Beautiful Thing (1996)

15 | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Jamie is a shy teenager, often bullied at school. His neighbour Ste has a rough time at home, being beaten by his father and brother. This issues bring them together and they find that what they feel for each other is more than friendship.

“It’s about two young boys that fall in love in a British council estate (public housing). I think it totally captures that feeling of young love, where everything is innocent and new and electric. It’s funny, heartwarming, and the characters are totally fully realized. It’s wonderful.”

Director: Hettie Macdonald | Stars: Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal, Tameka Empson

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

“These three amazing queens find themselves broken down in a conservative hickville and end up making the town more welcoming towards others, while running a wife-beater out of town, and learning more about themselves in the process.”

4th Man Out (2015)

“It’s about a guy who comes out to his group of friends and they all reluctantly accept but eventually move on and help him out on getting a date. There is the classic drama in it where the main character has a crush on one of his friends and his friend pushes him away from his life but they make up in the end. Its a great movie that everyone should check out.”

Get Real (1998)

15 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A tenderly romantic coming-of-age story as two boys in a British school fall in love.

Director: Simon Shore | Stars: Ben Silverstone, Brad Gorton, Charlotte Brittain, Stacy Hart

Gods own Country (2017)

It’s about a young, troubled farmer and Romanian migrant worker who begin a relationship in Yorkshire. The visuals are unbelievable and the story is warm and vulnerable, and leaves you with your heart full and smiling for days.

Moonlight (2016)

It’s not a happy-go-lucky film per se but is ultimately an uplifting coming-of-age tale exploring the sexuality and identity of the main character across his youth, teenage life, and early adulthood. It’s a refreshing, heartwarming, and poetic story that moves you in a positive way

The Way He Looks (2014)

When I watched it, I was so surprised at the ending, since nobody died or ended up sad. It’s a Brazilian film, but it’s very moving. Leo and Gabriel are such couple goals, and it’s also representation for LGBT people with disabilities because Leo is blind

Center of My World (2016)

“It’s a German movie and it does have its sad moments, as any movie about relationships does, but overall it’s really uplifting. It was not a depressing LGBT story like the only ones that win awards, nor a super campy ridiculous movie. The story, cinematography, characters, and relationships are all great and relatable.”

Shelter  (2007)

15 | 97 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

When his college dreams are sidelined by family obligations, a young man finds comfort in surfing with his best friend’s brother.

“It may seem like a cheesy stereotypical romance movie, but really it displays class issues and family bonds, and the two leads have amazing chemistry. Plus, the music and art are gorgeous. It never ceases to make me incredibly happy every time I watch it.”

Director: Jonah Markowitz | Stars: Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, Tina Holmes, Jackson Wurth

North Sea Texas (2011)

“It’s a Dutch film about a boy who falls in love with an older boy. The older boy tries to hide his love by dating a girl, and he eventually moves away. I really like this movie because it digs deep into the emotions of heartbreak and the struggles the boy faces at home. The ending was happy and it made me cry!”

Handsome Devil (2016)

“It’s a great movie about being gay in an all boys boarding school. The movie tackles toxic masculinity in sports and does so with some humour. Andrew Scott plays an English teacher and hearing him say ‘it gets better’ in the film added at least five years to my life.”

Jongens (Boys) (2014)

“It’s a great Dutch LGBT film. The story is compelling and I always cry from happiness at the end. It’s so sweet and the fact that it has a happy ending resonates with me that sometimes everything turns out okay.”

Were the World Mine (2008)

95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

A bullied and demoralized gay student at an all-boys school uses a magical flower derived from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to turn many in his community gay, including a comely rugby player for himself. “It’s A Midsummer Nights Dream but gayer (if that’s even possible) and it’s a musical with some killer songs. It’s a movie I watch anytime I need a pick me up.”

Director: Tom Gustafson | Stars: Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams

Kinky Boots (2005)

12A | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

A drag queen comes to the rescue of a man who, after inheriting his father’s shoe factory, needs to diversify his product if he wants to keep the business afloat.

