Updated: Jun 14, 2021

Contrary to popular belief, LGBTQ+ film and filmmakers didn’t suddenly appear in the 1970s. They have been a key part of the cinematic landscape since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Take, for example, 1919’s Different From the Others, directed by German filmmaker Robert Oswald. Regarded as the first openly and unapologetically pro-gay film in history, the original title of Oswald’s film, “Paragraph 175”, reflected the prevailing German law that rendered homosexuality a criminal offense.
“You must not condemn your son because he is a homosexual,” the film’s doctor tells the parents of a gay man they are trying to cure. “He is not to blame for his orientation. It is not wrong, nor should it be a crime. Indeed, it is not even an illness, merely a variation, and one that is common to all of nature. You should live to change the prejudices by which this man has been made one of the countless victims. You must restore the honor of this man and bring justice to him, and all those who came before him, and all those to come after him. Justice through knowledge!”
Progressive language for 1919, to say the least.

In response to the film, religious groups pressured the Weimar government to strengthen censorship laws. When the Nazis rose to power, Hitler ordered all prints of the movie to be destroyed. Where copies persisted, only physicians were permitted to see it, largely for the purpose of refuting its message among the public.
Nonetheless, around the world, movies continued to be made advocating for the LGBT community. In the decades that followed, Different From The Others would be held up as a shining example of the power of film to educate, inspire, and change behaviour.
In the spirit of Oswald, here are my all-time favourite films by, about, or exploring the many complex realities experienced by the LGBT community:
A Boy Erased
A Fantastic Woman
A Single Man
All About My Mother
Beautiful Thing
Before Night Falls
Beginners
Better Than Chocolate
Blue is The Warmest Colour
Blush
Bohemian Rhapsody
Boys Don’t Cry
Boys In The Band
Brokeback Mountain
But I’m A Cheerleader
Call Me By Your Name
Carol
Coming Out
Dallas Buyers Club
Dog Day Afternoon
Edge of Seventeen
Fireworks
Gods & Monsters
Heavenly Creatures
Hedwig And The Angry Inch
I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing
If These Walls Could Talk 2
Imitation Game
In and Out
In The Bedroom
La Cage Aux Folles
Looking For Langston
Love Simon
Making Love
Maurice
Milk
Moonlight
My Beautiful Launderette
My Own Private Idaho
My Summer of Love
Normal
Pariah
Paris is Burning
Parting Glance
Personal Best
Philadelphia
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
Pride
Rocketman
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Savings Face
Shortbus
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Birdcage
The Crying Game
The Danish Girl
The Favorite
The Handmaiden
The Kids Are All Right
The Normal Heart
The Object Of My Affection
The Watermelon Woman
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything
Tom At The Farm
Tomboy
Torch Song Trilogy
Un Chant D’Amour
Velvet Goldmine
Victor Victoria
Weekend (2011)
Happy Pride Month!
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