LGBTQ+ Film Recommendations
- 10 hours ago
- 4 min read
Online Exclusive
By Anastasia Stanmeyer
The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) recommends the following LGBTQ+ films to
watch (in no particular order). Also, if you’re willing to venture a bit out of the Berkshires, Out Film CT’s 39th annual Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival is from June 12 to 20. Also, make sure to follow @queer.cinema.club.brk for meetups, talks, and screenings.
GIRL FOR A DAY (2023)
A French historical drama directed by Jean-Claude Monod, based on the true story of Anne Grandjean, an 18th-century intersex person forced to live as a man due to their attraction to women. The film explores themes of gender identity, societal, and legal trials in pre-revolutionary France. (MUBI)
A HOUSE IS NOT A DISCO (2024)
The film documents a year-in-the-life in the world’s most iconic “homo-normative” community: Fire Island Pines. Situated 50 miles from New York City, this storied queer beach town finds itself in the midst of a renaissance as a new generation of Millennial homeowners reimagine The Pines for a new, more inclusive era. (MUBI)
WHO I AM NOT (2023)
The documentary film that explores the lives and identities of intersex individuals living in South Africa. Directed by Tunde Skovran, the film follows a beauty queen and an activist as they navigate a world built on a strict male-female binary. (Stream for free onpbs.org.)
GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH (2019)
The documentary film directed by David Charles Rodrigues follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir on a 2017 "Lavender Pen Tour"; across the American Deep South. (Paramount+)
HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (2012)
Directed by David France, the film uses archival footage to show how activists with no scientific background taught themselves virology and pharmaceutical chemistry to force the FDA and NIH to fast-track life-saving drugs. (MUBI, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Apple TV, and others)
BREAKING THE ICE (2022)
The Austrian film focuses on Mira, in her early 20s who feels nothing but pressure from her family's winery. As a hockey player, she finds her freedom. When Theresa joins the team, everything is thrown into turmoil—including Mira's entrenched worldview. An unexpected odyssey begins in Vienna by night. (myfilmfriend and Apple TV)
EYES WIDE OPEN (2010)
Set within Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, the film follows Aaron, a married butcher and father of four, who hires a young student named Ezri. The two men develop a forbidden romantic relationship, forcing Aaron to choose between his family/faith and his personal desires. (Apple TV)
JOYLAND (2022)
A Pakistani drama film directed by Saim Sadiq that achieved historic international acclaim as the first Pakistani feature to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It explores the intersections of desire, gender, and patriarchal expectations within a traditional family in Lahore. (Amazon Prime, Roku, YouTube, Apple TV, and others)
LOVE FREE OR DIE (2012)
A documentary following Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop ordained in the Episcopal Church. Directed by Macky Alston, it chronicles his journey from New Hampshire to the world stage, exploring the intersection of his faith, sexuality, and the fight for LGBTQ+ equality within the church. (PBS)
I AM DIVINE (2013)
A documentary charting the life of Harris Glenn Milstead, who transformed from a bullied Baltimore youth into the iconic drag superstar, Divine. Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, it explores his collaboration with filmmaker John Waters, defying gender norms and revolutionizing pop culture through cult films like Pink Flamingos. (Amazon Prime, Apple TV, MUBI, and others)
MAMA BEARS (2022)
A documentary film following conservative, Christian mothers who break from their communities to fiercely advocate for their LGBTQ+ children. It highlights how these women, often initially struggling with the conflict between their faith and their children's identities, transform into activists protecting their kids from discrimination and harm. (PBS Passport and Kanopy)
COMING OUT (2015)
An American documentary film directed by Alden Peters. It follows Peters while he comes out as a gay man to multiple people, including his parents, siblings, and friends. Peters also interviews experts, including activist Janet Mock, psychologist Ritch Savin-Williams, and journalist Zach Stafford, to provide broader context about the experience of coming out. (Tubi)
MAPPLETHORPE: LOOK AT THE PICTURES (2016)
A definitive HBO documentary exploring the life, career, and controversy surrounding artist Robert Mapplethorpe. It examines his rise from poverty to creating iconic, explicit photographs of the gay SM scene, alongside artistic floral still lifes, before his 1989 death from AIDS. (Amazon Prime, Max, Apple TV, Vudu, and others)
SUITED (2016)
An HBO documentary that follows the stories of several transgender and gender nonconforming individuals as they have custom suits made at Bindle & Keep, a Brooklyn-based tailoring shop. (Max, Hulu, YouTube TV, and others)
THE WISE KIDS (2011)
An independent coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Stephen Cone. Set in a Baptist church community in Charleston, South Carolina, the film explores the intersecting lives of three teenagers as they prepare for life after high school while grappling with questions of faith, sexuality, and personal identity. (Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home)
FEMME (2021)
The film follows Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), a celebrated drag performer in East London known as Aphrodite Banks, whose life is derailed after a brutal homophobic attack by a street thug named Preston (George MacKay). Months later, Jules encounters a closeted Preston at a gay sauna. Instead of immediate violence, Jules begins a calculated, dangerous game of seduction to infiltrate Preston’s life and exact revenge by potentially outing him online. (Amazon Prime)
THE MEN WHO DANCED (1985)
Directed by Ron Honsa, this film tells the story of dance pioneer Ted Shawn (founder of Jacob’s Pillow) and his mission to prove that dancing is a vigorous and honorable profession for men. The documentary includes rare 1930s archival footage of performances like Kinetic Molpai and interviews with eight original company members—including lead dancer Barton Mumaw—during a 50th-anniversary reunion in 1982. (Vimeo On Demand, Amazon Prime)
FREEHELD (2015)
Based on the 2007 Oscar-winning documentary short of the same name (directed by Cynthia Wade), the biographical drama film directed by Peter Sollett tells the true story of Laurel Hester, a New Jersey police detective who fought a legal battle to pass her pension benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. (Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Tubi, Fandango at Home, Plex, and others) The documentary short can be watched on Tubi for free.
—Anastasia Stanmeyer
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