Ten LGBT Documentaries That Everyone Should See

by Michael A. Jones

Published October 05, 2008 @ 10:17PM PT

Gay, Gay Hollywood.

It’s not only a 1980 documentary about the role of LGBT people in film, it’s also a descriptive reflection of the role that LGBT people have played in creating today’s pop culture and cinema world. But quid pro quo, Dr. Lecter. The film industry has also done its part to spotlight the major issues and struggles of the LGBT rights movement. Below is a list of some of the best documentary films on gay rights. So pop these on your Netflix queue, grab your popcorn and Junior Mints, and tell that annoying person behind you to shut their cell phone off. And... action!

The Celluloid Closet (1995)

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this movie brought us the quip, “Hollywood, that great maker of myths, taught straight people what to think about gays and gay people what to think about themselves.” The Celluloid Closet is based on a 1981 book by Vito Russo, and depicts how the film industry has portrayed LGBT characters throughout its history. Clips run the gamut from an 1895 silent movie by Thomas Edison to Tom Hanks’ Oscar-winning turn in “Philadelphia.” A who’s who of Hollywood and American pop icons provide commentary in this film, from Gore Vidal talking about homosexuality in Ben Hur to Susan Sarandon discussing love scenes with Catherine Deneuve. At its core, The Celluloid Closet is a spyglass look at how LGBT people have shown up in film, and how the signs of the times influenced the depiction of LGBT roles.

For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

Directed by Daniel G. Karslake

It’s a common myth that religion and homosexuality don’t mix; a myth often championed by conservative religious leaders spouting select passages of scripture out of context. For the Bible Tells Me So tells the story of how right-wing religious leaders have spun a faulty biblical storyline on homosexuality, and how they have used this faulty interpretation to stigmatize the gay community around the globe. The film tells the story of four families – including the families of Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson, and Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt – and how religion has informed their views on homosexuality. The most powerful storyline, however, comes from a mother who tells a deeply personal story about castigating her daughter after the daughter came out as a lesbian. Months later, her daughter committed suicide by hanging herself in her apartment. Today, the mother goes around speaking to groups of LGBT people and parents, shedding light on how religion can be used as a tool to welcome and support LGBT sons and daughters, not stigmatize them. Hands down, For the Bible Tells Me So is a powerful film for anyone who has ever wrestled with questions of homosexuality and faith. (I should also add that after my partner and I saw this film, he told me he loved me for the first time. I can’t guarantee that will happen for all the readers of this blog!)

Trembling Before G-d (2001)

Directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski

What do you do if you want to compare orthodox attitudes toward homosexuality with your own upbringing as a conservative gay Jew? If you’re Sandi Simcha Dubowski, you make an award-winning film about gay and lesbian Jews trying to reconcile their faith with their sexual orientation. Trembling Before G-d follows the lives of several orthodox Jews struggling with being gay, and features interviews with numerous religious leaders and rabbis. Some suggest inclusive ways of reading the Torah to allow for tolerance and acceptance of LGBT people, while others reduce homosexuality down to a “mistake.” But despite its heavy subject matter, Trembling Before G-d is a heartfelt story of love and struggle, ending with a prayerful call that religions of any stripe, but particularly Orthodox Judaism, become more accepting toward gays and lesbians. (For another excellent documentary on Orthodox Judaism and homosexuality, check out the 2004 award winner Keep Not Silent, a film which chronicles three Israeli lesbians who are part of a group called OrthoDykes.)

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

Directed by Rob Epstein

“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” Harvey Milk recorded this line shortly after winning election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978. Milk has been a lot of things to a lot of people over the years – agitator, community organizer, populist, hero. In this stirring tribute to Milk’s life, which won the 1984 Oscar for Best Documentary, Epstein takes the viewer on a ride that spans Milk’s entry into San Francisco politics, his crowning himself the Mayor of Castro Street, his eventual election onto the Board of Supervisors, and tragically, his assassination at the hands of a former colleague. Humorous, inspiring and yet all too tragic, viewers will have to decide what’s the most powerful image – that of Supervisor (now Senator) Dianne Feinstein shakily announcing at a press conference that Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated, or that of the thousands of San Franciscans who poured into the streets the night of Milk’s assassination in an impromptu candlelight vigil.

