12 Great Films For Pride Month
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1 month ago
From the heart-wrenching to the laugh-out-loud funny, these are our favourite LGBTQ+ flicks
There are plenty of important ways to celebrate Pride month: visiting LGBTQ+ exhibitions, uplifting diverse voices, raising awareness for the struggles queer people still face today, and rallying governments to do better. At the heart of Pride, after all, is protest.
The 2024 Pride Parade, which stems from that original protest, will take place in London on Saturday 29 June – but Pride takes place all month long. In between celebrations, it’s important to get some headspace, and we’ll be resting up with a movie. Here is our top pick of films to watch this Pride month, from the hilarious to the vitally important.
Best Films To Watch This Pride Month
Pride (2014)
This British comedy bagged the Queer Palm award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival – and for good reason. Starring the likes of Ben Schnetzer, Joseph Gilgun, George MacKay, Dominic West, Andrew Scott, Imelda Staunton, Jessica Gunning, Bill Nighy and plenty more, the film recalls the 1984 British miners’ strike and depicts the real group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help the families struggling as a result of the strike.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
This mesmerising, evocative coming-of-age film heralded Timothée Chalamet meteoric rise to fame. He plays Elio Perlman, a 17-year-old who embarks on a romantic tryst with Oliver (Armie Hammer), the 24-year-old graduate student assistant to Elio’s archaeology professor of a father, Samuel (Michael Stuhlbarg). Backdropped by sun soaked Italy, it’s the perfect watch for a dose of escapism.
All Of Us Strangers (2023)
For a newer film to watch this Pride month, if you haven’t seen it already, All Of Us Strangers is a must-see. Led by the captivating Andrew Scott – who is joined by Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell – we follow a young screenwriter Adam who lives in a lonely London apartment block. After a chance encounter with his neighbour Harry (Mescal), his life descends into a strange mystery that also involves his long-dead parents who he finds in his childhood home somehow alive.
Bottoms (2023)
If you’re looking for more of a laugh this Pride month, Bottoms is the perfect watch. Written by Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, we follow unpopular best friends PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) who are both lesbian virgins desperate for some action. And, in order to do so, the two set up a ‘self defense club’, hoping to lure attractive girls into their circle. Also starring Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber and Nicholas Galitzine, it’s laugh-out-loud hilarious throughout.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
Fancy a trip to the cinema? Now playing is Love Lies Bleeding, a steamy lesbian drama that descends into revenge. Starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, we centre on Lou, a gym manager in an Americana style town, captivated by bodybuilder Jackie who starts training in her gym. Jackie is passing through town, intent on pursuing her bodybuilding dreams.
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)
Another winner of Cannes’ Queer Palm award (this time in 2019), Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a beloved lesbian French historical drama directed by by Céline Sciamma, starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Whisking us back to late 18th century France, we follow two young women: an aristocrat and a painter commissioned to paint her portrait for her future husband who has never seen her but wants to know what she looks like.
The Danish Girl (2015)
Back in 2015, The Danish Girl was the film on everyone’s lips, with the lead actors Eddie Redmaybe and Alicia Vikander receiving widespread critical acclaim for their performances. Set in mid-1920s Copenhagen, the film – based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff – is loosely based on the lives of Danish painters Gerda Wegener and Lili Elbe, the latter being one of the earliest known recipients of gender affirming surgery.
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
With the news of a sequel on the horizon, Red, White & Royal Blue is one of the best films to watch this Pride month, especially if you’re looking for a laugh. Based on Casey McQuiston’s novel of the same name, we follow first US son Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and British Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) who experience an enemies-to-lovers affair.
Moonlight (2016)
Well known for a certain Oscars mishap, Moonlight is a masterpiece coming-of-age LGBTQ+ drama, perfect for more of a high-brow watch this pride month. Based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, we follow Chiron (played by Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes) through three periods of his life – childhood, adolescence and early adulthood – as he navigates his sexuality, as well as physical and emotional abuse.
Femme (2023)
This British film is led by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay in a gripping, tense thriller. We follow Jules, a drag queen who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack, destroying his life, confidence and career. When he later encounters on of his attackers in a gay sauna, he sets out for revenge.
Ammonite (2020)
Loosely inspired by the life of British palaeontologist Mary Anning, Ammonite is one of the loveliest films to watch this Pride month, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan at the fore. Set in the 1840s, they play Mary Anning and Charlotte Murchison respectively, the latter being a British geologist, exploring the speculative romantic relationship between the pair.
The Favourite (2018)
If you enjoyed Poor Things, The Favourite is a must-watch film this Pride month. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, it is led by a trio of women – Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz – and explores the aftermath of Queen Anne of England (Colman) falling sick and her close aide Sarah (Weisz) overseeing the nation’s important matters while her cousin Abigail (Stone) starts serving the Queen.
