Even though is actually 2021 and a universe associated with pop culture materials is readily accessible at our fingertips to understand the spectrum of libido and gender identities, it is always a good idea to remove yourself from the realm of “palatable queer content” and navigate the arduous journeys created by the LGBTQ+ neighborhood through these types of award-winning documentaries. From chronicling the struggles faced by the local community over the years to claim fundamental human rights to relocating stories of love plus relationships, these types of documentary films are ideal to watch if you want to understand the easy power of love and exactly how it transcends gender plus societal constructs. Here we all pick eight documentaries that will delve into queer history plus present an honest picture from the hurdles faced by the local community, even in this day and age.

State associated with Pride (2019)

Raymond Braun started his YouTube approach to promote LGBTQ visibility on the web before partnering up with Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein plus Jeffrey Friedman for this document. In the movie, Braun moves across different states in the USA to talk to queer people as to what Pride Month means to all of them and explores the history of the LGBT rights movement in the country.

Streaming on YouTube

Purple Skies (2014)

This movie, directed simply by Sridhar Rangayan, was the very first documentary on LGBTQ problems to broadcast on nationwide television in India. This features interviews shot in between 2008, a year before the Delhi High Court’s historic judgment decriminalized same-sex romantic relationships, and 2013, soon after the Supreme Court overturned the decision. Through the movie, Rangayan explores what it means to be lesbian porn, bisexual or trans in the country as well as the struggles that the queer neighborhood has to go through every single day.

Streaming on YouTube

FREE CeCe! (2016)

Produced by black trans icon, actor, and activist Laverne Cox, the documentary sheds light on the heartbreaking story of the titular Cece McDonald, a black trans woman who was unjustly incarcerated for stabbing a man when he assaulted her outside a bar. In the movie, Cox interviews McDonald about the events of that night and explores the culture of violence against trans women of color in America.

How to Survive a Plague (2012)

This Oscar-nominated film is a definitive history of the early years of the AIDS epidemic and the tireless work of activists towards destigmatizing the illness and people suffering from it. Journalist and movie director David France dedicated the movie to his partner, who lost his life to an AIDS-related complication in 1992. Through archived footage of interviews, protests, news coverage, demonstrations, and meetings, France highlights the work done by organizations like ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group) in bringing reforms to the way the crisis was being handled by the authorities.

Available to buy on Amazon

Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020)

This film attempts to analyze the presence and depiction of trans people in Hollywood and its subsequent impact on American culture. Through the film, we see how the inaccurate portrayal of trans people was normalized in cinema until a few years ago and how it is evolving now. It features prominent trans personalities like Laverne Cox, Jamie Clayton, Angelica Ross, Chaz Bono, Susan Stryker, Candis Cayne, and Lilly Wachowski.

Streaming on Netflix

A Secret Love (2020)

This heartfelt documentary delves deep into a love that was kept hidden for nearly seven decades. The story follows former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Terry Donahue and her partner Pat Henschel. The couple got together at a time when homophobia was at its zenith and kept their relationship hidden from family and friends for 70 years. Filmed over four years, the movie has been directed by Donahue’s great-nephew, Chris Nolan, who manages to capture the poignant love story against the backdrop of the struggles the couple faced in concealing their forbidden love.

Streaming on Netflix

Of Love and Law (2017)

Through the story of Fumi and Kazu—two Japanese lawyers who are also in a relationship with each other—we see the repression of individual rights and freedom on a national scale, all to uphold the country’s larger cause of national unity and obedience. Fumi and Kazu’s relationship is met with stigma and cannot be recognized by the legal systems of the country. A prize-winner at the Tokyo and Hong Kong film festivals, the movie weaves their personal story with their work on high-stakes legal cases and their struggles in becoming legal guardians to an orphaned teen client.

Streaming on Vimeo

Breaking Free (2015)

Another documentary by Indian filmmaker and LGBTQ+ rights activist Sridhar Rangayan, this passion project was seven years in the making before being released. The award-winning film chronicles Rangayan’s journey as he explores the human rights violations faced by the members of the LGBTQ+ community in India, thanks to draconian laws and deeply homophobic society. The 90-minute documentary records the harrowing testimonies of people whose right to be human, choose who they love and how they want to live was stripped away from them because of patriarchal laws and toxic homophobia. It also spotlights the slow but steady stream of awareness and sensitivity amongst the newer generations about sexuality and gender identities.

Streaming on YouTube