List
Pride Documentaries
Celebrate Pride Month with these illuminating and informative documentaries.
-
Orlando, My Political Biography (DVD)
2024Get this itemWriter/philosopher turned filmmaker, Paul B. Preciado says his film is a documentary adaptation of Orlando by Virginia Woolf. He cast several trans and nonbinary actors to create this cinematic essay, a collective biography and a letter to Woolf to tell the author that Orlando is alive and there are hundreds of thousands of Orlandos. The result is one of the most unique docs in recent years. Suggested by Sharon.
-
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
2024Get this itemAn intimate and Oscar-nominated documentary. It weaves world-renowned photographer Nan Goldin's personal journey of identity and self acceptance with activism and survival during the AIDS epidemic and our current opioid crisis. Powerful and enlightening. Suggested by Rummanah.
-
Every Body
2023Get this itemDon't miss this eye-opening documentary that shines a light on the too-often-ignored intersex community. Julie Cohen’s empathetic storytelling makes this film a personal journey as she spotlights the lives of three charismatic and endearing intersex activists. A must watch. Suggested by Rummanah and Sharon.
-
Being Thunder
2023Get this itemOne of my favorite under-the-radar picks, this independent documentary is a portrait of Sherente Mishitashin Harris, a two-spirit genderqueer teenager from the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island. The film focuses on their activism and efforts for more gender inclusivity in the traditionally female competitive fancy shawl dance. It’s revealing, insightful, moving, and joyful. Suggested by Sharon.
-
Casa Susanna
2023Get this itemThrough reminiscences and photos, we're taken back to the early 1960s, to a private property in the Catskills called Casa Susanna. There, it was safe for cross-dressing men and transgender women to have total freedom and to be as they wished for a few days. Suggested by Sharon.
-
Framing Agnes
2023Get this itemJules Gill-Peterson, a historian of transgender history, says that she first encountered Agnes in graduate school, via a case study about a young woman who managed to lie her way into the UCLA Gender Clinic to get access to surgery in the 1950s. A group of trans actors/artists/scholars creates reenactments sourced from long-unseen transcripts from the UCLA Gender Clinic to give us this innovative, fascinating documentary. Suggested by Sharon.
-
Flee
2022Get this itemAmin (a pseudonym) reveals a hidden past about himself and his family when they fled the war in Afghanistan in the 1990s. This earned three Oscar nominations: Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, and Best International Feature Film. We loved how this documentary uses a mixture of animation and archival footage to tell a beautiful, at times heartbreaking, story of compassion, courage, and creativity. Suggested by Chris, Rummanah, and Sharon.
-
Paris Is Burning
2020Get this itemDecades after its initial release, this film remains a powerful testament to resilience and defiance in the face of adversity. Allowing viewers a glimpse into the African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball/voguing community of the late '80s, its message of acceptance and stone-cold Fabulousness continues to inspire and is more important than ever. Suggested by Chris.
-
How to Survive a Plague
2013Get this itemThey accomplished the impossible. Looking at the efforts of AIDS activists groups that courageously fought for research, treatment, social change, and government support to combat the epidemic--an inspirational watch. Suggested by Sharon.
-
The Times of Harvey Milk
2004Get this itemWeaving together archival footage and heartfelt testimonials, this Oscar-winning documentary delves into the pivotal moments of Harvey Milk's life. It's a landmark work and testimony to not only his courage as the first openly gay elected official in California, but to the enduring power of collective action and the ongoing struggle for equality and justice. Suggested by Chris.
Bookmatch
Bookmatch allows Skokie Library cardholders to receive a custom list of titles prepared for you by the library's expert staff.
Try Bookmatch