A playlist of suggestions to watch during LGBTQ+ History Month.
Marlene Dietrich in the 1930 film Morocco, as seen in the 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet; Marsha P. Johnson as seen in the 2017 documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson; Rock Hudson as seen in the 2023 documentary Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed.
Sony Pictures Classics; Netflix; HBO
LGBTQ+ History Month is here!
Though we shouldn’t dedicate only one month out of the year to learn more about queer history, visibility, and portrayal in mainstream media, this is certainly the best time to do so.
Given how many pieces of media documenting our community’s history have gotten lost over the years, we must also find ways to fight for these movies to be preserved — and to continue being widely available for new generations to come.
Below are a few recommendations of films you should watch during LGBTQ+ History Month.
‘The Queen’ (1968)
The Queen
Grove Press
The Queen, released as far back as 1968, is one of the earliest documentaries that we still have wide access to depicting the lives, fears, and fabulosities of people in the LGBTQ+ community. From drag artists to trans women to queer men who existed in the shadows of the time, The Queen surrounds a beauty pageant that introduces us to all of the main subjects seen in this documentary film.
Where to watch: The Queen is streaming on Tubi.
‘Paris Is Burning’ (1990)
Paris Is Burning
Off-White Productions
Paris Is Burning looks back on the New York City ballroom scene from the late 1980s. This documentary also features plenty of slang and terms that have existed in the LGBTQ+ lexicon since then, and are currently — somehow — more mainstream than ever.
This legendary documentary film, released in 1990, is considered essential viewing for queer people searching for our community’s origin stories in modern-day U.S. If you still haven’t seen Paris Is Burning, it’s definitely worth adding it to your playlist.
Where to watch: Paris Is Burning is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Philadelphia’ (1993)
Philadelphia
TriStar Pictures
1993’s Philadelphia is a film of great importance to the LGBTQ+ community as it featured incredibly popular and influential Hollywood stars telling the personal story of a man who was fired from his job after being discovered to be gay and living with HIV.
Considering how frightening and misunderstood the HIV/AIDS epidemic was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, seeing actors like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington being front and center in Philadelphia helped diminish the stigma and re-humanize individuals who had been neglected by the government and society for many years.
Where to watch: Philadelphia is streaming on The Roku Channel.
‘Stonewall’ (1995)
Stonewall
BBC
This fictionalized story follows a group of young LGBTQ+ people in the weeks leading up to the famous Stonewall Inn riots of June 1969.
Where to watch: Stonewall is streaming on Prime Video.
‘The Celluloid Closet’ (1996)
The Celluloid Closet
Sony Pictures Classics
Based on Vito Russo’s 1981 book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, this documentary was revolutionary in its approach of exploring and analyzing Hollywood’s veiled depictions of LGBTQ+ people throughout the history of mainstream media.
Where to watch: The Celluloid Closet is streaming on Tubi.
‘Boys Don’t Cry’ (1999)
Boys Don’t Cry
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Based on the tragic true story of Brandon Teena, Hilary Swank stars as the young trans man who becomes the target of a transphobic crime in small town Nebraska.
Where to watch: Boys Don’t Cry is available for purchase of physical copies in Blu-ray and DVD through Amazon.
‘Frida’ (2002)
Frida
Miramax Films
The colorful and iconic Frida biopic stars Salma Hayek as the titular artist. Directed by Julie Taymor, this film explores the life, loves, art, and career of Frida Kahlo.
Where to watch: Frida is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Milk’ (2008)
Milk
Focus Features
Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk in this film about the first out gay man to be elected to public office in California.
The 2008 biopic Milk won writer Dustin Lance Black an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, as well as Penn an Oscar for Best Actor from his performance.
Where to watch: Milk is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV.
‘How to Survive a Plague’ (2012)
How to Survive a Plague
IFC
2012’s How to Survive a Plague is a harrowing documentary that follows the struggles of Act Up and other HIV/AIDS activists as they fought to raise awareness and search for a cure in the late 1980s.
Where to watch: How to Survive a Plague is streaming on Pluto TV.
‘I Am Divine’ (2013)
I Am Divine
Automat Pictures
The I Am Divine documentary pays tribute to the drag icon herself, Divine, who was the ultimate muse to filmmaker John Waters.
Where to watch: I Am Divine is streaming on The Roku Channel.
‘The Normal Heart’ (2014)
The Normal Heart
HBO
Based on the play of the same name, this HBO film by Ryan Murphy centers on writer Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) as he attempts to expose the truth about the emerging HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
Where to watch: The Normal Heart is streaming on HBO Max.
‘The Imitation Game’ (2014)
The Imitation Game
The Weinstein Company
Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) was a considered a hero during World War II. Overall, this genius cracked nearly-indecipherable Nazi codes and inadvertently invented the internet as we came to know it. Alas, Turing was outed in 1952 and got sent to prison.
Where to watch: The Imitation Game is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV.
‘Bessie’ (2015)
Bessie
HBO
Queen Latifah stars as Bessie Smith in HBO’s Bessie, telling the story of the legendary blues singer who rose to fame in the 1920s and 1930s.
Where to watch: Bessie is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Tangerine’ (2015)
Tangerine
Magnolia Pictures
Directed Sean Baker, Tangerine tells the story of a trans sex workers who finds out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Starring Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, and James Ransone, this groundbreaking film was entirely filmed on a couple of iPhone 5S devices.
Where to watch: Tangerine is streaming on Hulu.
‘Moonlight’ (2016)
Moonlight
A24
Academy Award-winning film Moonlight is still as moving and profound as it was when it premiered in 2016. Though the film centers on the fictional story of a Black gay man growing up — and shown in three very different phases of his life — this coming of age story also manages to be relatable for many different people who grew up experiencing queerness.
