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June is pride month and one way to celebrate is to hold a movie fest of some of the best flicks that depict the LGBTQIA+ experience. These movies range from historical people and events, to poignant love stories and campy musicals. What they all have in common , according to Real Simple, is that no matter what your sexual orientation or gender identity, you are not alone.
Streaming services have set up pages to spotlight their pride content and the lists are extensive. Can’t decide what to watch? Here’s a selection of 10 movies that celebrate pride compiled by Goodnet. So pop some popcorn, and enjoy the show.
Brokeback Mountain
This iconic 2005 movie is a love story set in the Western US that features a rodeo cowboy and a ranch hand that spend a summer herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. The two men played by Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger develop a hidden romantic relationship that lasts over 20 years while they remain married to their wives. Brokeback Mountain is a must see.
The Birdcage
This 1996 comedy stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in this remake of the classic La Cage aux Folles. In The Birdcage, a gay couple’s son announces his engagement to the daughter of a very conservative family and wants them to meet the folks who try to pretend that they are straight. They epically fail.
A Secret Love
The emotional 2020 documentary A Secret Love depicts the lives of Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, two women who fell in love in 1947, and then in keeping with the times, kept their relationship a secret from their families for more than 65 years, according to TODAY. Donahue was on the baseball team that was the inspiration for the popular film A League of Their Own.
Moonlight
This 2016 movie won the Academy award for best picture. Moonlight, is a coming-of-age drama about Chiron, a Miami pre-teen, played by Trevante Rhodes, as he struggles into adulthood. Chiron was bullied by his mother and struggles with substance abuse but he comes to terms with his sexual orientation.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
This 2017 Netflix documentary is about Marsha P. Johnson, one of the original gay rights activists in the 1969 Stonewall riots and a self-identified drag queen. The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson shows her remarkable life and mysterious death in 1992 through interviews and film footage.
The Boys in the Band
This 2020 Netflix remake of the 1968 off-Broadway play and 1970s film of the same name is set in a Manhattan apartment where a group of nine gay friends get together for a birthday party and get increasingly drunk. According to Mom.com. The climax of the story is when the men begin a game to call someone they loved in the past and confess it to them. The star-studded cast of The Boys in the Band were the gay actors from a revival of the play.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
This 2001 campy musical has a cult following, according to Good Housekeeping. The film follows Hedwig Robinson, played by John Cameron Mitchell, an East German gay rock singer and her band the angry Inch. Hedwig and the Angry Inch depicts their journey from communist Germany to the US and Hedwig’s personal journey including a botched sexual reassignment surgery to find out who she really is.
The Watermelon Woman
The Watermelon woman is a 1996 film that centers on Cheryl , a Black filmmaker who is making a film about Black lesbians in the film industry. Written, directed, and starring Cheryl Dunye, the movie is about Cheryl’s journey to discover who was the actress who was credited as only the watermelon woman and not by her name. The movie takes on a mockumentary format as Cheryl explores her own life and identity.
Love Simon
Simon Speir, played by Nick Robinson, is a high school senior who has kept his sexuality hidden from his family and friends in Love Simon, a 2018 movie. According to Real Simple, he starts an anonymous relationship online with a fellow classmate and then must decide on staying in the closet or surrendering to love.
Paris is Burning
Paris is Burning is a 1990 movie that looks at new York’s 80s ball culture. This documentary, according to TODAY, takes an honest look at the lives of ball contestants who are Black, gay, and transgender, and how they deal with real life issues like family, community, and Aids.
