Continuing my series of “wow, I didn’t know I could watch all this gay stuff in the UK without having to pay for streaming services” we have ten whole queer films, any of which you could sit down and view right this minute. If you are in a rush and/or overfaced by the prospect of committing 90 minutes to a single act of media consumption, check out the bonus section at the end for some short films!
Atomic Blonde (2017)
This film has everything you could possibly want in a thriller: Cold War tensions, a badass female lead, hot queer sex and lots of coats. Apparently some people think the script is sketchy and plot overly-convoluted but I, a simple soul easily satisfied watching Charlize Theron with a dodgy accent batter henchmen also with dodgy accents, love it.
Benedetta (2021)
I was already familar with the story of notorious 17th century nun Benedetta Carlini when this film was announced and therefore hotly anticipated what may happen to the story in the hands of Showgirls director Paul Verhoeven. We follow a young Benedetta from the moment she’s sold off to a convent in Pescia as a child, until she hits adulthood, when her extreme devotion, mystic visions and dubious stigmata wounds elevate her standings, creating tensions with the established order. It’s not long before she’s drawing others deep into her ecstatic practices, setting off a drastic chain of events.
Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013)
Would it sound pretentious if I said I had only read the graphic novel of this and not actually seen the film? The main reason for this obviously being that consuming the book is way quicker than committing to almost 3 whole hours to this film! While known for standout performances from Lea Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos as students in Paris experiencing first love with a tragic twist, it’s arguably far better known for a lengthy sex scene and arduous on-set conditions!
Cocoon (2020)
A lesbian coming-of-age tale set in contemporary East Berlin following 14-year-old Nora, who feels like an outsider until newcomer Romy shakes up her summer. Per Drew: “This is a beautiful film filled with the kind of panicky intensity that defines early adolescence — and first love.”
Crossing (2024)
Crossing follows the stern and stoic Lia, a retired teacher, indefatigable in her quest to find her last remaining relative, trans niece Tekla. While checking out Tekla’s last known address in their Georgian hometown, Lia encounters the wayward but good-hearted Achi who is desperate to leave town and has a lead for where Tekla may live in Istanbul. This odd couple makes the long journey over the border and through Turkey to the bustling metropolis, but frustrated when trawling through the red light district turns up nothing.
In Istanbul, the film also picks up the story of Evrim (Deniz Dumanli) a trans woman and solicitor at an NGO helping out the queer community, while facing her own battles for recognition. Eventually she crosses paths with Lia and Achi, and we glimpse more of Istanbul’s LGBT community as they continue the hunt together.
Although much of the film dwells on Lia and the inscrutable reasons for her mission, Crossings portrays Istanbul’s trans community with solidarity and the screen lights up whenever Dumanli appears.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Only a handful of films have become instant queer classics upon their release, none moreso than Celine Sciamma’s lyrical study of painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant), hired to paint young bride-to-be Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) as she waits in a remote, windswept house for her inevitable marriage. If you enjoy looking at women who are looking at women who may be also looking back at them, or perhaps out to sea, then this is the film of your dreams.
As Drew so perfectly describes: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire is not simply a work of the female gaze, it is not simply a work of lesbian cinema. It is pushing against the boundaries of the screen, frantically, lovingly, desperately, erotically, grasping grasping grasping for a new language, a new way of seeing.”
Monster (2003)
Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her portrayal of the titular “monster” of this film: serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Trapped in a life of street prostitution and scarred by trauma, Aileen is at her lowest point when she meets Selby (Christina Ricci) at a bar and sparks fly. Though initially buoyed by this new relationship, violent threats to her and Selby trigger Aileen to fall into a cycle of sex work and revenge with devastating consequences.
My Summer of Love (2004)
Loosely based on Helen Cross’s novel of the same name, My Summer of Love is set in the famously long and scorching summer of 1976, when the misanthropic, working class Mona (Natalie Press) encounters the spoiled but alluring boarding school drop-out Tamsin (Emily Blunt, in her screen debut) and strikes up an unexpected friendship.
Per its inclusion on Autostraddle’s very first list of lesbian movies that don’t actually suck:
“Their version of friendship includes kissing in rivers, lots of drinking and smoking and acting fancy, a nice little love and death pact, and motor scooters.”
Shiva Baby (2020)
This tremendously enjoyable anxiety comedy (is that a genre?) straddles the line between farce and horror at times, as we follow Danielle (Rachel Senott, Bottoms) surviving the family gathering from your queer nightmares. A directionless 20-something, Danielle is drafted by her parents to attend a shiva, where she runs into the married guy she’s sleeping with, his wife and kid, plus her college ex, Maya (Molly Gordon, Booksmart). Never has a trip to the buffet table been so fraught with danger!
Early in Silver Haze, protagonist Franky says to her sister, after dumping her boyfriend: “I just want a normal bloke that wears normal clothes from a normal shop.” When she meets Florence, who is recovering from a suicide attempt in the London hospital where Franky works as a nurse, she gets completely the opposite.
Both Franky and Florence are nursing old wounds, both figuratively and literally: Franky is badly scarred by a fire during her childhood with the need for revenge constantly eating at her; Florence is caught between the euphoric highs and destructive lows of unmanaged mental crisis.
When the two embark on a relationship, it quickly goes from blissful to dangerously combustible. A very tough but compelling watch.
Bonus: Short Films!
Iris Prize collection
Based in Cardiff, the Iris Prize is now into its 20th year of celebrating the best in international film centering the LGBTQ+ community. Each year’s top short films are collected and made freely available to stream on Channel 4. The selection for 2025 is available now, covering a wide range of stories and voices.
Too Desi Too Queer
Established in 2010, The London Indian Film Festival highlights the best of independent Indian film each year. A curated selection of queer-themed shorts from past events is available to stream for free courtesy of the British Film Institute.
Queer East Shorts
The BFI player has also collected a handful of queer shorts from East Asian filmmakers!
Original Skin
Sci-fi short where having sex means swapping bodies – including race and sexuality.
Bumped
A black queer couple have been together for six years and aspire to be parents, but a revelation shocks their their relationship.
Paralysis
A young woman struggles in the aftermath of her girlfriend being forcibly taken away by her hateful mother.
Comments
small correction: cocoon is set in the kreuzberg district of berlin, which was part of the former west, and not east berlin
Thank you for share !!