LibGuides: LGBTQIA+ Feature Films: Home

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Introduction

The following are feature films with LGBTQIA+ subjects. Use the call numbers to locate the films. Most will be in the Movies & TV Collection on the second floor of the Library, and may be checked out for four weeks.

For non-video resources, visit the LGBTQIA+ Resources and LGBTQ+ Fiction guides.

Films

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV ADV. OF PRISCILLA

With a contract to perform a drag show way out in the Australian desert, Tick, Adam, and Ralph each has his own reason for wanting to leave the safety of Sydney. Christening their battered pink tour bus "Priscilla," the trio heads for the outback and into crazy adventures in even crazier outfits.
Ammonite by Francis Lee
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV AMMONITE

In the 1840s, acclaimed self-taught palaeontologist Mary Anning works alone on the wild English coastline. She hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself. When one such tourist arrives in Lyme, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte, who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. Despite their differences, it is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.
Angels in America by HBO Films
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV ANGELS IN AMER.

Set in 1985. Revolves around two very different men with AIDS, one fictional, one fictionalized.
Beira-mar by Filipe Matzembacher & Marcio Reolon
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV SEASHORE

Having drifted apart, Martin invites his friend Tomaz to go to southern Brazil, where he is traveling to sort out a family inheritance matter. Tomaz is openly gay yet has never discussed this with Martin. Martin does know, however, and furthermore harbors an attraction for his old friend. Once the two young men arrive at the seaside cottage, inevitably, awkward feelings develop, as they explore the borders between friendship and love.
In Portuguese with English subtitles.
The Birdcage
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BIRDCAGE

Armand and Albert are a middle-aged gay couple who own and star at a gay nightclub in South Beach. When Armand's son announces his intention to marry the daughter of a conservative Senator, the whole household is turned upside down for a family visit.
Blue Is the Warmest Color
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BLUE IS THE

The colorful, electrifying romance that took the Cannes Film Festival by storm courageously dives into a young woman's experiences of first love and sexual awakening.
In French with optional English subtitles.
Boy Erased
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BOY ERASED

Boy Erased tells the courageous story of Jared Eamons, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who must overcome the fallout of being outed to his parents. His parents struggle with reconciling their love for their son with their beliefs. Fearing a loss of family, friends, and community, Jared is pressured into attending a conversion therapy program. While there, Jared comes into conflict with its leader and begins his journey to finding his own voice and accepting his true self.
Boy Meets Girl by Eric Schaeffer
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BOY MEETS GIRL

Three twenty year-olds living in Kentucky, Robby and his best friend since childhood, Ricky, a gorgeous transgender girl, have never dated. Lamenting the lack of eligible bachelors, Ricky considers dating a girl. In walks Francesca, a beautiful young debutante waiting or her Marine fiance to return from the war.
Boys Don't Cry by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BOYS DON'T CRY

A transgendered youth starts living as a man, and assumes the name Brandon Teena. He moves to a tiny Nebraska town and begins making new friends under his new identity. All goes well until his new friends discover his secret. Based on a true story about hope, fear, and the courage it takes to be yourself.
Boys in the Band by Mart Crowley
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIE & TV BOYS IN THE BAND

A witty, perceptive and devastating look at the personal agendas and suppressed revelations swirling among a group of gay men in Manhattan. Harold is celebrating a birthday, and his friend Michael has drafted some friends to help commemorate the event. As the evening progresses, the alcohol flows, the knives come out, and Michael's demand that the group participate in a devious telephone game unleashes dormant and unspoken emotions.
Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BROKEBACK

It's 1963, a time in the United States when the lines between the sexes and sex roles were crisply drawn and severely delineated. Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist find themselves thrown together when they are hired to tend sheep in the remote area of Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming, and are inexorably drawn to each other.
Cabaret by Warner Brothers
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV CABARET

Berlin, 1931. As Nazism rises in Germany, flamboyant American Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) sings in a decadent nightclub and falls in love with a British language teacher (Michael York)--whom she shares with a homosexual German baron. But Sally's small, carefree, tolerant and fragile cabaret world is about to be crushed under the boot of the Nazis as Berlin becomes a trap from which Sally's German friends will not escape.
Danish Girl by Tom Hooper
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV DANISH GIRL

The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Fire by Trial by Fire Films.
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV FIRE

Banned in India, this film was the first to confront lesbianism in that country.
From Afar = Desde allá by Factor RH & Malandro Films
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV FROM AFAR

Wealthy, middle-aged Armando lures young men to his home with money. He doesn't want to touch, only watch from a strict distance. Armando's first encounter with street thug Elder is violent, but this doesn't discourage the lonely man's fascination with the tough handsome teenager. Financial interest keeps Elder visiting him regularly and an unexpected intimacy emerges. However, Armando's haunted past looms large, and Elder commits the ultimate act of affection on Armando's behalf.
Spanish dialogue; English subtitles.
God's Own Country by Francis Lee
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV GOD'S OWN

Spring. Yorkshire. Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path
Gods and Monsters
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV GODS AND MON.

