The 5 best LGBTQ+ documentaries to stream during Pride Month

Learn more about the queer movement and its fight for equality for all people

It’s Pride Month, so now’s the perfect time to shift your viewing habits to learn a bit more about the LGBTQIA+ community and understand what this month is all about. The films we have gathered below are excellent documentaries that highlight the broad struggles gay and trans people have experienced over the years, and the many successes we collectively have had along the way.

Before Stonewall (1984)

If you’re still in the early stages of learning about Pride history, Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a must watch film. The film takes a look at the LGBT community before the events of the Stonewall Riots, which are considering the start of the LGBT rights movement.

It’s an older film, but it’s candid looks at people’s lives prior to Stonewall - and within a culture where being out was far from the norm - is a beautiful and moving reminder that the LGBT community has always existed and strived for belonging and acceptance. Before Stonewall is an award-winning documentary that has been archived in the Library of Congress for its cultural significance.

Prime Video

The Sons of Tennessee Williams (2010)

Tennessee Williams (best known for A Streetcar Named Desire) is one of the most influential American playwrights of the 20th century. He was also gay, an open secret to everyone around him, and even wrote a play about drag queens that was never published while he was alive. As a foundational gay entertainment icon, he is an inspiration for gay performing artists, as evidenced by the fillm The Sons of Tennessee Williams.

The film doesn’t have anything to do with his work, but the legacy Williams leaves behind is on full display. The film follows five decades of gay carnival balls in New Orleans, and how the gay participants must face discrimination and police force to celebrate Mardi Gras the way they want.

It’s a great film for Pride month since it highlights the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community’s struggles to celebrate their sexuality, and the highs and lows they have experienced along the way.

Tubi

Matt Shephard Is A Friend of Mine (2014)

Matt Shephard’s murder in 1998 drew national attention, and it shone a light on the hostility LGBT people faced every day. Matt Shephard Is A Friend of Mine takes a behind the scenes look at Matt’s life as friends and family reflect on him. It’s intimate, tragic, and a hard-hitting look at the pain bigotry and intolerance can inflict.

It’s necessary viewing, and the documentary won a slew of awards when it came out in 2014.

Pluto TV

Disclosure (2020)

Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen is a documentary that explores the depiction of trans people in film and television, for better and worse. It features prominent trans artists and academics like Laverne Cox (of Orange is the New Black fame), Susan Stryker, and Lily Wachowski.

Disclosure is important because it highlights the importance of positive representation, and how media can shape cultural views on groups and shape young minds.

Netflix

How to Survive a Plague (2012)

How to Survive a Plague follows activist groups as they seek aid for afflicted gay people during the AIDS pandemic. The film covers the early years of the AIDS crisis through the mid-nineties, and it highlights how ineffectual and apathetic the United States government was to treat something they viewed as only affecting gay people.

The film is all the harder to watch as the US begins to emerge from another pandemic, but it’s an important piece to understanding the broader issues the LGBTQ community has faced over the years.

HBO Max

See queer representation all around

These documentaries barely scratch the surface when it comes to LGBTQIA history. Queer culture is incredibly diverse as are the various communities that make it great. Whether you're spending the night in or just want to watch something that recognizes the various lived experiences of LGBTQ people, there are incredible films by queer directors that you can stream. Netflix also has an incredible selection of LGBTQ films like Duck Butter and Tangerine.

If you're not the streaming sort or you just want to do something different on your morning commute, we picked our favorite LGBTQ-inclusive games in the Play Store.