PRIDE: "Different From The Others" & 70 LGBTQ+ Films That Helped Change The World

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:

1. A Boy Erased

2. A Fantastic Woman

3. A Single Man

4. All About My Mother

5. Beautiful Thing

6. Before Night Falls

7. Beginners

8. Better Than Chocolate

9. Blue is The Warmest Colour

10. Blush

11. Bohemian Rhapsody

12. Boys Don’t Cry

13. Boys In The Band

14. Brokeback Mountain

15. But I’m A Cheerleader

16. Call Me By Your Name

17. Carol

18. Coming Out

19. Dallas Buyers Club

20. Dog Day Afternoon

21. Edge of Seventeen

22. Fireworks

23. Gods & Monsters

24. Heavenly Creatures

25. Hedwig And The Angry Inch

26. I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing

27. If These Walls Could Talk 2

28. Imitation Game

29. In and Out

30. In The Bedroom

31. La Cage Aux Folles

32. Looking For Langston

33. Love Simon

34. Making Love

35. Maurice

36. Milk

37. Moonlight

38. My Beautiful Launderette

39. My Own Private Idaho

40. My Summer of Love

41. Normal

42. Pariah

43. Paris is Burning

44. Parting Glance

45. Personal Best

46. Philadelphia

47. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

48. Pride

49. Rocketman

50. Rocky Horror Picture Show

51. Savings Face

52. Shortbus

53. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

54. The Birdcage

55. The Crying Game

56. The Danish Girl

57. The Favorite

58. The Handmaiden

59. The Kids Are All Right

60. The Normal Heart

61. The Object Of My Affection

62. The Watermelon Woman

63. To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything

64. Tom At The Farm

65. Tomboy

66. Torch Song Trilogy

67. Un Chant D’Amour

68. Velvet Goldmine

69. Victor Victoria

70. Weekend (2011)

Happy Pride Month!

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