When is the best time to watch a bunch of incredible LGBTQ+ movies on Netflix? I'd argue the answer to that question is all the time, honey. But since June is Pride Month [1], and 2019 also marks 50 years since Stonewall, it's an extraspecial time to pay homage to your favourite pieces of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer cinema. Fortunately, the streaming giant has access to award-winning titles like Moonlight and Carol, as well as a few hidden gems that deserve to shoot to the top of your queue.
Elisa & Marcela (2019)
This moving film is based on the true story of Elisa and Marcela, who meet in 1885 and form an intense friendship that eventually blossoms into forbidden love. In order to marry her soulmate, Elisa decides to adopt a male identity and make their relationship official.
Watch it here! [3]
Carol (2015)
This tale, which follows the forbidden romance of two women (Cate Blanchett [4] and Rooney Mara) in the 1950s, earned a whopping six Oscar nominations.
Watch it here! [5]
Milk (2008)
The true story of Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco politician who was unceremoniously murdered in 1978, is as triumphant as it is devastating. Sean Penn [6] won the Oscar for best actor for playing the titular politician, and the film boasts an award-winning screenplay from Dustin Lance Black.
Watch it here! [7]
Moonlight (2016)
Director Barry Jenkins and writer Tarell Alvin McCraney teamed up for this 2016 Oscar-winning drama, which tells the story of Chiron, a young black man growing up in a rough Miami neighbourhood and evolving from a shy child to a complex, troubled adult. Chiron's story is told in three parts, and the main character is portrayed by three different actors [8], depicting him at varying milestone ages. Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, and Janelle Monáe also star.
Watch it here! [9]
Alex Strangelove (2018)
In the mood for a lighthearted LGBTQ+ romance? Then this Netflix original film should do the trick. The film debuted on the streaming giant last June, and follows high school senior Alex as he realises he's falling in love with a boy right after promising to lose his virginity to his girlfriend. A roller-coaster journey of sexual identity ensues!
Watch it here! [10]
Paris Is Burning (1990)
This groundbreaking, hypnotic documentary won the top prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and it's not hard to see why. It offers an intimate, unmissable peek into the stunning ball culture of 1980s NYC.
Watch it here! [11]
Other People (2016)
After a terrible breakup, a New York comedy writer (Black Mirror's Jesse Plemons) moves home to Sacramento, CA, to take care of his dying mother, played brilliantly by Molly Shannon.
Watch it here! [12]
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Director David France's 2017 documentary sees Victoria Cruz investigating the circumstances of the suspicious 1992 death of Marsha P. Johnson, a noted voice against the violence plaguing transgender women of colour. Through new interviews with Johnson's family, friends, and fellow activists, the doc paints a stunning portrait of the Stonewall veteran that's necessary viewing.
Watch it here! [13]
The Wound (2017)
John Trengove's drama The Wound was selected as the South African entry for the best foreign language film at the 90th Academy Awards (and made the December shortlist), so it goes without saying that you should give it a watch. The film tracks the rising tension between three closeted men as they arrive at their community's annual initiation ceremony in the mountains of Eastern Cape.
Watch it here! [14]
Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
This lesbian love story follows two young women (Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos) who fall in love against all odds, and won the prestigious Palme d'Or prize at the annual Cannes Film Festival.
Watch it here! [15]
God's Own Country (2017)
This BAFTA-nominated drama that earned a directing award at Sundance should appeal to any fans of Call Me by Your Name (translation: it should appeal to everyone). Starring Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu as a young farmer and migrant worker, respectively, the film explores their intense, evolving relationship during one lambing season.
Watch it here! [16]
Cherry Pop (2016)
When the veteran headliner at a local drag bar performs one last time, a young outcast sees their opportunity to step up and make a name for themselves. But before they can do that, they'll have to contend with the rest of the back-stabbing queens attempting to reach legend status.
Watch it here! [17]
Closet Monster (2015)
Gay teenager Oscar (Connor Jessup) struggles to bury a dark and traumatizing secret from his turbulent childhood as he dreams of building a career as a special effects makeup artist.
Watch it here! [18]
Those People (2015)
Those People takes place in the glittering, seductive, toxic mecca of Manhattan's Upper East Side, where a young gay painter finds himself torn between his new boyfriend and one of his best friends.
Watch it here! [19]
Hurricane Bianca (2016)
After being fired for being gay in his small Texas twon, a schoolteacher named Richard (Roy Haylock) takes a page out of Mrs. Doubtfire's book and reclaims his former job by returning in drag as Bianca Del Rio.
Watch it here! [20]
Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate (2018)
Teacher Richard Martinez (aka the glorious Bianca Del Rio) gets into a battle of wills with ex-teacher Deborah Ward (Rachel Dratch), who has a bone to pick after she gets out of prison.
Watch it here! [21]
Transformer (2017)
A Marine veteran and record-breaking powerlifter was publicly outed as being transgender in 2015, but Janae Marie Kroczaleski takes hold of the narrative in this 2017 documentary that tracks her transition into a woman and how she blazed her own path in the LGBTQ+ community.
Watch it here! [22]