10 amazing, recently-released Black queer movies you can’t afford to miss this Black History Month
Anything’s Possible and Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero. (Amazon Studios and HBO)
As Black History Month 2024 continues in the UK, we felt it was a great time to celebrate ten amazing Black LGBTQ+ films that have been recently released, including one set in the American South in the early 1900s.
Here are several powerful, moving, must-see films celebrating queer Black lives and love that you should watch, from an American teen rom-com charting a trans high schooler to a documentary about non-conformist youth in Nigeria leading change.
All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White (2023)
First on our Black History Month list is this Nigerian romantic drama, which was the directorial debut of writer and director Babatunde Apalowo. All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White follows two men, Bambino and Bawa, who connect over a photography competition.
Outside of the competition, their relationship develops a tenderness which arises silently between the two men. As they explore the city of Lagos together their affection swells into deeply felt emotional attraction.
However, any queer feeling must be buried publicly as expressions of homosexuality are illegal in Nigeria and punishable by up to 14 years of prison.
Anything’s Possible (2022)
This Gen Z coming-of-age story follows Kelsa, a trans high school student, as she navigates her senior year. When her classmate Khal develops a crush on Kelsa, he worries about the judgement of dating a trans girl.
Directed by Pose star Billy Porter and written by Ximena García Lecuona, Anything’s Possible is a warm-hearted addition to the teen rom-com genre. The film turns its attention to Kelsa as she wants to thrive in her senior year of high school rather than just survive, an optimistic change from the often-explored trans teenage struggle.
Brother (2022)
Third on our Black History Month list is this adaptation of David Chariandy’s award-winning novel of the same name. Brother chronicles the relationship of two Black Canadian brothers, Francis and Michael, in Toronto.
Set in the early 1990s, the Canadian film tackles masculinity, identity and family as these two sons of Caribbean immigrants coming of age in a non-linear narrative. Though the film doesn’t speak of LGBTQ+ themes explicitly, some scenes see Francis being intimate with a male friend.
Though the brothers forge different lives from each other, Brother speaks to the unconditional, omnipresent love and protection that forever lingers between siblings.
The Colour Purple (2023)
The fourth movie on our Black History Month list is this adaptation of an iconic stage musical, itself based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker.
The Colour Purple follows Celie, a young African-American woman who is raped by her father, gives birth to two of his children and is then married off to an abusive man.
Blitz Bazawule’s film is the second adaptation of The Colour Purple novel following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg. The musical period drama is set in the American South, playing out during the early 1900s. In the plot’s subtext, many read a story about Black lesbians.
The film has a stacked cast of stars, including Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, and Fantasia Barrino.
Country Love (2022)
Writer-director Wapah Ezeigwe’s directorial debut Country Love chronicles Kambili, an effeminate gay man, returning to his home village in Nigeria for the first time in 15 years. His return was spurred by a heartfelt letter of reconciliation penned by his sister which led him to step foot again in the village he used to know.
Arriving back, Kambili is left to confront his childhood, the bitter-sweet memories of a place he used to call home and the deep affection he once held for his childhood friend. Picking up the pieces of a past life, Kambili must make a choice: whether to reignite the flame of his queer desire or bury the feelings.
“I didn’t want to expose my actors to any sort of homophobic attack or maybe some altercation,” Ezeigwe told Open Country Magazine about filming in Nigeria. “I had to lie to a lot of people a lot of times and I don’t even feel sorry for lying to them. There were no two ways about it: the story is ‘abominable’ to society, but the story must be told because it is worthy to be told and the only way to get it done was to be intentional with what I say and to be very unapologetic about saying them!”
I Don’t Know Who You Are (2023)
M. H. Murray’s feature directional debut, I Don’t Know Who You Are, charts a gay working-class musician desperately trying to pull together money for treatment to protect himself from HIV after he is sexually assaulted by a stranger.
The film plays out over one intense weekend as Benjamin urgently gathers $1000 for PEP, post-exposure prophylaxis. Shot guerrilla-style, the film was praised for its deeply affecting narrative and lived plot, partly based on Murray’s real-life experience in the healthcare system struggling to attain PEP treatment after being sexually assaulted.
The Legend of the Underground (2021)
Nneka Onuorah and Giselle Bailey’s The Legend of the Underground shakes things up with a powerful documentary spotlighting the voices of non-conformist youth in Nigeria.
The documentary, which HBO picked up, follows a number of young people as they attempt to fight rampant discrimination in their home country. Amidst their battle, they are left to decide whether to stay or flee to live elsewhere, where LGBTQ+ freedom is easier to come by.
This timely film brings ideals of gender, conformity and civil rights in Nigeria to the forefront, implementing social media and celebrity in the cultural debate and cultural revolution.
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero (2023)
Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel’s 2023 documentary profiles the iconic Lil Nas X during his 2022 Long Live Montero Tour. The gay rapper, singer and songwriter – who holds two Grammy Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and five MTV Video Music Awards – embarks on his first-ever tour in the documentary.
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero proves to be an intimate portrait of an artist experiencing mammoth popularity and explosive popularity. Meanwhile, he is navigating his position as a Black queer artist, expectations from his fans and acceptance from his community.
Lil Nas X came out in June 2019 and has ever since been playful with public declarations of his sexuality, regularly trolling his fans and the media with his online posts. The film, however, grants a more sensitive look at the man behind the stardom.
Rustin (2023)
Rustin, George C. Wolfe’s biographical drama, written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black, is perfect for Black History Month. It’s based on a story from Breece about the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.
Rustin dedicated his life to racial equality, human rights and worldwide democracy. He was also an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr and put everything he had into the movement. However, Rustin was an openly gay Black man who was pushed to the margins of the civil rights movement.
Throughout the film, he faces racism and homophobia all while orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington which became the largest nonviolent, mass protest in American history. The march culminated with Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
Someone Like Me (2021)
Someone Like Me is a Canadian documentary that follows Drake, a gay Ugandan refugee who moves to Vancouver, British Columbia. He arrives and meets the Canadians who have agreed to sponsor him through Rainbow Refugee.
Ready to start a new life, the film watches Drake come to terms with life in Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the clashing views of freedom from his sponsors.
Someone Like Me is a powerful portrait of gay youth and the various and contradictory notions of freedom. Drake is attempting to deal with the start of a new life, that comes with a deep sense of isolation, alongside the unfamiliar environment.
Are there any films we’ve missed? Let us know your Black History Month film recommendations in the comments, but please remember to keep the conversation respectful.
