinema this Pride Month.

Though several funny lesbian films came before it, “Imagine Me & You” was the first lesbian rom-com that followed the genre’s format to a tee. Directed by Ol Parker, the film takes place during a picturesque autumn in London. Piper Perabo plays Rachel, and the film opens on her wedding day with husband-to-be Heck (Matthew Goode). It’s a joyful day for Rachel, and though she locks eyes with the alluring florist, Luce (Lena Headey), as she’s walking down the aisle, she remains committed to Heck.

As Rachel and Luce get better acquainted, Rachel realizes she’s falling for Luce and questions her marriage. Will they end up together? (This is a rom-com, so the answer is yes, obviously.) While the plot is formulaic, this is also where much of its charm lies. We’re all used to the typical rom-com formula, and it’s an unexpected delight to see queer women occuppy these familiar roles.

Importantly, “Imagine Me & You” doesn’t include one of the most frustrating lesbian film tropes, the terrible husband/boyfriend, which makes it seem like he’s the reason the protagonist leaves him for a woman. Rachel’s husband Heck is actually a stand-up guy, and apart from Heck’s extremely irritating best friend, everyone in the film treats queerness like a fairly natural occurrence.

“Imagine Me & You” and “Happy Together” have two things in common: They’re both gay films whose title comes from the same Turtles song. Apart from those connections, they’re completely different films. Directed by Hong Kong legend Wong Kar-wai, the film follows Ho Po-Wing (Leslie Cheung) and Lai Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), a gay couple visiting Argentina. They break up while in Argentina, but neither of them has the money to fly home. They continue orbiting each other’s lives, but the cracks in their relationship are difficult to repair.

Despite its title, the film isn’t a happy story by any means. Though beautiful in many ways, “Happy Together” can be difficult to watch, as the characters aren’t always likable and often behave badly. These characterizations are impactful in their own right, illustrating that gay people are allowed to be just as messy and bad-tempered as straight folks. Don’t expect to be in a celebratory mood after this one, but do expect to be moved by the power of queer cinema.

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is exactly the kind of film that Gen-Z viewers might find problematic or politically incorrect. But the manner in which the movie radically disrupts norms of gender and sexuality gives the film its power. Written by, directed by, and starring John Cameron Mitchell, the film is based on the musical of the same name, also written by Mitchell.

Mitchell plays Hedwig, an East German rock singer. When he was younger, Hedwig was forced into gender reassignment surgery by his lover, but the surgery was botched, leaving Hedwig in an unfortunate place in between genders. Much of the film follows Hedwig and her band as they perform at a series of dives to make money, while Hedwig narrates the events of her youth and discusses her thoughts about gender. The movie also features several incredible musical sequences, such as the show-stopping “The Origin of Love.”

While casting controversy continues, Mitchell and co-writer Stephen Trask have maintained that Hedwig isn’t a trans character due to the circumstances of her surgery and the self-consciously performative, gender-bending nature of the character. However you feel about these questions, it’s worth returning to “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and its avant-garde exploration of queerness.

When films receive around-the-clock attention and praise, sometimes the actual quality of the film gets lost in the noise. “Moonlight” won Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards, resulting in the craziest Oscars moment in our lifetimes. While the Oscars don’t always get it right (take a lot back at some of the worst Best Picture winners), in this instance, they did.

Directed by Barry Jenkins with a script from Tarell Alvin McCraney, “Moonlight” follows a Floridian named Chiron during three defining periods in his life. As a child, Chiron (played by Alex Hibbert) struggles with his home life and bullies at school. As a teenager (played by Ashton Sanders), the bullying continues and he tries to reckon with his feelings for his best friend, Kevin (Jharrel Jerome). When we meet him again as an adult, Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) has hardened and makes a living as a drug dealer.

One of the most beautifully shot and directed films of the decade, the movie’s intimate focus on its characters brings us into their lives with a closeness that feels impossible. In terms of historical precedent, “Moonlight” stands out as a rare LGBTQ+ film that doesn’t focus on white characters, and it remains the most-seen and critically acclaimed Black gay film to date.

Sean Baker has been a popular indie filmmaker for years, but with his Best Picture-winning film “Anora,” his star has risen even further. Looking back at his decades-long career, his low-budget movie “Tangerine,” shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, remains one of his best. Set on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, the film follows Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), a trans sex worker on the hunt for her cheating boyfrind and pimp. Meanwhile, her friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) tries to get people to come to her musical show that evening while dealing with uncooperative and downright hostile clients.

“Tangerine” gives us a glimpse into these women’s lives without delivering any overt political message. Rodriguez and Taylor’s performances are incredibly fierce and dynamic, and they became the first trans actresses to receive Oscar campaigns. The film smartly intersperses humor between its more intense moments, and its 90-minute runtime flies by. While it’s certainly a significant piece of trans representation, it’s also a gripping watch. Sadly, neither actress received much of a career boost from the film, indicating how far we still have to go in terms of trans advocacy and inclusion.

One of the most celebrated filmmakers within the New Queer Cinema movement, Gregg Araki’s films are like nothing else. The 1990s were the most prolific period of his career, with five films to his name released in that decade. Three of those movies comprise a loose grouping of films known as the Teen Apocalypse Trilogy. The first installment in the series, “Totally F***ed Up,” arrives with a bang.

The film follows six queer teenagers living in Los Angeles and struggling with breakups, gay bashing, mental health issues, and fertility. (The lesbian couple want to have a baby together, leading to one of the most hilarious scenes in the film –- an insemination party.) Sometimes the movie is lighthearted and fun, and other times, it’s dark and brooding, as is Araki’s style.

Araki’s muse, James Duval, stars in all three films, and his laid-back Keanu Reeves energy (and handsome face) ground each movie in Araki’s hyper-specific reality. It’s hard to describe the tone of film, but Araki did it best, calling the movie a “kinda twisted cross between avant-garde experimental cinema and queer John Hughes flick.”