Rise up this Pride Month and celebrate the LGBTIQ+ community

June is also known as Pride Month. Around the world, brands, organisations and people commemorate and celebrate the LGBTIQ+ community with products, campaigns and more to bring our stories to light.

At Queer Screen, we believe in the importance of queer storytelling in all facets of life, but particularly on screen. And so we thought, what better way to celebrate Pride Month than to look back. We’ve collated a few documentaries about queer stories and storytelling on the silver screen.

Check them out and tell us what you think.

Disclosure

From executive producer Laverne Cox and director Sam Feder, Disclosure is a documentary that chronicles over 100 years of trans representation on screen, from silent film to Dog Day Afternoon, The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Pose. Watch it on Netflix here.

The Celluloid Closet

Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this acclaimed documentary takes its name from Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book. The filmmakers examine the subtext of more than 100 Hollywood movies, including Spartacus, Rope and Thelma and Louise. You can only watch this film on DVD for now but it’s well worth it.

Tab Hunter: Confidential

Actor Tab Hunter reflects on his career and discusses being a closeted gay man while becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest heartthrobs in the 1950s. This doco is also only available on DVD at the moment.

Hollywood

Not quite a documentary (not at all in fact), but this reimagining of classic Hollywood is filled with queerness and joy and is a great way to discover some of the real life stories from the time. Watch the Hollywood series on Netflix.

Between a Frock and a Hard Place

Narrated by Terence Stamp, this is the story behind one of the world’s most loved films, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Currently available to stream free at ABC iview.

Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts

Trixie Mattel charmed audiences and judges as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. But the grind of performing and the pressure of the title proves that heavy is the head that wears the tiara. Moving Parts is available on Apple TV.