Top Movies Directed by LGBTQ+ Women
LGBTQ+ representation in cinema has the power to uplift and empower those in the audience. It can show those that may not know many LGBTQ+ people, that we all have something in common and are not as different from one another as we may seem. Although we have seen the film industry improve over the past years, we still too often see them get it wrong too.
A huge part of this needs to be ensuring we have diversity behind the camera as well as in front of it. We know that when queer people are allowed to tell their own stories the results can be breathtaking, we just need more LGBTQ+ people to be given the chance, to begin with. This needs to include LGBTQ+ women too, because if we are not creating more opportunities for everyone in the community, then we end up with people left behind and stories that deserve to be told, left off the big screen. To mark International Women’s Day we have put together our favorite movies directed by LGBTQ+ women, proving without a doubt the creative talent within the LGBTQ+ community.
The Matrix Series, Lana and Lilly Wachowski
The Wachowski sisters are famous for revolutionizing sci-fi with the initial Matrix trilogy starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss. The first Matrix movie, released in 1999 won four academy awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Sound Editing. It was applauded for its philosophical storyline as were the two movies that followed.
After the success of the first three Matrix movies, the Wachowski sisters came out at trans in 2016 and explained that the trilogy was a trans metaphor.
“The Matrix stuff was all about the desire for transformation, but it was all coming from a closeted point of view,” explained Lily Wachowski. “We had the character of Switch - who was a character who would be a man in the real world and then a woman in the Matrix. We were existing in a space where the words didn't exist, so we were always living in a world of imagination."
Twenty-three years after the first release of the cult favorite, fans were elated that the Matrix was back with The Matrix Resurrections hitting screens in January 2022. Directed by Lana Wachowski, new and old fans crowded to see what had happened to Neo and Trinity, played once again by Reeves and Moss.
The sisters also created and directed episodes from the Netflix sci-fi Sesne8, which follows the lives of eight characters and was heavily praised for authentic LGBTQ+ representation.
Saving Face, Alice Wu
Released in 2004 Saving Face is Alice Wu’s debut and follows the story of Wil, played by Michelle Krusiec. Wil is in the closet and the movie follows the journey of her strained relationship with her mother, played by Joan Chen.
Featuring almost exclusively Chinese actors the film is rooted in a queer immigrant experience and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004. The masterpiece was both written and directed by Alice Wu who has shared that it loosely follows her own experience coming out to her mother, which did not go well. Wu has explained that it was the result of five years of work after continuously pitching the script and being told it would not be possible with her as the director, or that they would only do it if it was changed to a White cast, but it was eventually financed by Sony division Destination Films who allowed Wu to bring her creative vision to life.
Pariah, Dee Res
Pariah is directed and written by Dee Res and is inspired by her own story. Starring Adepero Oduye and released in 2011 it follows the main character Alike a 17-year-old coming to terms with her sexual identity.
Film critic and journalist, Valerie Complex explains how the movie has helped her come to terms with decisions she has made in her own life, “Alike and I have the same skin complexion, are of the same sexual orientation, we grew up in similar environments, and we made the bold choice to leave because it was the best choice for us and no one else. For me, leaving home to join the military was a decision without outside influences – the kind of major decision I hadn’t made until then. Seeing Pariah gave me confidence and confirmed that I made the right choice.
The movie changed my life and my perspective on what it means to be happy with everything I am. I’m just here to remind movie fans that Pariah should always come up in conversation when discussing queer cinema game-changers. It’s a movie that speaks to a demographic that rarely interests Hollywood studios – Black queer women and non-binary people. Rees took a cinematic risk and in doing so created a queer classic that holds up 10 years later – and will for decades to come.”
But I’m a Cheerleader, Jamie Babbit
Queer classic, But I’m A Cheerleader, is now known for being ahead of its time. Relleased in 1999 the movie was initially declared a flop, but years later rose to be praised as a classic that it marked a clear change in the narrative of LGBTQ+ stories, beginning an era where queer people were slowly encouraged to tell their own stories.
The story is hilarious and satirical following Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVal it is a witty take on conversion therapy, one that is not afraid to poke fun of homophobia, a clear difference in the somber light that followed the topic during this time.
“When the movie got released, I got a lot of really mean reviews, mostly from gay people, because they were so pissed off that I had made a comedy about such a f***** up subject. I just think it was a strange time to be making a movie like that. But I was in my twenties, and I was just in my own little young person bubble, where it seemed very normal and natural. It shocked me once I put it out into the world and got all the reviews from these 60-year-old white dudes,” shared director Jamie Babbit.
“I also think that nobody was really talking about many of the things the film was dealing with at the time. But as the years have gone by, they've become very much a part of the cultural conversation. For example, the whole issue of the binary and gender construction. The whole point of But I'm a Cheerleader was that I was a femme lesbian who was confused because my parents were like, “How could you be gay? You're so feminine.” And I was like, “I don't think being masculine or feminine has anything to do with being gay. They're totally separate things.” But with the rise of trans power in the community, people have started talking more about how the binary is limiting in every way.”
My Days of Mercy, Tali Shalom Ezer
Directed by Israeli filmmaker and screenwriter Tali Shalom Ezer, My Days of Mercy is a star-crossed romance following the story of the daughter of a man on death row who falls in love with a woman on the opposite political field. Featuring Elliot Page and Kate Mara – both as producers and lead roles – the movie was first previewed in 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival and proves exactly how magical the results are when queer people tell their own stories.
"I’m gay and I grew up in a small town and there are many things I can identify with [in My Days of Mercy] - obsession with truth,” said Shalom Ezer.
Shalom Ezer explains that Mara and Page approached her after her debut movie Princess aired and that the three of them connected right away. It was the first American film she has directed with her past work in her home country in Hebrew, but she says she straight away connected to the story and characters.
“My Days of Mercy is very dark and very, very painful, but there's something about the love story here, it's just so beautiful,” said Shalom Ezer “And so to me, it was like a true gift.”
