Pride (2014)Ĭast: Ben Schnetzer, Joe Gilgun, Faye Marsay, Dominic West, Andrew Scott, Freddie Fox, Chris Overton, Imelda Staunton, Jessica Gunning, Liz White, Bill Nighy, Paddy Considine, Rhodri Meilir Shelter also won the Outstanding Film award at the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards. What makes this LGBTQ film stand out is that it actually has a happy ending. The two develop a close friendship, which eventually blossoms into something so much more. When his college dreams are sidelined by family commitments, aspiring artist Zach (Wright) begins hanging out and surfing with his best friend’s older brother Shaun (Rowe). Shelter (2007)Ĭast: Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, Tina Holmes, Ross Thomas It’s standard rom-com fare, but in queer cinema, that’s actually quite hard to find – and sometimes it’s exactly what you’re in the mood for. The two soon become close friends and form a romantic connection, which causes Rachel to question her marriage. Game of Thrones icon Lena Headey stars as Luce, a florist who catches the attention of Rachel (played by Coyote Ugly star Piper Perabo) on her wedding day. Imagine Me and You (2005)Ĭast: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode, Celia Imrie, Anthony Stewart Head, Darren Boyd The film was highly commended at the time of its release, and has garnered a cult following amongst the LGBTQ community. When Ste is badly beaten by his drug-dealing brother, Jamie’s mother Sandra (Henry) takes him in, but due to the absence of a third bed, he is forced to bunk with Jamie. Beautiful Thing (1996)Ĭast: Linda Henry, Glen Berry, Scott Neal, Tameka Empson, Ben Danielsīeautiful Thing stars retired British actor Glen Berry as Jamie Gangel, a closeted teenager infatuated with his classmate, Ste (Neal). When her mother (Joan Chen) is kicked out of her home for being pregnant out of wedlock, she moves in with her daughter, putting a strain on her relationship with her dancer girlfriend and forcing her to come to terms with her sexuality. In Saving Face, Taiwanese American actress Krusiec stars as Wilhemina Pang, a successful surgeon who is closeted to her mother and friends. Even better, it’s funny! Saving Face (2004)Ĭast: Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Jin Wang, Guang Lan Koh, Jessica Hecht
Sure, there are the usual trials and tribulations teens go through – in addition to a great portrayal of the difficulty that is coming out – but ultimately friendship and love win out. It also feels groundbreaking for being a feel-good queer romance. Love, Simon became the first film by a major Hollywood studio to focus on a same-sex teen romance when it released in 2018, making history and receiving acclaim from viewers and critics. Love, Simon (2018)Ĭast: Nick Robison, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Jorge Lendeborg Jr, Keiynan Lonsdale The film, which was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA, explores the complex relationships between Pakistani and English communities in the Thatcher years, and follows the romantic relationship between Omar (Warnecke) and street punk Johnny (Day-Lewis) as they become joint managers of a family-owned laundrette in London. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)Ĭast: Gordon Warnecke, Daniel Day-Lewis, Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Derrick Brancheīefore there was Call Me By Your Name, Moonlight and Brokeback Mountain, there was My Beautiful Laundrette. It perfectly captures the feeling of first love. It follows Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo), a blind teenager struggling with independence, as his life turns upside down with the arrival of new student Gabriel (Fabio Audi).
The Way He Looks is an award-winning Brazilian coming-of-age teen rom-com that originally started life as a short film, and was later adapted for the big screen. Enjoy! The Way He Looks (2014)Ĭast: Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, Tess Amorim, Lúcia Romano We’ve rounded up 13 of our favourites below. They may be hard to find, but there are some LGBTQ films out there with happy endings. But what if we want to see a message of hope instead? That’s great, because it’s important to see realistic representation. Being queer can be tough, and that’s often reflected on screen when our stories are told through the medium of film.