Queer Films That Deserve To Be Oscar Nominated

This year’s Oscar nominations were historic for the LGBTQ+ community. Cynthia Erivo became the first openly queer Black woman to receive a Best Actress nomination (and only the second in any category) for her work in Wicked. Colman Domingo became the first openly gay Black and Afro-Latino man to be nominated for Best Actor. Karla Sofia Gascón became the first trans Best Actress nominee in Oscars history for her work in Emilia Pérez, even if she—and director Jacques Audiard—did promptly sully the news with an absolute firestorm of outrageously offensive comments. 

With the Oscars less than a month away, we’re thinking back to all the incredible queer and trans films released in 2024 that didn’t receive their fair share of awards attention. So while we celebrate the community’s historic nominations, here are a few of the other incredible LGBTQ+ films that we’d like to see receive some love this season.

Related: Zoe Saldaña Dedicated BAFTA Win To Her Trans Nephew

I Saw the TV Glow

Last year was historic for trans film and leading the pack was Jane Schoenbrun’s sophomore horror film, I Saw the TV Glow. Starring Justice Smith as a repressed teen whose best friend (Jack Haven) seemingly disappears into the world of their favorite TV series, I Saw the TV Glow is a surreal, heart-wrenching, anti-coming-of-age tale about the dangers of suppressing trans identity.

Now streaming on Max.

Fancy Dance

Starring Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone as Jax, a queer drifter left to care for her 13-year-old niece after her sister’s sudden disappearance, Fancy Dance is both an indictment of the American justice system’s failures in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis and a love letter to found families. In a just world, Gladstone would be a Best Actress shoo-in for what may be her career-best performance, but it’s newcomer Isabel DeRoy-Olsen who truly steals the show in this one-of-a-kind queer crime drama.

Now streaming on AppleTV+

Will & Harper

Though you may not know her name, there’s a high chance you know Harper Steele’s extensive body of work. The former head writer of SNL is responsible not just for iconic sketches like The Ladies Man, but also for comedies like Casa de mi Padre and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. 

In Will & Harper, the writer—who came out as a trans woman at age 61 in 2022—gets to reintroduce herself. The documentary follows Steele and her longtime best friend, SNL alum Will Ferrell, as the two embark on a cross-country road trip. In the process, the pair confront difficult truths about what it means to travel the country as a trans woman and get to know each other all over again. Despite being nominated for a BAFTA award and a GLAAD award, Will & Harper was egregiously snubbed by the Academy. Luckily, it’s already streaming on Netflix for you to watch at home.

Related: New Queer Drama ‘On Swift Horses’ Promises High Stakes Gambling And Sapphic Love

Now streaming on Netflix.

Stress Positions

In trans filmmaker Theda Hammel’s directorial debut, John Early stars as Terry, a misanthropic divorcee at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic whose health anxieties are exacerbated after he takes in his estranged 19-year-old nephew, male model Bahlul. What follows is a perfectly paced comedy of errors that alternates between slapstick and striking earnestness as the film’s pitch-perfect ensemble (including Hammel as Karla, Terry’s best friend) launches increasingly absurd attempts to catch a glimpse of Bahlul. Stress Positions is not just a wildly impressive debut, but a dazzling family saga in which queer joy perseveres.

Now streaming on Hulu.

National Anthem

At a moment when so much of queer life in red states feels up in the air, Luke Gilford’s feature-length directorial debut, National Anthem, is a love letter to rural queers. Set in New Mexico, National Anthem follows a young man’s journey of self-discovery after he falls in with an ensemble of queer rodeo workers living on a communal ranch. Part Southern Odyssey, part “Pink Pony Club,” National Anthem is a visually stunning queer epic that arrived right on time.

Available to rent or buy.

The People’s Joker

To be clear, The People’s Joker—a Joker parody in which director Vera Drew stars as an aspiring Gotham comedian who dives into a vat of estrogen to facilitate her gender transition—is as ridiculous as it sounds. By the same token, this legally-questionable entry into the Batman universe is a hilarious, whip-smart ode to trans chaos, and one of the best films of 2024. With a stellar supporting cast that includes Bob Odenkirk, Tim Heidecker, and Maria Bamford as Lorne Michaels, The People’s Joker simultaneously skewers both the superhero genre and the anti-woke comedy wave with a story that still manages to feel deeply personal. Unlike many of her predecessors, Vera Drew’s Joker is endlessly entertaining.

Related: TV’s Lesbian Wedding Of The Year Could Come Soon On This Slept-On Apple TV+ Series

Now streaming on Prime Video.

Love Lies Bleeding

With nominations at the Gotham Awards, Indie Spirits, and BAFTAs, Love Lies Bleeding is the film on this list that came closest to an Oscar nomination—but it deserved to go so much further. Five years after her stunning debut with Saint Maud, British filmmaker Rose Glass has returned with a story even more absurd. Set in the lonely world of rural 1980s New Mexico, Love Lies Bleeding stars sapphic icon Kristen Stewart as an isolated gym manager who begins a whirlwind affair with a bodybuilder passing through town (Katy O’Brian). But when the two women find themselves at the center of a deadly cover-up, the lovers are forced to rely on their tenuous bond or risk losing everything. In an era when well-made thrillers are rare, Love Lies Bleeding is impeccably crafted with an irresistible queer love story at the center.

Now streaming on Hulu, Max, and Prime Video.

We’ll be rooting for queer icons like Cynthia Erivo and Colman Domingo at this year’s Oscars on March 2. But until then, we’ll be celebrating an excellent year in film by re-watching these soon-to-be classics.