It's 1957, and Hollywood horror director James Whale's heyday as the director of "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The invisible man" is long behind him. Retired and a semi-recluse, he lives his days accompanied only by images from his past. When his dour housekeeper Hannah hires handsome young gardener Clayton Boone, the gay director and the simple yardman develop an unlikely friendship.
Imitation Game by Black Bear Pictures
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV IMITATION GAME

Famously leading a team of codebreakers, mathematician Alan Turing created a computer capable of breaking the codes devised by Germany's Enigma machine during WWII, significantly contributing to shortening the war, and saving millions of lives. Only a few years later, British authorities ignorant of his contributions convicted him for the crime of homosexuality, significantly contributing to shortening his life.
Kanarie by Christiaan Olwagen
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV KANARIE

A coming-of-age war musical about a small town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert group—known as the "Canaries"—during the height of the Apartheid regime.
Afrikaans dialogue; English subtitles.
Kiss of the Spider Woman by Hector Babenco
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV KISS OF THE

A gay man and a political prisoner are together in a prison. The gay man narrates the stories of two fake movies and his own life.
Love, Simon
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV LOVE, SIMON

Everyone deserves a great love story, but for seventeen year old Simon Spier, it's a little more complicated. He hasn't told his family or friends that he's gay, and he doesn't know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life changing.
Milk by Gus Van Sant
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV MILK

Harvey Milk is a middle-aged New Yorker who, after moving to San Francisco, becomes a Gay Rights activist and city politician. On his third attempt, he is elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977, the first openly-gay man to be elected to public office in the United States. The following year, both he and the city's mayor, George Moscone, are shot to death by former city supervisor, Dan White, who blames his former colleagues for denying White's attempt to rescind his resignation from the board.
Moonlight by Barry Jenkins
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV MOONLIGHT

A young black man struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.
Mosquita y Mari
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV MOSQUITA

A coming of age tale following a pair of Latina teens who gradually fall in love against the backdrop of East L.A.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Caeline Sciamma
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV / PORTRAIT OF A

France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse's first moments of freedom.
Pride by Matthew Warchus
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV PRIDE

U.K. gay activists work to assist miners during their extended strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
Quand on a 17 Ans = Being 17
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV BEING 17

Damien and Thomas are French teenagers from very different upbringings who go to the same high school but can't stand each other. When circumstances bring Damien's mother Marianne to invite Thomas to live with them, the young men are forced to coexist and work through their emerging attraction and complicated desires.
French dialogue with optional English or Spanish subtitles.
Rafiki = Friend by Jenna Bass & Wanuri Kahiu
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV RAFIKI

Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
In English and Swahili with English subtitles.
Reaching For the Moon
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV REACHING FOR

Based on the true love story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares. This English-language 1950s period piece recounts the years of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop when she left America to live and write in Rio de Janiero, where she would fall in love with well-off architect Lota de Macedo Soares.
Rent by Chris Columbus
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV RENT

Focuses on the year in the life of a group of friends in New York's East Village. The "bohemians" live carefree lives of art, music, sex, and drugs. It is carefree until Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger, an aspiring songwriter, find out they owe a year's rent to Benny.
Single Man by Tom Ford and David Scearce
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV SINGLE MAN

After the death of his longtime partner, a British college professor in Los Angeles struggles to find meaning in his life. As he dwells in the past, he begins to contemplate suicide. A series of events and encounters will lead him to question if there really is a meaning to his life after all.
Spa Night by Andrew Ahn
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV SPA NIGHT

Los Angeles' Korean spas serve as meeting place and bridge between past and future for generations of immigrant families; Spa Night explores one Korean-American family's dreams and realities as each struggles with the overlap of personal desire, disillusionment and sense of tradition.
Tangerine by Tom Baker
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV TANGERINE

It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles.
Tomboy by Céline Sciamma
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV TOMBOY

"Laure is 10 years old and a tomboy. On arrival in a new neighborhood, she lets Lisa and her crowd believe that she is a boy. Summer becomes a big playground and Laure pretends to be "Mikael", a boy like the others, different enough to get the attention of Lisa, who falls in love with him. Laure takes advantage of her new identity as if the end of the summer would never reveal her unsettling secret"
Transamerica by William H. Macy
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV TRANSAMERICA

Bree Osborne, a pre-operative transsexual, learns she fathered a child back when she was Stanley Osborne. The wheels of fortune take Bree and her teenaged son on a cross-country trip that will change both their lives.
The Way He Looks (Hoje eu quero voltar sozinho = I Want to Go Back Alone) by Daniel Ribeiro
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV WAY HE LOOKS

Leo is a blind teenager who's fed up with his overprotective mother and the bullies at school. Looking to assert his independence, he decides to study abroad to the dismay of his best friend, Giovana. When Gabriel, the new kid in town, teams with Leo on a school project, new feelings blossom in him that make him reconsider his plans.
Portuguese dialogue with optional English or Spanish subtitles
Were the World Mine by Tom Gustafson
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV WERE THE WORLD

When Timothy is cast as Puck in A Midsummer's Night's Dream, the young gay man stumbles upon a secret love-potion recipe hidden in the script. He creates comic chaos as he turns much of his narrow-minded town gay, starting with the rugby jock of his dreams.
Whale by Darren Aronofsky
Call Number: Movies & TV ; MOVIES & TV / WHALE

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.