After the whirlwind of Festival de Cannes in France, the film industry now moves to New York City to celebrate the best of indie filmmaking. The 24th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, taking place from June 4th to 15th, will see renowned and emerging directors, actors, but also musicians, poets, artists, and video game designers come together to celebrate the power of storytelling.
Since it’s Pride Month, we’ve decided to handpick a selection of ten movies centred around LGBTQ+ stories, which need to be celebrated every day, but especially in these concerning times. From the history of Boy George and his band Culture Club to a horror-comedy film where drag queens and club kids battle zombies, to documentaries about trans folk who’re struggling due to oppressive and violent policies or coming-out stories, the selection shows how rich the LGBTQ+ community is, and how important it is to tell these stories to the world.
All We Cannot See by Alberto Arvelo
A Spanish love story born under the weight of silence, routine, and inherited pain. In All We Cannot See, director Alberto Arvelo captures the fleeting, electric bond between two women who meet by chance and choose each other over everything they’ve ever known. Unlike other coming-out narratives, this film works as a portrait of what hides beneath the surface of ordinary life. How affection, when it arrives, can feel like reviving grace, like a gentle summer breeze at twilight. Presented in muted hues and soulful frames, it’s a film about the quiet revolution of being seen – and saved – by someone else.
Boy George & Culture Club by Alison Ellwood
More than a nostalgia trip, this music documentary is an emotional time bomb wrapped in sequins and eyeliner. Boy George & Culture Club traces the wild trajectory of the band that turned gender, race, and pop itself upside down in Thatcher’s Britain. Told with disarming honesty by the four original members, it’s a messy, magnetic look at love, ego, and what happens when chosen families fracture under the spotlight. Alison Ellwood sidesteps reminiscence to deliver something raw, reflective, and full of bite: as chaotic and captivating as the band itself.
It’s Dorothy! by Jeffrey McHale
Forget Kansas. Director Jeffrey McHale reimagines the girl in gingham as a prism through which generations have projected dreams, fears, and collective identity. It’s Dorothy! spins Judy Garland’s cultural afterglow into a vivid mixture where film history and queer iconography blur. With voices from across decades and disciplines, the documentary traces how a once-lost farm girl became a blueprint for transformation and defiance. Drenched in archival gold and theatrical flair, it’s a love letter to outsiders, myth makers, and anyone who’s ever looked for home, acceptance, and triumph through this celebrated character.
I Was Born This Way by Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard
Archbishop Carl Bean was a clear and defiant voice, impossible to ignore. I Was Born This Way follows his journey from the wounds of Baltimore to the spotlight of Motown, right before he became a spiritual anchor for Black queer communities. How one disco track cracked open a pace for unapologetic pride. It was this shift from studio to pulpit that carved out a legacy forged not in institutions, but in acts of love. Merging faith, radical compassion and activism, this is a story about music as a shelter, and how a chorus of one can echo across generations.
Just Kids by Gianna Toboni
Told with such fragile intensity and necessary clarity, Just Kids follows families navigating the emotional fallout of transgender exclusionary laws. With hand-held intimacy and a sense of constant uncertainty, Gianna Toboni captures moments when love becomes a form of resistance. This documentary isn’t about politics; it’s about proximity, protection, and presence. Real stories unfold not as pleas for pity, but as sharp indictments of institutional neglect. Their voices cut through the noise, demanding space, demanding recognition. What emerges is not despair, but defiance, rooted in love, held in truth.
Queens of the Dead by Tina Romero
What do you get when you mix drag queens, a Brooklyn warehouse party, and a sudden zombie apocalypse? Pure, glitter-drenched chaos. Queens of the Dead is the fabulously gory brainchild of debut director Tina Romero (yes, daughter of zombie royalty George A. Romero), and it’s a wild, campy ride you didn’t know you needed. With a stacked cast including Dominique Jackson, Katy O’Brian, Jack Haven, and Cheyenne Jackson, biting humour, and heels high enough to pierce a zombie skull, this queer horror-comedy is more than just blood and sequins; it’s a fierce celebration of community, resilience, and owning your power, even when the world (or the dead) comes crashing down. Come for the carnage, stay for the catwalks. This one’s to die for.
Ride or Die by Josalynn Smith
Another must-see LGBTQ+ film is this sizzling indie road thriller. When Paula, a Midwestern dreamer, bumps into Sloane, her high school sweetheart, sparks fly… and likewise, they decide to embark on a road trip. What begins as a tender reconnection soon turns into something darker, deeper and more dangerous. With seductive chemistry, Josalynn Smith’s sharp direction and magnetic performances by Briana Middleton and Stella Everett, this film is equal parts heart-racing and heart-breaking. Intrigued? Buckle up.
State of Firsts by Chase Joynt
Sliding confidently into our list, State of Firsts is a fearless deep dive into the wild world of American politics, with a trailblazing twist. Meet Sarah McBride, the first openly trans person to ever hold a seat in Congress, navigating Capitol Hill while dodging bigotry and making history. Think politics is dry? Think again. This doc throws you straight into the drama: bathroom bans, public smears, MAGA meltdowns… you name it. But Sarah? Cool, fierce, and focused. With director Chase Joynt at the helm, it’s not just a political story: it’s a powerful ode to resilience, hope, and doing the damn work. You’ll laugh, rage, maybe tear up, and definitely want to know what happens next.
The Degenerate: the Life and Films of Andy Milligan by Grayson Tyler Johnson & Josh Johnson
Hidden deep in the sewers of 42nd Street film history is a name whispered with reverence, confusion, and a touch of scandal: Andy Milligan. The subject of the deliriously engaging documentary Long Live Milligan, this chaotic auteur, equal parts underground legend and cinematic wild card, made films so trashy they transcended trash, replete with raw queer energy, S&M drama, and more screaming melodrama than a midnight drag show. Milligan’s goal was filth, fury and twisted intimacy. Directors Josh and Grayson Tyler Johnson bring him back to life in this unhinged, heartfelt and wildly queer chronicle of outsider art. Buckle up: this isn’t just film history, it’s the resurrection of the queer punk spirit on screen.
We Are Pat by Ro Haber
Meet the character who blurred the lines before we even had the language for it. The ambiguously gendered SNL character who baffled, amused, and low-key haunted ‘90s audiences is back in the spotlight, but this time, it’s personal. In We Are Pat, filmmaker Ro Haber dives headfirst into their childhood obsession with the sketch-comedy enigma, enlisting a sharp crew of queer and trans comedians (and Julia Sweeney herself) to unpack what Pat really meant, and what they could mean now. It’s equal parts a bold satire, cultural reckoning, and gender theory seminar you’ll actually want to attend. Spoiler: this isn’t about cancelling the past: it’s about rewriting it from a present-day lens. Curious yet? You should be.
