Mutts, theater gays, and great balls of fire: 10 LGBTQ+ movies from … – Queerty
After two years away, the Sundance Film Festival—the largest independent fest in the U.S.—returns in full to Park City, Utah, where it will introduce audiences to the next wave of storytellers to shape the future of film.
In ’21 and ’22, the fest went virtual (understandably, for pandemic-related reasons), and though the streets of Park City will once again be crowded with film-goers from January 19 -29, Sundance is wisely keeping an online streaming option available for most of its featured and in competition premieres.
In other words, the good news is—no matter where you are in the U.S.—you can take part in the festival, too. And that’s especially great this year, because the lineup is jam-packed with exciting queer films and filmmakers you’ll likely be hearing about all year long.
We previously shared a rundown of all of Sundance ’23’s gayest debuts, but now, just days before the festival begins, we’re highlighting 10 of our most anticipated LGBTQ+ feature films at the fest—all of which you’ll be able to watch virtually from home.
Read on below for our preview of 10 must-see films, which will all be available to stream beginning January 24. And head here for more information on how to get virtual tickets and enjoy the festival online.
Bad Behaviour
Film buffs know that Power Of The Dog director Jane Campion’s daughter is queer actress Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures)—but did you know she’s following in her mother’s footsteps? The 28-year old is set to make their directorial debut with this sharp satire about a former child actress Lucy (Jennifer Connelly) who attends a wellness retreat in search of enlightenment, and winds up having to confront her own toxicity. Among the supporting cast is gay actor Ben Whishaw, taking a rare comedic turn as Lucy’s spiritual guru, Elon Bello.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Fancy Dance
This unique mystery takes audiences to the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma, where a young woman named Jax (Certain Women‘s Lily Gladstone) searches for her missing sister, while also caring for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) and helping her prepare for an upcoming powwow. Worried she could lose custody, Jax and Roki hit the road in hopes of finding the girl’s mother, and an intimate journey unfolds in this exploration of Indigenous womanhood.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Joyland
Shortlisted for the Oscars’ Best International Feature this year is the family drama Joyland, which was a breakout hit at the Cannes Film Festival last May, and now receives a special spotlight presentation at Sundance. Set in the bustling city of Lahore, the film tells the story of the Ranas, and their youngest son who defies expectations when he takes a job as a dancer at an erotic theater and winds up falling in love with its transgender star. In late 2022, the Pakistani government attempted to block the film’s theatrical release because of its focus on an LGBTQ+ romance.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Kokomo City
From Grammy Award-winning producer-turned-director D. Smith, this striking black-and-white documentary welcomes viewers into the lives of Danielle Carter, Dominique Silver, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell—four Black, trans sex workers in New York and Georgia who share their truths with intoxicating honesty. Said to exist somewhere between Tangerine and an episode of HBO’s Real Sex, the film offers a frank snapshot of gender, identity, taboos, and modern-day Black culture.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Little Richard: I Am Everything
The origins of rock ‘n’ roll are Black and queer, and this buzzy new doc re-examines those roots with Richard Wayne Penniman, a.k.a Little Richard, at the epicenter as the music genre went mainstream. A no doubt complicated figure who, later in his life, publicly denounced homosexuality, Little Richard was nevertheless a trailblazer at a time when it was a radical act just to be publicly Black and queer. Through rare archival footage and interviews with loved ones and colleagues, Lisa Cortés’ film sets out to provide deeper context for the icon.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Mutt
A young trans man named Feña (Lío Mehiel) navigates one harrowing day in New York City. As he encounters ghosts from his past—many of whom he’d lost touch with since his transition—Feña is faced with re-negotiating his relationships with friends, family members, and lovers in his brave new world. Writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s impressive feature debut is a tense but warm portrait of someone at a new juncture in life, navigating their past, present, and future all at once.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
The Persian Version
Queer filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz returns to Sundance after winning the Audience Award for their 2011 film Circumstance. Her follow-up is about a young Iranian-American woman named Leila (Layla Mohammadi) who has to contend with her large, overwhelming family when they all travel to New York for her father’s heart transplant surgery. After a long-held family secret comes to life, Leila begins to realize she has more in common with her estranged mother (Kaleidoscope‘s Niousha Noor) than she ever imagined.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Shortcomings
Always Be My Maybe‘s Randall Park makes his directorial debut with this comedy about three young Asian-Americans in the Bay Area: Struggling filmmaker Ben (The Umbrella Academy‘s Justin H. Min), his girlfriend Miko who’s relocating to NYC for an internship (Hacks‘ Aly Maki), and their queer bestie Alica (Queerty favorite comedian Sherry Cola). Fascinating and funny, Shortcomings also boasts a starry supporting cats, including Sonoya Mizuno, Timothy Simons, Tavi Gevinson, Debby Ryan, and Jacob Batalon.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
The Stroll
Billed as the definitive history of New York City’s meatpacking district, this documentary weaves its story together through the perspectives of the transgender women of color who have lived and worked there over the years. Zackary Drucker (The Lady And The Dale) collaborates with first-time director Kristen Lovell—who walked the titular “stroll” through the district for over a decade—as they reunite a community to “recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.”
Find in-person screening times and more information here.
Theater Camp
Newly engaged actors Ben Platt and Noah Galvin are among the co-writers and stars of this comedy set at AdirondACTS, a theater camp heavily inspired by Stagedoor Manor. When the camp’s owner (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma, her tech bro son (American Vandal‘s Jimmy Tatro) has to team up with the eccentric counselors to keep things from falling into financial ruin. Nathan Lee Graham, Patti Harrison, Ayo Edibiri, Minari‘s Alan Kim, and Shiva Baby‘s Molly Gordon also star, with the latter co-directing alongside frequent Ben Platt collaborator Nick Lieberman.
Find in-person screening times and more information here.