Celebrate Pride Month With LGBTQ+ | Documentaries

Over the last few years, documentarians around the world have produced hundreds of films that tell the true stories of LGBTQ+ people. Some are household names, but most are not. Read on to learn about a few of these films that you can watch this Pride Month.

If you are interested in learning more about the history of the LGBTQ+ community and what it was like to live through the 20th century gay liberation movement, then several films and docuseries should be on your watchlist.

Streaming on Apple TV+ is the 2020 documentary "P.S. Burn This Letter Please," which centers on a box of letters written nearly 60 years ago by a group of New York City drag queens. The filmmakers spent several years tracking down the authors of the letters, who are now in their 80s and 90s, to ask them how they survived and thrived through decades when it was illegal to live as their true selves.

"A Secret Love," streaming on Netflix, is a 2020 documentary that tells the story of two women who secretly lived as lovers for nearly seven decades. Terry Donahue was once a player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League while her partner Pat Henschel ran an interior decorating business. The couple kept their relationship a secret from their families for decades and finally wed on Donahue's 90th birthday.

Another documentary that details the long struggle of LGBTQ+ activists and allies is 2019's "Circus of Books," streaming on Netflix. For decades, a heterosexual, cisgender couple ran Circus of Books, a gay pornography shop in West Hollywood that provided a safe space for LGBTQ+ Los Angelenos in the second half of the 20th century. The couple opened two additional locations, stocking their stores with adult toys, pornography, and of course books, primarily novels by LGBTQ+ writers. This documentary, directed by the couple's daughter, shares their story and the stories of those who frequented their stores for decades.

If you are interested in learning more about the founders of the modern LGBTQ+ movement, then check out 2020's "Equal" streaming on Prime. Actor Billy Porter (star of the FX series "Pose," filmed at Broadway Stages) narrates this four-part docuseries that honors the earliest trailblazers who are not widely recognized for their contributions toward the cause.

If you are more interested in the present than the past, then check out one of the many films and series that explore current struggles faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community around the world.

The 2019 documentary "Changing the Game," streaming on Hulu, tackles a very polarizing topic – transgender athletes in U.S. schools. The film centers on three transgender high school athletes – a skier in New Hampshire, a track star in Connecticut, and the Texas state wrestling champion – living their lives amid adversity and prejudice.

Another documentary that explores transgender American youth is 2020's "Transhood," streaming on Max. Documentarians spent five years filming four kids between the ages of four and 15 and their families to capture the reality of how changing social norms are reshaping everyday families in America's heartland.

In other parts of the world, transgender people face additional struggles with acceptance and basic survival. The 2019 documentary "Indianara," available to watch on Vimeo in Portuguese with English subtitles, tells the story of a Brazilian transgender woman and her friends who are fighting the odds as their nation veers toward totalitarianism.

Another documentary that takes a harsh look at the reality of many LGBTQ+ people around the world is 2020's "Welcome to Chechnya," streaming on Max in Russian with English subtitles. The film centers on activists risking their lives in the Russian republic of Chechnya, where leader Ramzan Kadyrov oversees a government-backed campaign to detain, torture, and execute members of the republic's LGBTQ+ community. The film follows these activists as they work undercover to provide victims with safe houses and visa assistance to escape persecution.

At the 2022 Oscars, "Flee," an animated documentary from Denmark, made history earning nominations for Best International Feature Film (only the second animated film ever nominated), Best Documentary Feature, and Best Animated Feature categories. It is the first film ever to be nominated in all three of those categories. The 2021 film is a tragic yet inspiring look at one man's true story about fleeing Afghanistan as a child refugee and finding love. He reveals his hidden past to his soon-to-be-husband shortly before their wedding. The documentary is streaming on Hulu in Danish with English subtitles.

The 2019 documentary "Queer Japan," streaming on Tubi and Prime in Japanese with English subtitles, is a celebratory look at LGBTQ+ culture. Over the course of three years, documentarians interviewed more than 100 artists, activists, and everyday people living in modern Japan. This documentary celebrates the wide spectrum of Japanese LGBTQ+ culture and shares with viewers the nation's path toward acceptance of queer expression.

If you are interested in learning about LGBTQ+ representation in film and television, then check out 2020's documentary "Disclosure," streaming on Netflix. The film details the history of transgender representation on screen and its effects on people's lives. Actress Laverne Cox (star of the Netflix series "Orange Is the New Black," filmed at Broadway Stages) and other transgender filmmakers examine the last century of film and television to show the damage caused by inaccurate portrayals of transgender people. Actresses Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and  Angelica Ross of FX's "Pose" also appear in this documentary.

In 2020, a docuseries examined the broader history of the American LGBTQ+ movement through representation strictly on television. 2020's "Visible: Out on Television," streaming on Apple TV+, combines archival footage with new interviews to explore homophobia and the evolution of LGBTQ+ characters on television. Narrators and guests include several actors and actresses in the Broadway Stages family, including nonbinary actor Asia Kate Dillon of "Billions," Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Billy Porter of "Pose," and Laverne Cox of "Orange is the New Black."

We encourage you to watch these documentary films or series this month in celebration of Pride Month (and throughout the year) and learn about the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community.