What, exactly, makes a film a “queer film”? Is it an LGBTQIA+ storyline? Queer and trans cast? Queer and trans crew? It’s a question that has haunted queer film post-grads since the 1990s (at least that’s what we could glean from our Intro to Queer Film course).
Well, it’s actually often ~ a mix of these ~ that a queer film maketh – at least that’s how we are interpreting the age-old question today. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of our stand-out LGBTQIA+ films of the year. From body horrors hinged upon a fictional 90s reality show, to romance-dramas skewering the corporate gay agenda, the queer films released in 2024 proved what we already know: that no-one is making transgressive, experimental, thought-provoking cinema like the queer and trans community.
[A reminder: many folks in our office loved – nay, lived – Wicked and we will forever stan the film’s brilliant queer cast, including Cynthia Erivo and Bowen Yang. However, these lists are intended to support films from openly queer filmmakers, with explicitly queer plotlines].
Crossing
Taking you into the heart of Istanbul’s trans community, Crossing from filmmaker Levan Akin (who wowed audiences with 2019’s And Then We Danced) follows a Georgian retiree as she searches for her estranged trans niece – and confronts feelings of regret, grief and frustration at the status quo.
Desire Lines
The hybrid documentary Desire Lines follows a gay, Iranian-American trans guy as he looks back through the archive in order to better understand his identity and to pay homage to gay, trans predecessors such as the trailblazing activist Lou Sullivan. [Sidenote: for more on the topic of (gay) transmasc history, check out the research project Trans Masc Studies].
I Saw The TV Glow
If you haven’t seen I Saw The TV Glow yet then, seriously, get watching. An unsettling look at fandom culture, laced with trans body horror and situated alongside the banal terrors of dreary American suburbia, this chilling film reminded us that Jane Schoenbrun will forever be our filmmaker fave.
Layla
The debut feature from writer-actor-filmmaker Amrou Al-Kadhi, Layla, features a powerhouse performance from Bilal Hasna as the titular Layla: a Palestinian-British, non-binary drag queen who becomes romantically entangled with a white gay guy in the corporate world.
Love Lies Bleeding
Muscle mommies finally found their representation in Love Lies Bleeding: a queer thriller and body horror. In it, a steroid-abusing bisexual bodybuilder and grifter falls in love with a lesbian gym manager (whose father just so happens to be a crime lord). Sapphic, gun-toting antics ensue.
Ponyboi
The feature-length follow-up to the 2019 short of the same name, Ponyboi stars River Gallo as an intersex sex worker on the run from the mob. In an industry which still struggles to get representation right, Gallo’s compelling performance and screenplay provide a rare example of intersex representation for-and-by intersex folk.
Problemista
An exploration of class, creativity and identity wrapped up in a surreal aesthetic, Problemista follows the aspiring toymaker Alejandro as he grapples with struggling to secure a visa and land the internship of his dreams. An inventive, centuries-spanning take on art, belonging, privilege, and love which has to be seen. Oh, and did we mention cryogenic freezing plays a major role?
Queer
Cinematic adaptations of William S. Burroughs’ work are notoriously difficult to pull off but (naturally) Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino has risen to the challenge with Queer: a technically innovative, expansive exploration of gay shame and queer love in 1950s Mexico City.
Sebastian
Mikko Mäkelä’s second feature film, Sebastian, follows a young writer who explores the world of queer sex work in order to research his debut novel. With an unjudging gaze, Mäkelä explores a subculture which many in the community have come across but which is rarely depicted outside of sensationalistic stereotypes on screen.
Will & Harper
The charming documentary Will & Harper follows IRL besties Will Ferrell and Harper Steele on an American road trip, shortly after the latter came out as trans. A look into the duo’s friendship as well as the realities of transphobia in the United States, this film could serve as a powerful teaching tool to cis acquaintances and family.
