TF Pride Month: THE LGBTQIA+ Watchlist!

Pride month might be coming to an end but the celebration, acceptance and identity of your gender and sexuality is a statement of pride all year round. Nonetheless, the month-long merriment could be concluded with the warmth and comfort of watching LGBTQ+ related movies and series. Here are our suggested movies and shows that represent the LGBTQ+ community!

Paris Is Burning (Documentary Movie)

Paris is Burning documents an unfiltered glimpse into the life and culture of New York’s African American and Latinx gay and transgender community in the 1980s. It delves into the glamorous drag balls, elegant fashion, dance forms and lives of the community featuring gorgeous voguing and runway icons like Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Venus Xtravaganza and Avis Pendavis. The documentary also captures the violence, homophobia, transphobia, racism, poverty and AIDS endured by them. The music, ballroom culture, vernacular exhibited in Paris is Burning is still prevalent in the queer community and made ubiquitous by the popular RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. 

Watch Paris Is Burning on Youtube – here

You May Also Like – Pose, Rupaul’s Drag Race, Kiki

Dickinson (Series)

This AppleTV+ original series is a dark satirical narrative on the life of the renowned American Poet Emily Dickinson played by Hailee Steinfeld. Dickinson offers a witty period-set drama exploring the teenage life of Emily Dickinson as a female writer in the late 1850s, her obsession with death and occasional meetup with the grim reaper played by Wiz Khalifa, and the show’s take on exploring the highly assumed secret romance with her best friend/brother’s fiance Susan Gilbert. Despite being a period drama and characters adorned in costumes representing that era, the show uses contemporary vernacular and uses today’s hit songs as the soundtrack. 

Watch Dickinson on AppleTV+ – here 

You May Also Like – Gentleman Jack

Moothon (Movie)

Moothon is a Malayalam movie starring commercially successful Mollywood actor Nivin Pauly in the lead along with Shashank Arora, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Roshan Mathew. It is directed by Geethu Mohandas and co-written by Anurag Kashyap. The story revolves around the 14-year-old Mulla escaping Lakshadweep in search of an older brother who ran away to Mumbai as a baseline. Within this, the movie juxtapositions two timelines while intermingling the themes of gore, love, sex trafficking, prostitution, underground goon world, drug rackets and more. Amidst these intense narratives is the delicate and innocent love between two lead male characters who beautifully execute the embodiment of love.

Watch Moothon on Zee5 – here

You May Also Like – Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish

Disclosure (Documentary Movie)

 Disclosure is a one-of-a-kind documentary demonstrating Hollywood’s monotonous and stereotypical portrayal of trans characters and the impact transgender people had due to such vile depictions. The film features all-trans luminaries such as Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono who unfolds the negative trans depiction narrative, designating them as deranged or psychotic villains in some of Hollywood’s classics. They also talk about the positive representation of trans characters in the recent productions (“Pose”, “Orange Is The New Black”) and other critical insights. 

Watch Disclosure on Netflix – here

The Normal Heart (Movie)

The Normal Heart is a 2014 historical drama based on Larry Kramer’s play about the onset of the AIDS epidemic amongst homosexual men in New York City. Directed by Ryan Murphy with Mark Ruffalo in the lead, the movie shows the boom in HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s, how the government’s negligence to acknowledge and handle the epidemic resulted in countless deaths, and how a social activism group and medical community raised awareness on the matter fighting prejudices from the public and government. 

Watch The Normal Heart on Disney+ Hotstar – here

You May Also Like – 120 Beats Per Minute

The ‘Other’ Love Story (Web Series)

This crowdfunded 10-episode web series revolves around the lives of two homosexual women trying to be in a relationship in the 90s. Set in Bangalore, the set-up of the show portrays the relationship at a time without easy and accessible technology for communication with handwritten letters and secret landline phone calls. It further delves into the lives of these women who struggle to stay together due to familial disapproval and rampant homophobia.

Watch The Other Love Story on Youtube – here