The history of LGBTQ+ cinema is one that remains hotly debated – in part given the slow and still-evolving journey that stories of queer life have taken from the margins to the mainstream over the decades. Still, few sub genres within the world of film have offered the same poignant visions of the meaning of love and the importance of living life to its fullest. But what makes a queer film? Is it the pioneering meditations on forbidden love explored in films like or Is it the scrappy, DIY spirit of Derek Jarman in the 1980s, or the New Queer Cinema movement in the 1990s, courtesy of directors like Gregg Araki and Gus Van Sant? Or is it the new age of queer cinema we’re currently witnessing, as major studios finally begin throwing their weight behind telling LGBTQ+ stories on screen, and films like Barry Jenkins’s take home the Best Picture ? At the end of the day, the magical thing about queer film is its mutability.
It can be a heartfelt ode to two trans sex workers shot on an iPhone like Sean Baker’s a riveting documentary shining a light on an overlooked corner of queer history like Jennie Livingston’s deep-dive into ballroom culture, ; or a lavish studio film with a starry Hollywood cast, like Tom Ford’s Here, we round up all of our favourite LGBTQ+ films, from forgotten underground hits to splashy big-budget spectacles. (2024) Kristen Stewart and shine in this queer crime thriller about a bodybuilder en route to a convention in Las Vegas who falls for a gym o.
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