Last updated March 28, 2024
Helmed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, this illuminating documentary chronicles the story of Shane Bitney Crone, who finds himself shut out and deprived of the legal protections of marriage after his same-sex partner dies in a tragic accident.
Details about Bridegroom
Penetrating the tight-knit community of minority drag queens living in New York City, Jennie Livingston's acclaimed documentary offers an early glimpse at the art of "voguing," the underground dance style later popularized by Madonna in her hit song. The film also explores issues such as racism, homophobia and AIDS, while offering a detailed examination of the intricate Ball culture, in which queens are judged for their style and expression.
Details about Paris Is Burning
This poignant documentary, filmed over three years, profiles country music star Chely Wright, a devout Christian whose struggle to succeed in the music biz while hiding her homosexuality from her conservative family and fans caused her much anguish.
Details about Chely Wright: Wish Me Away
The AIDS crisis forever changed gay culture in San Francisco, as examined in this absorbing documentary from David Weissman, who explores the disease's impact on five individuals. Vintage film clips accompany their sobering stories.
Details about We Were Here
Spurred by director Ky Dickens's own coming-out story, this playfully animated documentary confronts the slippery topic of homosexuality head on, honing in on Bible verses oft-cited as condemnatory and opening them to fresh interpretation.
Details about Fish Out of Water
Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick sets out to expose the hypocrisy of gay politicians who passionately criticize the LGBT community in public while concealing their own sexual orientation.
Details about Outrage
This powerful documentary chronicles the life of openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who, among many contributions to the cause, is best known for organizing the 1963 March on Washington, D.C., involving hundreds of thousands of people.
Details about Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
Forty-two years of romance, struggle and shared adventures finally culminate in marriage for lifelong lesbian couple Edie and Thea, who met in the 1960s and stayed together through the turbulent decades of activism and social change that followed. Looking at pictures from their past, the women marvel at simple triumphs -- buying their first house together -- and reminisce about the constant fear of exposure they once felt.
Details about Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement
Father Mychal Judge, chaplain to the New York City Fire Department, is best remembered as the faithful Franciscan priest who was killed on 9/11. The beloved friar lived a fulfilling life helping the needy and wasn't your ordinary man of the cloth: he battled alcoholism and was a privately gay man. Through interviews, archival footage and Sir Ian McKellen's narration, Glenn Holsten documents this extraordinary man's life until his untimely death.
Details about Saint of 9/11
Punk poetess Patti Smith reflects on the relationship she shared with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and curator-collector Sam Wagstaff in the heady years of the 1970s and '80s New York art scene.
Details about Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe
For years, the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church have preached a message of intolerance and hatred, aimed at homosexuals. This compelling documentary shines a spotlight on Phelps and his followers, widely condemned as a hate group. K. Ryan Jones's debut takes a hard look a church that claims that everything from the poor economy to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks can be tied to God's wrath over so-called sexual deviance.
Details about Fall from Grace
Revered by some for breaking new ground and reviled by others for reinforcing stereotypes, The Boys in the Band was the first gay-themed film to reach a mainstream audience. This documentary paints a vivid picture of how it got there. Through interviews with Tony Kushner, Edward Albee and more -- plus wonderful period footage of Hollywood's gay past (think Roddy MacDowell and Sal Mineo) -- the film reveals The Boys in the Band's enduring legacy.
Details about Making the Boys
Despite the collective outings of Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John, Rosie O'Donnell and Olympic diver Greg Louganis, homophobia is alive and well -- especially in the small towns of the Deep South. Focusing on the day-to-day struggles of two Mississippi gay bars and the grateful patrons who often travel hundreds of miles to find them, filmmaker Malcolm Ingram reveals a surprisingly close community that treats its residents like family members.
Details about Small Town Gay Bar
This inspirational documentary profiles five individuals who came out as lesbian, gay or transgender after the age of 55, and examines the reasons for the timing of their decisions to reveal their orientation to their family and friends.
Details about Out Late
Through a variety of animation styles, this unconventional biopic tells the extraordinary and utterly inaccurate story behind late Monty Python member Graham Chapman, who recorded passages from his autobiography shortly before his death in 1989.
Details about A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
This documentary explores the efforts of religious groups and fringe psychologists to "cure" gay people of their homosexuality, from encouraging them to engage in "gender-appropriate" activities to using electric shocks as part of aversion therapy.
Details about One Nation Under God
In high school, Kimberly Reed was male, a straight-A student and captain of the football team. But since leaving his rural Montana hometown, he's become a woman -- and a filmmaker whose documentary could not be any more personal. Half the story involves her attending her high school reunion as a transgendered female; the other half involves reuniting with her siblings, including her estranged adopted brother.
Details about Prodigal Sons
Trace the fascinating lives of New Zealand's provocative music and comedy duo Jools and Linda Topp through this enjoyable documentary, which details the lesbian twins' rural upbringing, political activism and immense popularity at home and abroad. Featuring hilarious interviews with several of the sisters' most outrageous alter egos, this joyous celebration also includes brilliant insights into New Zealand's history.
Details about The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
Turning a slur sprayed on her VW Beetle from scarlet letters into a badge of honor, Sage College grad student Erin Davies hit the road in her rechristened "fagbug" to raise awareness of gay rights and to speak where others had been silenced. The resulting documentary captures a 58-day cross-continental trip in which Davies interviews 400 people, discovers the virulence of hate crimes and records reactions to her queerly customized ride.
Details about Fagbug
Between the World Wars, Paris was the world's artistic capital, attracting cultural titans like Gertrude Stein and others. Through home movies and intimate storytelling, this documentary re-creates the mood of this unique female artistic community.
Details about Paris Was a Woman
An insightful look at four gay men who are fathers, this documentary follows married partners Randy and Drew raising an adopted baby boy, Steve co-parenting two daughters with a lesbian couple and Scott working with a surrogate mother.
Details about Fatherhood Dreams
This provocative and insightful film documents three years in the lives of identical twins Mark and Alex Farley as they come to terms not only with their homosexuality, but also with Alex's decision to transition from male to female. Haunted by a troubled past -- including divorced parents, discrimination and a joint suicide attempt -- the brothers struggle to affirm their identity and learn what it means to be a family outside of traditional norms.
Details about Red Without Blue
Janeane Garofalo hosts this documentary focusing on gay communities in Africa, India, Vietnam and Honduras, shining a light on the unique challenges that many gays and lesbians face when deciding whether to come out.
Details about Dangerous Living
Go backstage at the country's oldest drag club with this fascinating look at the psychology of drag that examines the skills needed for men to transform into women and the complex social interaction between performers and audience. Writer-director Jan Haaken's documentary spotlights Darcelle XV, a 75-year-old drag queen, activist and club co-owner who serves as a "community therapist" as she interacts with audience members of all stripes.
Details about Queens of Heart
This documentary chronicles the little-known history of gay Mardi Gras krewes, beginning with the start of New Orleans's "drag balls" in the 1950s. From there, the scene went public, helping the city's gay residents fight the prejudices of the time.
Details about The Sons of Tennessee Williams
 
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