The Free Library is home not only to books, but digital, visual, and auditory media. We take pride in curating a diverse collection of materials for our patrons to explore and borrow.
People who don’t fit neatly into society’s categories often turn to artistic expression to share their experiences. Just as literature has long explored diverse identities, film has become a powerful space for telling explicitly Queer stories. The beauty of Queer cinema lies in its ability to challenge perceptions and reshape how audiences see those they might view as “other.”
No single genre lays exclusive claim to LGBTQ+ film, and Queer films are not solely independent projects that see minimal profit. For example, Mike Nichols’ The Birdcage (1996) is a popular comedic MGM production that raked in $185 million at the box office. On the other end of the spectrum, Sean Baker’s Tangerine, filmed with a $100,000 budget and on an iPhone 5, earned critical acclaim for its slice-of-life depiction of two transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. Despite their differences, both movies challenge mainstream ideas about family, love, and self-expression.
Check out some of the following Queer films available with your library card below:
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006)
This documentary explores films by, for, or about the LGBTQ+ community.
All About My Mother (1999)
The Oscar-winning melodrama provides a dizzying, moving exploration of the meaning of motherhood. In an instant, nurse Manuela loses the teenage son she raised on her own. Grief-stricken, she sets out to search for the boy's long-lost father in Barcelona, where she reawakens into a new maternal role, at the head of a surrogate family that includes a pregnant, HIV-positive nun; an illustrious star of the stage; and a transgender sex worker.
Bound (1996)
Corky (Gina Gershon), a tough ex-con, and her lover Violet (Jennifer Tilly) concoct a scheme to steal $2 million of mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend.
But I'm A Cheerleader (1999)
Megan's super-normal suburban existence is filled with friends, pom-poms, and rah-rah enthusiasm until her parents suspect that she may be showing "deviant" tendencies and send her to a conversion therapy camp.
Desert Hearts (1985)
In 1950s Nevada, Professor Vivian Bell arrives to get a divorce. She's unsatisfied with her marriage and feels out of place at the ranch she stays on. She finds herself increasingly drawn to Cay Rivers, an open and self-assured lesbian, and the ranch owner's daughter.
Kiki (2016)
Filmmaker Sara Jordeno introduces viewers to some of New York City's drag and voguing culture's most prominent personalities, going beyond the glamour of the balls to highlight the serious challenges facing Queer Black and Latino young people, bringing together heartrending personal stories with incredible displays of creative expression.
Moonlight (2016)
A young Black man struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.
National Anthem (2023)
A 21-year-old construction worker in New Mexico joins a community of Queer rodeo performers in search of their own version of the American dream.
Pariah (2011)
Alike is a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents and younger sister in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry and is a good student at her local high school. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity — sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.
Tangerine (2015)
It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown, and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles.
The Birdcage (1996)
The Birdcage is a story of a middle-aged gay couple's comic encounter with a self-righteous straight and conservative family. Armand and Albert reluctantly accept young Val's intention to marry the daughter of a conservative Senator, but when the fiancée's family comes to visit, the whole household is turned upside down.
Tongues Untied (1989)
Filmmaker Marlon Riggs gives a voice to communities of gay Black men, presenting their cultures and perspectives on the world as they confront racism, homophobia, and marginalization.
Wojnarowicz: F*ck You F*ggot F**ker (2020)
A fiery and urgent documentary portrait of downtown New York City artist, writer, photographer, and activist David Wojnarowicz. As New York City became the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Wojnarowicz weaponized his work and waged war against the establishment's indifference to the plague until his death from it in 1992 at the age of 37. Exclusive access to his breathtaking body of work, including paintings, journals, and films, reveals how Wojnarowicz emptied his life into his art and activism. Rediscovered answering machine tape recordings and intimate recollections from Fran Lebowitz, Gracie Mansion, Peter Hujar, and other friends and family help present a stirring portrait of this fiercely political, unapologetically Queer artist.
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
The lives of Julio and Tenoch, like those of 17-year-old boys everywhere, are ruled by raging hormones, intense friendships, and a headlong rush into adulthood. Throughout a summer, the two best friends, while living out a carefree cross-country escapade with a gorgeous older woman, also find a connection with each other, themselves, and the world around them.
Yentl (1983)
Rebbe Mendel is a single father who teaches the Talmud, a sacred text of Judaism, to the boys of his small Polish town. Behind closed doors, he also instructs his daughter, Yentl, even though girls are forbidden to study religious scripture. When Yentl's father dies, she still has a strong desire to learn about her faith, so she disguises herself as a male, enrolls in a religious school, and unexpectedly finds love along the way.
Have a question for Free Library staff? Please submit it to our Ask a Librarian page and receive a response within two business days.