Best LGBT movies: Top 10 gay films to watch

Trying to find the best LGBT movies to watch can be a quest—especially if you’re looking for a film where being gay is not portrayed as traumatic or the lesbian doesn’t die at the end.

Here are some top suggestions from our experts: Alex Leon, a queer man of colour and mental health activist, and Rachael Lewis, who identifies “in a happy place between bisexual and gay.”

Watch as they countdown the best LGBT films they recommend binge watching the next time you’re looking to gay up your Netflix watch list or just need a bit more Cate Blanchett on your Amazon Prime feed.

We also recommend checking out this list of the best (and worst) lesbian rom coms and why this lesbian Bollywood film is shaping “minds and hearts” in India.

Alex’s top five LGBT movies

Philadelphia – Tom Hanks plays a HIV-positive man during the AIDs crisis.

Love, Simon – a positive, rom com-style Hollywood representation of coming out as gay for the first time.

Moonlight – a multi-award-winning film about growing up black and gay.

Paris is Burning – a documentary about voguing culture, which has influenced “literally everything,” including RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Call Me by Your Name – a love story that left Alex “sobbing.”

Rachael’s top five films for gay and bisexual representation

Carol – Cate Blanchett in a seductive lesbian love story, which Rachael says, “is how I feel in my head.”

Pride – an uplifting true story about activists on a journey from Gay’s the Word bookshop in London to Wales’ mining community.

The Kids Are Alright – Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are living in a blissful lesbian marriage until their children’s sperm donor makes an appearance.

Weekend – a British indie film about two guys who meet and have, well, quite an intense weekend.

Milk – Sean Penn plays late gay rights activist Harvey Milk.