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7 Essential LGBTQIA+ Movies to Watch During Pride Month

By Shannon Corbeil · June 7, 2023

7 Essential LGBTQIA+ Movies to Watch During Pride Month

It’s very fitting that the rainbow flag is a symbol for the LGBTQIA+ community; not only is it cheerful and uplifting, but it symbolizes the spectrum that gender expression and sexuality reside in. It’s heartbreaking to think of the history of oppression that people have endured for loving who they love and being who they are. I say this as someone who has always thought of herself as an ally but has recently come to identify more with the community than I’d previously thought. 

Thanks to LGBTQIA+ activists, today’s younger generations are normalizing queer identities and openly publishing books and social media that educate each other. In fact, thanks to online accounts like @capricampeau, yours truly learned that you can be bisexual while also heteroromantic and officially upgraded herself from years of being bicurious. 

Yes, this is my official coming out.

I hope you’re out there connecting with this uplifting and courageous community online and in your city’s Pride celebrations — but there’s also a great library of films to watch this June. From queer figures in history, coming out stories, and same-sex romances, this list has you covered. 

As a note, there are a lot of films about homosexual relationships that are thwarted by homophobia (see Carol, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Ammomite, Brokeback Mountain, Milk, etc). While these stories reflect truth in our history and in our present, I chose to omit most of those here except where noted. It’s Pride Month, baby — love is love is love and we’re gonna celebrate!

Read More: A Spectrum of Light & Love: Celebrating Pride Month

Booksmart

Booksmart is a coming of age story about friendship and self-discovery. Kaitlyn Dever expertly plays Amy, a high school senior on the evening of graduation who finally gets to hook up with a girl — if not the one she’s been pining for. The endearing scene captures the awkwardness and vulnerability of first times. No one ever questions or judges Amy for being queer — exactly as it should be. 

Download the script!

Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name is a tender coming-of-age story about Elio, a 17 year-old boy who falls in love with Oliver, a 24 year-old graduate student living with his family over the summer. The film captures the tenderness of first love, the heartache of a broken heart, and loving support from family during life’s challenging moments. 

Download the script!

Moonlight

I wouldn’t describe Moonlight as a feel-good film, but it explores sexuality and masculinity with such honesty, frailty and brutality that I wanted to include it on this list. I think that many men can relate to it, especially Black gay men who are targeted especially harshly in our society. Moonlight tells the story of Chiron in three parts: as a child who first learns about homophobia, as a teenager exploring his sexuality, and as a grown man looking for healing. 

Download the script!

Love, Simon

Love, Simon, from 20th Century Fox, is the first film by a major Hollywood studio to focus on a gay teenage romance. It centers on the titular Simon, a closeted gay student who begins communicating via email with a closeted gay student at his school known only by the pseudonym “Blue.” I love this film because Simon is darling, his parents are loving and supportive and the message overall is that we should all be free to be ourselves. If you enjoy this film, check out the spin off TV series Love, Victor.

Download the script!

Fire Island

Fire Island is a romantic comedy inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, so you know that sexual tension is high and romance reigns. A group of gay friends go on their annual —and final — vacation to Fire Island, home of all manner of gay villages. When the boys meet new friends and potential love interests, a series of will-they-won’t-they circumstances bring enemies to light and lovers together.

Tangerine

Tangerine first made headlines at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival for being shot on the iPhone 5S. It is a comedy-drama starring Kitana Kiki Rodriguez as Sin-Dee, Mya Taylor, and James Ransone about a transgender sex worker who discovers her boyfriend and pimp has been cheating on her. This is Sin-Dee’s odyssey, and while there’s merit to the conversation that still many roles for trans actors are sex worker portrayals, Rodriguez shines in this creative trailblazer.

Download the script!

7 Essential LGBTQIA+ Movies to Watch During Pride Month

The Mummy

This one is for my fellow bisexual babies out there. Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr and Patricia Velasquez, I mean, do I even have to elaborate?

Download the script!

Bonus: Queer TV Shows

The L Word (the OG), Schitt’s Creek (“I like the wine, not the label,”) Sense8 (a trans lead? Happy gay couples? Orgies? Pride parades? Gimme more more more), Pose (show some respect), Orange is the New Black, Feel Good, Queer Eye, I could go on and on — TV is really leading the way here with queer representation and casting.

Read More: The Allegory of Otherness: Queer Narratives in 2017’s Genre Cinema

There’s no doubt about it — cinema is far behind on joyful representation of the LGBTQIA+ community, but there is hope. In 2022, even Hallmark finally released their first Christmas movie featuring a same-sex couple (right behind Hulu’s Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis and Aubrey Plaza). While it’s important to tell stories that reveal the truth of what queer people have endured and continue to endure, what we really need are more stories about people living their lives who happen to be gay/trans/bi/non-binary and so on. We saw it in films like The Eternals and shows like Modern Family, and I’m here to say give us more, more, more. 

So if you’re a queer writer, this is a sign to get out there and write the stories you want to see! We need your point of view. 

Happy writing and HAPPY PRIDE!!!


Shannon Corbeil is a writer, actor, and U.S. Air Force veteran in Los Angeles with appearances on SEAL Team and The Rookie. She was also a 2023 DGE TV Writing Program Finalist, and her screenplays have placed in various contests. You can read more about her on her website or come play on Instagram and Twitter!

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