Pursuit of Equality (2007)

Directed by Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw

After attending President Bush’s State of the Union address in 2004 as a guest of then House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and hearing Bush’s call for a Constitutional amendment to define marriage between one man and one woman, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom decided he would try something bold. That something was to legalize gay marriage in San Francisco, and Shaw and Callan (who happens to be Newsom’s brother-in-law) were able to film some of the behind the scenes action that led up to the public roll-out of same-sex marriage in San Francisco. The film is a great snapshot of the legal battle that would eventually result in a 2008 California Supreme Court ruling, which would legalize same-sex marriage for the entire state.

Freeheld (2007)

Directed by Cynthia Wade

This 40-minute film about a dying woman’s mission to transfer her earned pension to her partner won the Oscar in 2008 for Best Documentary Short. In an ironic twist of fate, the award was presented to director Cynthia Wade by a group of U.S. servicemen in Iraq, all of whom would be unable to transfer benefits to their same-sex partners since it’s illegal to be openly gay in the U.S. military. Wade’s picture follows the story of Laurel Hester, a Detective with the Ocean County police department in New Jersey. Hester is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and spends the last six months of her life fighting with elected officials over whether she has the right to transfer her pension to her partner, Stacie Andree. The film gracefully follows the twists and turns of the political battle, while also capturing the tenderness shared between Hester and Andree, as Hester’s cancer quickly spreads to her brain and she comes closer and closer to death. This is a movie not to be missed, and not to be watched without a box of Kleenex.

TransGeneration (2004/2005)

Directed by Jeremy Simmons

Though TransGeneration was initially a series of television specials, it’s worth including here because it was eventually released as one long feature. TransGeneration follows four college students during the 2004-’05 academic year, as they attempt to balance college while “gender transitioning” – that is, changing their gender identity. Two of the students are transitioning from male to female, and the other two are transitioning from female to male. Yes, the movie has a decidedly MTV reality show feel to it, but this is no Road Rules Meets Real World time suck (because we all know we’ve spent way too many hours fretting about whether Julie from the Real World New Orleans would wrestle Veronica from Road Rules Semester at Sea off of the top of a skyscraper). TransGeneration, instead, spotlights the nervous tension about how parents might react to their Trans children, or how classmates might respond if they knew one of their peers identified as the “T” in LGBT.

Gay Sex in the ‘70s (2005)

Directed by Joseph Lovett

There’s a sense of shock and awe after watching Gay Sex in the ‘70s that might have you reminiscing for a time when gay sex didn’t come with a stigma of death, or might have you stunned at just how sexualized gay culture was in the years between Stonewall and HIV/AIDS. To be sure, Lovett’s depiction of gay male culture in the 1970s is explicit. But to hear Lovett articulate it, the film isn’t meant to be about sex, raunchy behavior, or promiscuity. Rather, “It’s about the end of repression, and what lifting repression can do to you, and for you. I wanted to look at the wonderful things that happened along with that – the fact that so many gay people began to accept themselves, and came out to the other people in their lives…You didn't have to be somebody who segmented your personality, who kept your sensual life locked in a little box.” Lovett’s film is also mindful of the horror that awaited the end of the ‘70s sexual revolution, where unbridled sexual liberation gave way to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This film may not be for everyone, but as an historical account of the New York City gay male scene between 1969-1981, the film succeeds.

It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in Schools (1996)

Directed by Debra Chasnoff and Helen S. Cohen

Whether it’s talk about banning books on gay penguins, or discussing the murder of high school sophomore (and openly gay teen) Lawrence King, the role of LGBT issues in schools is at the fore of educational issues in the United States. But instead of wrapping themselves up in an adult debate over LGBT issues, Chasnoff and Cohen take their filmmaking prowess directly to elementary, middle school and high school students in this terrific film that sheds light on how our children think about issues of sexuality, and may just provide an entry point for teachers looking to discuss LGBT issues in the classroom. From third graders debating gay marriage, to fourth graders “sick in the stomach” over the use of the word “faggot,” this movie is a hopeful omen that kids today will be much better equipped to talk about issues of sexuality than the kids of yesterday. The film doesn't have a clip that can be embedded, but if you go here, you can view a short preview.

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

This list is sandwiched by films from Epstein and Friedman. Though it’s last on this list, Common Threads is certainly not least in the world of LGBT documentaries. The 1990 Oscar winner for Best Documentary Film, Common Threads tells the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and in particular six people memorialized with panels on the quilt. The film ends with one of the most memorable images of any movie – the unveiling of the complete HIV/AIDS quilt on the National Mall during the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, the quilt is the largest display of community art in the world. Moreover, the visceral image of the quilt is thought by many to be the first to show the dramatic impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. Simply put, documentaries don’t get more powerful than this. There's no online clip, but you can read more about this powerful documentary here.