Check out these queer films from around the world!
Queer movies don't just come from the United States. Many of the best films by queer filmmakers and many of the best films telling queer stories come from all around the world. So we've put together this list of just a small sampling of those great films that showcase LGBTQ+ stories and talent on a global scale!
If you don't feel comfortable traveling right now, try watching one of these great international LGBTQ+ movies instead!
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Alice Júnior
Anna Celestino Mota stars in this Brazilian coming-of-age film about a trans teenager. The titular Alice is a 17-year-old trans YouTuber who moves to the countryside and is put in a Catholic school where she experiences bullying and her first kiss. You can watch on Netflix.
Blue is the Warmest Color
This French film caused an international sensation for its explicit and raw depiction of sexuality between two young women played by Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos. The movie won the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and you can stream it on Amazon Prime.
A Fantastic Woman
The winner of the 2017 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film was this Chilean movie about a young trans woman played excellently by Daniela Vega who has to deal with the aftermath of her older boyfriend's sudden death. You can rent it on Amazon Prime.
God's Own Country
This British film, and its director Francis Lee, won the World Cinema Directing Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It's about Johnny, a farmworker who spends his nights getting drunk and hooking up with men. But when he meets a Romanian migrant worker named Gheorghe, he starts to change his ways. Streaming on Hulu.
The Handmaiden
Park Chan-wook's erotic thriller is one of the best lesbian movies of all time. Set in Korea in the first half of the 20th century, the movie is beautifully shot and full of powerful performances, dizzying plots, and sizzling sex scenes. You can rent it on Vudu.
Happy Together
This Wong Kar-Wai classic is one of the best gay films out there. It tells the beautiful and tragic story of two young gay men from Hong Kong who move to Argentina looking for a better life. The film won Best Director at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for its moving depiction of loss, reconciliation, and love. Currently streaming on HBO Max.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
This French period piece is an all-time great in lesbian cinema. It's about a painter falling in love with the beautiful aristocrat she's hired to paint in 18th century France. Celine Sciamma's award-winning film has more yearning than an Indigo Girls album. Stream it on Hulu.
Rafiki
Rafiki is the first Kenyan film to be screened at Cannes, and is about two young women named Kena and Ziki as their romance blossoms among family and political pressure in their home country where homosexuaility is illegal. You can watch it on Hulu.
Show Me Love
Starring Rebecka Liljeberg and Alexandra Dahlstrom, Show Me Love is a 1998 Swedish romantic comedy drama about two very different teenage girls who fall in love.
The Way He Looks
This Brazilian coming-of-age film is about Leonardo, a blind high school student trying to gain some independence as he grows up. While his overprotective parents try to keep him safe, he meets a new student named Gabriel who helps him with his goal to get his first kiss. You can rent the film on Amazon.
The Wound
The Wound is a 2017 South African Drama that centers around three closeted gay men participating in the Xhosa initiation ritual of Ulwaluko. It was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017. You can rent it on Amazon Prime.
Tokyo Godfathers
Satoshi Kon's anime classic follows three homeless friends - a middle-aged alcoholic named Gin, a trans woman named Hana, and a teen runaway girl named Miyuki who discover an abandoned newborn baby on Christmas Eve. Shakina Nayfack recently became the first trans actor to voice Hana in a new, and terrific, dubbing of the film. You can rent on YouTube.
Viva
This Irish film set in Cuba and with dialogue in Spanish follows a young hairdresser named Jesus trying to reconnect with his estranged father while also staying true to his dream of being a drag queen. It stars Jorge Perugorria and Luis Alberto Garcia. You can rent it on Amazon Prime.
Your Name Engraved Herein
One of the most acclaimed queer films in recent years is this romance from Taiwan about two young men falling in love as martial law ends in their home county. It's available to stream on Netflix.
Y tu mamá también
Alfonso Cuaron's 2002 classic stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as two best friends who go on a road trip with an older woman and explore the limits of their friendship and their sexuality. You can rent it on Amazon Prime.