Director: Julian Jarrold | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Joel Edgerton, Sarah-Jane Potts, Jemima Rooper

The Birdcage (1996)

“Such a classic and so underrated, as well as genuinely funny. Way too few LGBT movies are actually fun to watch, but this one does it. It pretty much has everything – Robin Williams, drag, Nathan Lane, just really amazing characters, and a great storyline.”

Latter Days (2003)

15 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A promiscuous gay party animal falls for a young Mormon missionary……

“It’s a really sweet film and an interesting look at the gay experience in the mid-90s. It follows a young Mormon and his WeHo neighbour as they fall for each other. The dudes are hot and there’s a dignity in how the characters are treated. There’s a strong message for loving and accepting people for who they are rather than how you would want them to be. Good, sappy fun.”

Director: C. Jay Cox | Stars: Wes Ramsey, Steve Sandvoss, Mary Kay Place, Amber Benson

G.B.F. (2013)

“It’s one of my favourite movies ever. It’s funny, heartfelt, and inspiring. I can watch over and over and never get bored.”

Maurice (1987)

15 | 140 min | Drama, Romance

After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.

“Specifically written in 1914 to be a gay romance with a happy ending, and young Hugh Grant has amazing hair in it.”

Director: James Ivory | Stars: James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Hugh Grant, Denholm Elliott

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

15 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.

Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Richard Graham

Summer Storm (2004)

15 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A close friendship between two crew teammates is tested when one slowly discovers he’s gay and attracted to the other.

“It’s a fantastic German film. It gets a bit dark but the end is lovely, beautiful and uplifting.”

Director: Marco Kreuzpaintner | Stars: Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Miriam Morgenstern, Jürgen Tonkel

Big Eden (2000)

PG | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Arthouse

After hearing that his Grandpa Sam has had a stroke, successful artist Henry leaves his big city life to return to his idyllic birthplace. As he tends to his grandfather, he must also come to terms with his semi-closeted sexuality. Amidst this flurry of painful experiences, he fails to notice the advances of the Pike, a sensitive outdoorsman who also cares for Grandpa Sam.

Director: Thomas Bezucha | Stars: Arye Gross, Eric Schweig, Tim DeKay, Louise Fletcher

Loose Cannons (2010)

110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Tommaso is the youngest son of the Cantones, a large, traditional southern Italian family operating a pasta-making business since the 1960s. On a trip home from Rome, where he studies literature and lives with his boyfriend, Tommaso decides to tell his parents the truth about himself. But when he is finally ready to come out in front of the entire family, his older brother Antonio ruins his plans.

Director: Ferzan Ozpetek | Stars: Riccardo Scamarcio, Nicole Grimaudo, Alessandro Preziosi, Ennio Fantastichini

Patrik, Age 1.5 (2008)

15 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A Swedish gay couple adopt what they think is an 18-month-old orphan, only to meet their new son, a 15-year-old homophobic delinquent.

Director: Ella Lemhagen | Stars: Gustaf Skarsgård, Torkel Petersson, Tom Ljungman, Amanda Davin

From Beginning to End (2011)

6.61 h 36

Set in Brazil, Francisco and his younger half-brother Thomás, are being raised in Rio by their mother. They are best friends and unusually close to each other so much so that their intimacy brings vocal concerns from relatives that maybe they are too close. Several years later, Francisco and Thomás now handsome young men, their childhood intensity has evolved into a very intimate and romantic sexual relationship.

Directors Aluizio Abranches    Starring.  Rafael Cardoso, João Gabriel Vasconcellos, Júlia Lemmertz

Undertow (2009)

15 | 97 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

An unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside; a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town’s rigid traditions.

Director: Javier Fuentes-León | Stars: Cristian Mercado, Tatiana Astengo, Manolo Cardona, Attilia Boschetti

Coming Out  (1989)

15 | 113 min | Drama, Romance

A young teacher in East Berlin struggles with accepting his homosexuality.

Director: Heiner Carow | Stars: Matthias Freihof, Dagmar Manzel, Dirk Kummer, Michael Gwisdek

Pride (2014)

“It’s a true story about gays and lesbians in London in the ’80s teaming up to raise money for Welsh coal miners. The ending shows you what all the characters ended up achieving in their lives, and you walk away from the movie with a deeper understanding of how people from different backgrounds can unite and care for each other. I’ve watched it probably five times and I always cry happy tears.”