Embracing Diversity: Seven Must-Watch Queer Films for Pride Month

Movies are a fantastic way to spread diversity. While queer storylines have long been a feature of literature, they are still relatively new in the film industry. Before, films centered on LGBTQ+ issues would only discuss the terrible realities that gay people had to face; now, the current wave of queer cinema offers warmth and wholesomeness in the form of wonderful rom-com narratives.

June, which is International Pride Month, is quickly approaching, and we believe this is an excellent opportunity for you to raise awareness as a community ally. If you identify as gay, you've probably already seen these films, but you really should watch them again because June is when everyone feels forced to honor you. Whether it is a result of corporate responsibility or not, Pride Month is always refreshing (except from the rainbow-washing).

In the lead-up to Pride Month, enjoy these seven gay films that are always entertaining!

1. The fire

Fire, which sparked a number of controversy after its 1996 debut, must be at the top of the list. It was the first Bollywood movie, starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, to openly and honestly represent a lesbian romance on screen. The story revolves around the stressful lives of sisters-in-law Radha (Shabana Azmi) and Sita (Nandita Das). Radha's husband remains celibate following a hermit's instruction that sexual contact should only be made for procreation, unlike Sita's husband who married her to avoid his father's persistent nagging and who still had an affair with his former girlfriend. Since Radha is infertile, her husband has avoided having any physical contact with her for the past 13 years. One evening, after being fed up with their husbands and spending all of their time taking care of their mother-in-law, Biji, they find comfort in each other and end up falling in love. Following a brief but intense romance, they search for opportunities to elope. The gruesomely real film itself does a better job of revealing the rest. You'll definitely get chills when you realize why the film was given the moniker Fire.

2. Give Me Your Name

Every time the Luca Guadagnino film Call Me By Your Name is referenced, the Sufjan Stevens song Mystery Of Love plays in the background. The film is the last installment in Luca's Desire trilogy, which also includes I Am Love and Bigger Splash. It is based on André Aciman's 2007 book of the same name. Timothée Chalamet's character, Elio Perlman, falls in love with Oliver, played by Armie Hammer. Oliver is Elio's father's pupil and is 24 years old. Call Me By Your Name is a coming-of-age movie that tells the tale of an innocent love story with a touching conclusion. Now a cult classic, the film is set in rural Italy in 1983. "Call me by your name and I'll call you by mine," Oliver tells Elio after they had their first sleep together. The film is a must-watch because of the painful moment when the line's importance is revealed!

3. A straw-topped margarita

Even now, critics continue to praise the 2014 Shonali Bose-directed film. Laila Kapoor, portrayed by Kalki Koechlin, is an Indian adolescent who moves to the United States with her traditional Maharashtrian mother Shubhangini (played by Revathi). Laila, an aspiring musician and writer, is coping with cerebral palsy while going through life. She meets activist Khanum (Sayani Gupta), who is blind. In college, Laila also meets a young man named Jared. Laila becomes perplexed about her sexuality after two years of dating Khanum since she still finds guys attractive. She then has a sexual relationship with Jared, which she later tells Khanum about. She also comes out to her mother in the meantime, but her colon cancer returns and takes her life forever. The film is touchingly inspirational and worth seeing multiple times.

4. The Indian subcontinent

Indian queers were taken aback when Hansal Mehta introduced a gay romance set in the traditional city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Based on the true biography of Prof. Ramchandra Siras, the dean of the Classical Modern Indian Languages faculty at Aligarh Muslim University, the film stars the versatile actors Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao. A reporter from the neighborhood news station breaks into Siras's home to discover him having sex with a rickshaw puller, setting off the narrative. Soon after, he is contacted by Deepu Sebastian, a journalist played by Rajkummar Rao, who offers to assist him in taking his case to trial. Siras had already been removed from all university roles by this point. He had a romantic relationship with Sebastian once the court decided in his favor, but he was discovered dead before he could receive the good news.

5. Do Badhaai

It's not disrespectful or caricatured when Rajkummar Rao portrays a homosexual character (as is often encountered in Indian cinema). The humorous love comedy Badhaai Do by Harshavardhan Kulkarni explores a lavender marriage with an Indian backdrop. This Pride Month, the whole family can enjoy a hearty viewing starring Bhumi Pednekar and Rajkummar. Sumi teaches physical education, while Shardul works as a police officer. Despite their shared homosexuality, they choose to wed under the guise of a heterosexual couple in order to appease their families. Still, they carry on with their respective gay love lives and even adopt a child. The movie closes on a romantic note, with several of Shardul and Sumi's family members present for an adoption ceremony that sees Sumi's lover recognized as a third parent.

6. The Completeness

Rather than being a horror film, we regard The Perfection as a psychological drama with a strong retribution theme. Richard Shepard's artistry is terrifying. The drama takes place at the Bachoff Academy, a music school for cellists, and stars Logan Browning as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wells and Allison Williams as Charlotte Willmore. Renowned cellist Charlotte makes a repeat visit to Bachoff as a guest, and she and Lizzie end up having a passionate meeting. But as the two leave for Shanghai, Charlotte gives Lizzie a medication, causing her to see maggots growing out of her hand and ultimately cut it off. Although Lizzie is certain that Charlotte acted in this way out of jealousy, this is not at all the case. Charlotte has discovered that the best pupils at Balchoff are sexually raped and brainwashed, and the others have followed suit. Although it's unsettling to witness, the queers get their justifiable retribution.

7. However, I'm a Supporter

The 1999 cult classic film But I'm A Cheerleader addresses the delicate and important topic of conversion therapy. In the film, Natasha Lyonne portrays high school cheerleader Megan Bloomfield, who prefers to see her fellow cheerleaders but dislikes kissing her football player boyfriend. In an attempt to treat Megan's lesbianism, her parents send her to True Direction, a residential inpatient clinic. Megan does everything in her power to conform to heterosexuality because she was raised in a religious home where she was taught that homosexuality is a sin. Following her failure, she is taken to a nearby homosexual club by former True Direction inhabitants, where a series of enlightening incidents transpire. Her parents are finally seen uncomfortable at a PFLAG meeting, having to come to terms with their daughter's sexuality.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.