1. Tarnation
Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.
It has an average vote of 6.89 on TMDB.
2. Cassandro the Exotico (Cassandro, el exótico)
A lucid view on an extraordinary character, recognized and loved or reviled by the crowd of wrestling fans. Cassandro, the exotic gay lucha libre fighter.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
3. Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She
Examines the diversity of human sexual and gender variance around the globe, with commentary by scientific experts and first-hand accounts of people who do not conform to a simple male/female binary.
It has an average vote of 3.5 on TMDB.
4. Light in the Water
In 1982, soon after the first Gay Games, 'West Hollywood Swim Club,' as it was known then, registered as the first openly gay masters swim and water polo club. This feature documentary film follows their battle for acceptance: from their humble beginnings, to how these men and women have become a renowned force fighting injustice in the world of competitive sports.
It has an average vote of 5.5 on TMDB.
5. Alfredo Doesn't Like Goodbyes (Alfredo Não Gosta de Despedidas)
Based on family interviews and records of his trajectory, the director André Medeiros Martins performs an analysis of his mother's life history while documenting his own journey through self-knowledge. André is an artist obsessed with sex and who tries to find the reasons for these obsessions in stories about his late mother. From the exhibition of his works and reports from family members, he creates this auto-fictional documentary.
It has an average vote of 4 on TMDB.
6. Me and My Little Sister (Sparrooabbán)
Loving someone of the same gender is frowned upon in Sami communities. Sparrooabbán shows what it’s like to be a minority within a minority. Suvi describes how her little sister Kaisa wishes to be accepted as she is. Like her sister, Kaisa is a Sami, but also in a relationship with a woman, and she also works as a deacon. There are obviously more constricting communities in the film than only one.
It has an average vote of 4.333 on TMDB.
7. Caras e Bocas (Caras e Bocas)
A documentary about the marginalisation of the LGBTQIA+ cultural and artistic scene in Salvador.
It has an average vote of 0.5 on TMDB.
8. The Pearl
THE PEARL is a cinematic and intimate portrait of four transgender women who come out in their senior years. Set in logging towns in the Pacific Northwest, the visceral, observational story explores what it means to leave behind presenting as a man.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
9. Guilty of Loving: The Ordeal of Gays in Tunisia (Coupables d'aimer : le calvaire des gays en Tunisie)
The director meets Amir and Ramzi in a café in a small Tunisian town. They don't want to be seen there. They have to find a discreet place to talk. Like many other gay couples in Tunisia, Amir and Ramzi are living a nightmare since the Tunisian Revolution. With them, the director will discover the daily life of the Tunisian homosexual couples, even in the discrete parties organized in hotels of the country.
10. Little Lady Fauntleroy
Former child prodigy James Harries and his family may at first sight seem to be a houseful of geniuses, but although every single member has a Ph.D. in Metaphysics, we soon discover that some were purchased from a fake university in the USA, while the others were awarded to them by themselves. They regard themselves as morally, intellectually, and financially superior to the rest of society, even though the clan includes a convicted arsonist, an astral projectionist, a former Bunny Girl, a part-time private detective and a transgender daughter , all of whom seem to live their lives in a parallel universe.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
11. Fragments 83
Fragments 83 rediscovers—and repurposes—Richard Millen 1983 experimental film If You Can’t Be with the One You Love, shot in Brooklyn and the West Village in the early days of the AIDS epidemic. The resulting documentary explores the hunt for sex/love, the joy of making cinema, and the inexorable passage of time.
12. Dirty Sexy Comics
Dirty Sexy Comics explores gay erotic comics, past and present, tracing the roots of the medium and shining a spotlight on the giants of the industry. It’s a story about people who have been marginalized and an art form that’s been ignored. The history of gay erotic comics is the history of the gay rights movement. It’s a story of people who risked everything to express themselves. It’s a story of rebellion, of artists refusing to conform and doing it with style and beauty.
13. Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's performances and films punctuate interviews with artists, critics, friends and foes to create an engaging portrait of the artist. Widely known for his banned queer erotica film Flaming Creatures, Smith was an innovator and firebrand who influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and John Waters.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
14. I Beg You to Like Me (Yalvarırım Beni Beğen)
“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?
15. Travessias (Travessias)
A love letter that unites Brazil and Cuba. In the film Travessias, the director goes on a long journey seeking to understand the feelings and transformations of a person who is close to her. On this path of doubts and concerns, she meets Justin, a trans man who will help her on this journey. With a poetic and self-referential look, the director invites us to rethink our own prejudices and limits in relation to the others.
16. Gemmel & Tim
In 2017 and 2019, Gemmel “Juelz” Moore and Timothy “Tim” Dean , two gay black men, died of a meth overdose at the West Hollywood apartment of white businessman, activist & political donor Ed Buck . The parallel stories of these two men, are intimately told by the friends who loved them, grieve their loss, and who hope to protect others from similarly tragic fates.
17. Fabulous (Maravilhosa)
A glance at the queer universe throughout vogue battles, an emerging street subculture in which gay, transgender and other LGBTQ people take the lead. The film sheds light on the movement and on the expressiveness of the bodies, while stepping into the space of dance – from the backstage to the stage –, exalting diversity and the LgBT culture.
It has an average vote of 9.5 on TMDB.
18. The Sculpture of Place & Time (The Sculpture of Place & Time)
Phnom Penh-based dancer Prumsodm Ok—a Cambodian-American and pioneer of the first Cambodian gay dance company Prumsodun Ok & NATYARASA—demonstrates the meticulous form of Khmer dance. This short draws a parallel between the nature of film as a time machine and the dancing human body as both fundamentally dynamic and temporal. Within the frame beckons a prayer for healing and empowerment in the face of violence and conflict.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
19. Why We Need Pride
Short film set to a poem about why Pride is important to say thanks for human right's campaigners and to show solidarity. Dedicated to those who lost their lives in Orlando as that terrible attack happened during production.
20. Untold: Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner's unlikely path to Olympic glory was inspirational. But her more challenging road to embracing her true self proved even more meaningful.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
