Our pick of 15 of the best LGBTQ+ documentaries, from Disclosure to Paris is Burning
Protest and celebration have long been intertwined in LGBTQ+ communities.
While queer representation in film is slowly increasing, these documentaries specifically provide a window into the extraordinary stories of LGBTQ+ individuals who defended queer rights and who moved discussions around queer identity forward: the activists who stood up for trans rights and educated about HIV, nightclub owners who built spaces where people could be safe, and lawyers who continue to challenge minority discrimination today.
These films provide insight, encouragement and education – and besides that, are all just a fascinating watch. Here’s our pick of some of the best LGBTQ+ documentaries to watch this Pride month, listed in no particular order.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Trans women of colour led the fight that helped LGBTQ+ people secure rights. Two trans women who were instrumental in the queer liberation movement were Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera – a monument was erected for them in New York in 2021 in tribute to their pivotal actions at the 1969 Stonewall riots.
Johnson’s death in 1992 was ruled as suicide when her body
