13 Critically Acclaimed LGBTQ+ Movies You Can Watch on Netflix Right Now
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Hey, you! Yes, you! The one who's in need of a new movie to watch tonight! We have a suggestion: check out a bunch of incredible LGBTQ+ movies on Netflix. Because the streaming giant has access to award-winning titles like Moonlight and Carol, as well as a few hidden gems, it's practically guaranteed that you'll find something you're into. See all our picks, ahead!
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Elisa & Marcela (2019)
This moving film is based on the true story of Elisa and Marcela, who meet in 1885 and form an intense friendship that eventually blossoms into forbidden love. In order to marry her soulmate, Elisa decides to adopt a male identity and make their relationship official.
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Carol (2015)
This tale, which follows the forbidden romance of two women (Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara) in the 1950s, earned a whopping six Oscar nominations.
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Milk (2008)
The true story of Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco politician who was unceremoniously murdered in 1978, is as triumphant as it is devastating. Sean Penn won the Oscar for best actor for playing the titular politician, and the film boasts an award-winning screenplay from Dustin Lance Black.
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Moonlight (2016)
Director Barry Jenkins and writer Tarell Alvin McCraney teamed up for this 2016 Oscar-winning drama, which tells the story of Chiron, a young black man growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood and evolving from a shy child to a complex, troubled adult. Chiron's story is told in three parts, and the main character is portrayed by three different actors, depicting him at varying milestone ages. Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, and Janelle Monáe also star.
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Alex Strangelove (2018)
In the mood for a lighthearted LGBTQ+ romance? Then this Netflix original film should do the trick. The film debuted on the streaming giant last June, and follows high school senior Alex as he realizes he's falling in love with a boy right after promising to lose his virginity to his girlfriend. A roller-coaster journey of sexual identity ensues!
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Paris Is Burning (1990)
This groundbreaking, hypnotic documentary won the top prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and it's not hard to see why. It offers an intimate, unmissable peek into the stunning ball culture of 1980s NYC.
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Other People (2016)
After a terrible breakup, a New York comedy writer (Black Mirror's Jesse Plemons) moves home to Sacramento, CA, to take care of his dying mother, played brilliantly by Molly Shannon.
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The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Director David France's 2017 documentary sees Victoria Cruz investigating the circumstances of the suspicious 1992 death of Marsha P. Johnson, a noted voice against the violence plaguing transgender women of color. Through new interviews with Johnson's family, friends, and fellow activists, the doc paints a stunning portrait of the Stonewall veteran that's necessary viewing.
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The Wound (2017)
John Trengove's drama The Wound was selected as the South African entry for the best foreign language film at the 90th Academy Awards (and made the December shortlist), so it goes without saying that you should give it a watch. The film tracks the rising tension between three closeted men as they arrive at their community's annual initiation ceremony in the mountains of Eastern Cape.
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Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)
This lesbian love story follows two young women (Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos) who fall in love against all odds, and won the prestigious Palme d'Or prize at the annual Cannes Film Festival.
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God's Own Country (2017)
This BAFTA-nominated drama that earned a directing award at Sundance should appeal to any fans of Call Me by Your Name (translation: it should appeal to everyone). Starring Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu as a young farmer and migrant worker, respectively, the film explores their intense, evolving relationship during one lambing season.
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Those People (2015)
Those People takes place in the glittering, seductive, toxic mecca of Manhattan's Upper East Side, where a young gay painter finds himself torn between his new boyfriend and one of his best friends.
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Transformer (2017)
A Marine veteran and record-breaking powerlifter was publicly outed as being transgender in 2015, but Janae Marie Kroczaleski takes hold of the narrative in this 2017 documentary that tracks her transition into a woman and how she blazed her own path in the LGBTQ+ community.