This Season's Must-See Queer Docs

From left: Nicole Maines and Janet Mock. Courtesy of T. Greenfield-Sanders / HBO.

HBO has become a reliable purveyor of premium LGBT documentaries, and this winter it delivers another two. The first, Mariela Castro's March: Cuba's Sexual Revolution (premiering November 28), directed by Jon Alpert, follows Raul's daughter, a pioneering activist who, through her work as the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education, has helped advance LGBT rights in a country that, during the Cuban Revolution, sent gay men away to labor camps. Though their wounds are still fresh, subjects like Yanet and Mailin, a rural couple who jokingly refer to themselves as "lesbian peasants," and Juani, a trans man who boasts about his sex appeal post-gender reassignment surgery, reveal a fascinating snapshot of a nation evolving in real time.

Meanwhile, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders's The Trans List (premiering December 5) seeks to illuminate, in interviewer Janet Mock's words, "the mesmerizing constellation" of trans identities. From photographer Amos Mac recalling a childhood spent rummaging for boyish clothes in the Kmart girls section to legendary performer Miss Major Griffin-Gracy detailing her standoff with police at Stonewall, the film's stories are painful, heartwarming, and revelatory, often all at once.

Like what you see here? Subscribe and be the first to receive the latest issue of Out. Subscribe to print here and receive a complimentary digital subscription.