Where to watch: Moonlight is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV.
‘Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine’ (2014-2015)
Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine
Run Rabbit Run Media
Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine is a powerful documentary that offers memories of Matthew Shepard — the victim of a notorious hate crime — from the people who knew him better than anyone else.
Where to watch: Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine is streaming on Tubi.
‘The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson’ (2017)
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
Netflix
This Netflix documentary explores the circumstances leading up to the death of trans activist Marsha P. Johnson in 1992.
Where to watch: The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson is streaming on Netflix.
‘Tom of Finland’ (2017)
Tom of Finland (2017)
Kino Lorber
In this 2017 film, Pekka Strang stars as the man named Touko Laaksonen who, upon returning from World War II, becomes the artist known as Tom of Finland.
Where to watch: Tom of Finland is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV.
‘Colette’ (2018)
Colette
Bleecker Street
Keira Knightley stars as Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the literary icon whose stories about the sexually fluid Claudine defined a generation of young women.
Where to watch: Colette is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV.
‘The Happy Prince’ (2018)
The Happy Prince
Lions Gate UK
2018’s The Happy Prince features actor Rupert Everett as the witty and flamboyant author Oscar Wilde in the last days of his life.
Where to watch: The Happy Prince is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV.
‘Capote’ (2005)
Capote
Sony Pictures Classics
The 2005 biopic Capote features the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Truman Capote himself. It’s a riveting movie about one of the most influential out gay men in the U.S., and how he navigated the world around him as a public person, and how the world presented itself to him.
Where to watch: Capote is streaming on Pluto TV.
‘Disclosure’ (2020)
Disclosure
Netflix
Disclosure is very similar to The Celluloid Closet, but with an emphasis on trans visibility in mainstream media. Directed by Sam Feder and released on Netflix in 2020, this is undoubtedly one of the most important LGBGTQ+ documentaries of the century so far.
Where to watch: Disclosure is streaming on Netflix.
‘Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed’ (2023)
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
HBO
The closeted life of Rock Hudson, one of the biggest Hollywood heartthrobs of his time, is fully explored in HBO’s Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed. From secret lovers who protected him at all costs to public friends who turned their backs on him when he needed them the most, this film is a must-watch for younger generations who didn’t grow up seeing Hudson on the big screen.
Where to watch: Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is streaming on HBO Max.
‘The Boys in the Band’ (2020)
The Boys in the Band (2020)
Netflix
Ryan Murphy brought to life a new cinematic adaptation of The Boys in the Band in 2020, starring actors like Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, and Andrew Rannells, among others.
Where to watch: The Boys in the Band is streaming on Netflix.
‘Rustin’ (2023)
Rustin
Netflix
Colman Domingo plays the titular character in 2023’s Rustin, an incredibly important biopic about a gay man who played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement and worked tirelessly in devotion to the cause.
Where to watch: Rustin is streaming on Netflix.
‘The Stroll’ (2023)
The Stroll
HBO
The Stroll is a triumphant documentary from Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker that explores the history of New York City from the point of view of Black and Latina trans women who were sex workers during the 1980s and 1990s in the Meatpacking District.
Where to watch: The Stroll is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Circus of Books’ (2020)
Circus of Books
Netflix
Circus of Book is a quirky, but heartwarming documentary about a shop best known for selling gay adult films and is now struggling to survive in the age of the internet.
Where to watch: Circus of Books is streaming on Netflix.
‘Will & Harper’ (2024)
Will & Harper
Netflix
Comedy legends Will Ferrell and Harper Lee go on a road trip in this Netflix about two best friends reflecting on their long-standing friendship while looking forward as they navigate the new reality of Lee coming out as a trans woman.
Where to watch: Will & Harper is streaming on Netflix.
‘Enigma’ (2025)
Enigma
HBO
Enigma offers a rare look into the lives of trans women of a different generation who, despite following different paths, had compelling, fascinating, and insightful stories to share with queer and trans youth.
Where to watch: Enigma is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution’ (2024)
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
Netflix
Girl, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution is a kiki!
Whether or not you identify as a Hollywood scholar and a comedy enthusiast, it is incredibly fascinating how so much of queer history can be understood through the lens of comedians, some of which have been cultural agitators breaking new ground for the overall LGBTQ+ community.
Where to watch: Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution is streaming on Netflix.
I’m Your Venus
Netflix
This 2025 documentary is, in a way, a new chapter in the life of one of the most well-known subjects from Paris Is Burning — Venus Xtravaganza.
In I’m Your Venus, the biological family of this trans icon goes through a reckoning as they must confront her death along with her chosen ballroom family.
Where to watch: I’m Your Venus is streaming on Netflix.
‘Pee-wee As Himself’ (2025)
Pee-wee As Himself
HBO
Even though many people have come to learn about Pee-wee As Himself for the headline-making news that the comedian underneath the character, Paul Reubens, comes out as a gay man in the doc — this is a much more interesting exploration of the life and work of an artist.
The overall perception of gay people is also reflected in Reubens’ experiences as documented in the film, which are, admittedly, quite tragic and upsetting at times.
Where to watch: Pee-wee As Himself is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado’ (2020)
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado
Netflix
This Netflix documentary about the mystical TV icon Walter Mercado is a fascinating exploration of a man who, in so many ways, transcended sexuality and gender through a spiritual point of view — all while being and presenting as one of the queerest celebrities to ever exist in mainstream media.
Where to watch: Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado is streaming on Netflix.
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