15 Black LGBTQ films to watch this month
February is Black History Month in the US and LGBTQ History Month in the UK!
Let’s celebrate this month by recognizing some of the best achievements in Black LGBTQ cinema. Here is a list of some of the best LGBTQ films to watch this month.
Bessie (2015)
Queen Latifah portrays bisexual blues singer Bessie Smith in Dee Rees’ critically acclaimed exploration of her life, including her rise to the top in the 1920s and 1930s, and her status as a legendary performer.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Blind Faith (1998)
In 1957 New York, John Williams, a Black lawyer, has to defend his nephew, Charlie, who is accused of strangling a White boy to death. John doesn’t believe Charlie did it, and although Charlie confesses, John wants to find out the real truth.
Watch it now on YouTube
Brother to Brother (2004)
A drama that looks back on the Harlem Renaissance from the perspective of an elderly, Black writer who meets a gay Black teenager in a New York homeless shelter.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Children of God (2010)
The story of two young Bahamian men who fall in love with each other while fighting the homophobia of the Bahamian society.
Available on all streaming platforms.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Through archival interviews with Johnson, and new interviews with Johnson’s family, friends and fellow activists, Victoria Cruz investigates the mysterious 1992 death of Black LGBTQ rights activist and Stonewall veteran, Marsha P. Johnson.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Holiday Heart (2000)
After losing his closeted lover, a drag queen takes in a 12-year-old girl and her drug-addicted mother.
Available free on Tubi and YouTube.
Kiki (2016)
A documentary following the lives of LGBTQ youth of color in the drag, ballroom and voguing scene during a time when Black Lives Matter and trans rights are making front-page headlines.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Madame Satã (2002)
A story inspired by the life of one of the most remarkable figures in Brazilian popular culture, João Francisco dos Santos, aka Madame Satã, of Rio de Janeiro — street fighter, brothel cook, convict and father to seven adopted children.
Available free on YouTube without subtitles.
Major! (2015)
A documentary that explores the experiences of Black trans woman, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, as she recounts her life and the fight for human rights for people in her community.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Moonlight (2016)
In this 2017 Best Picture Oscar winner, a young Black man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Available on Netflix.
Naz & Maalik (2015)
Two closeted Muslim teens hawk goods across Brooklyn and struggle to come clean about their sexuality, as their secretive behavior leads them unknowingly into the cross-hairs of the War on Terror.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Pariah (2011)
A Black teenage girl from Brooklyn juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression in director Dee Rees’ directorial debut.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Paris Is Burning (1990)
Jennie Livingston’s critically acclaimed chronicle of New York’s drag and ballroom scene in the late 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
Available free on YouTube on all streaming platforms.
Portrait of Jason (1967)
The highlights of a 12-hour interview with former houseboy, aspiring cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler Aaron Payne (whose alias is Jason Holliday) who drinks and smokes cigarettes and weed while recounting stories of what it was like to be Black and gay in 1960s America.
Available free on YouTube.
Tangerine (2015)
After hearing that her boyfriend/pimp cheated on her while she was in jail, a trans female prostitute and her best friend set out to find him and teach him and his new lover a lesson.
Available on all streaming platforms.
Young Soul Rebels (1991)
Two young DJs set out to solve a friend’s murder in this part-thriller, part-gay love story set against the backdrop of the fringe-group melting pot of late 1970s London.
