Transgender Themed Movies

[Sarah B]

Hi Everyone

Here is a a fairly extensive list of movies listed in chronological order with a very brief description of each.  If you find any other transgender themed movie please mention it in a post.

• 1953 Glen or Glenda (United States, Dir. Ed Wood) - Docudrama exploring cross-gender identity and public misunderstanding.
• 1968 The Queen (United States, Dir. Frank Simon) - Documentary of the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest highlighting early ballroom legends plus trans voices.
• 1969 Funeral Parade of Roses (Japan, Dir. Toshio Matsumoto) - Avant-garde portrait of club performers living outside rigid gender norms in late-sixties Tokyo.
• 1970 Myra Breckinridge (United States, Dir. Michael Sarne) - Satire following Myron who undergoes surgery then lives openly as Myra.
• 1972 I Want What I Want (United Kingdom, Dir. John Dexter) - An unhappy young man escapes his strict father assumes the identity Wendy Miller then searches for work romance and self-acceptance while living as a woman.
• 1975 Dog Day Afternoon (United States, Dir. Sidney Lumet) - Crime drama motivated by the protagonist's devotion to partner Leon, a trans woman.
• 1978 La Cage aux Folles (France / Italy, Dir. Édouard Molinaro) - Comedy about aging drag artists balancing family expectations and self-expression.
• 1982 Victor/Victoria (United States / United Kingdom, Dir. Blake Edwards) - Jazz singer pretends to be a male female-impersonator to survive Paris nightlife.
• 1990 Paris Is Burning (United States, Dir. Jennie Livingston) - Landmark documentary on New York ballroom culture featuring Black Latina queer and trans women.
• 1992 The Crying Game (United Kingdom / Ireland, Dir. Neil Jordan) - Thriller centred on Dil, a trans woman whose past collides with political intrigue.
• 1993 M. Butterfly (United States, Dir. David Cronenberg) - Diplomat's long affair with an opera performer who conceals both national and gender secrets.
• 1994 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Australia, Dir. Stephan Elliott) - Outback road trip with two drag queens and a trans woman performer.
• 1996 Different for Girls (United Kingdom, Dir. Richard Spence) - Two school friends reconnect years after one has changed gender and now lives stealth.
• 1997 Ma Vie en Rose (Belgium / France, Dir. Alain Berliner) - Family drama seen through Ludovic, a child who insists she is a girl.
• 1999 Boys Don't Cry (United States, Dir. Kimberly Peirce) - True-story account of Brandon Teena's life and murder in rural Nebraska.
• 2001 Hedwig and the Angry Inch (United States, Dir. John Cameron Mitchell) - Rock musical following singer Hedwig and her search for wholeness after a botched operation.
• 2003 Normal (United States, Dir. Jane Anderson) - Midwestern factory worker Roy comes out as Ruth and navigates family upheaval.
• 2003 Soldier's Girl (United States, Dir. Frank Pierson) - Romance of Army private Barry Winchell and showgirl Calpernia Addams ends in tragedy.
• 2004 Beautiful Boxer (Thailand, Dir. Ekachai Uekrongtham) - Biopic of Muay Thai champion Parinya Charoenphol.
• 2005 Transamerica (United States, Dir. Duncan Tucker) - Road story of Bree, a soon-to-be post-op woman travelling cross-country with the son she never knew.
• 2005 Breakfast on Pluto (Ireland / United Kingdom, Dir. Neil Jordan) - Kitten Brady pursues glamour, love and safety in 1970s Ireland and London.
• 2006 A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (United States, Dir. Agnieszka Holland) - True story of Gwen Araujo who lives openly as a teenage girl until violence ends her life then her mother fights for justice and acceptance.
• 2007 Red Without Blue (United States, Dir. Brooke Sebold, Benita Sampath, Todd Sopher) - Documentary on identical twins as one begins living openly as female.
• 2007 XXY (Argentina, Dir. Lucía Puenzo) - Intersex teenager Alex faces medical and social pressure in coastal Uruguay.
• 2011 Tomboy (France, Dir. Céline Sciamma) - Ten-year-old Laure presents as Mikaël during a summer in a new neighbourhood.
• 2011 Gun Hill Road (United States, Dir. Rashaad Ernesto Green) - Recently paroled father returns home to find daughter Vanessa living her truth.
• 2012 Laurence Anyways (Canada, Dir. Xavier Dolan) - Epic romance following writer Laurence who begins life as a woman and the partner who loves her.
• 2013 Dallas Buyers Club (United States, Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée) - Drama includes Rayon, a trans woman battling AIDS alongside hustler Ron Woodroof.
• 2014 Boy Meets Girl (United States, Dir. Eric Schaeffer) - Kentucky barista Ricky finds unexpected love and career purpose.
• 2014 Predestination (Australia, Dir. Michael and Peter Spierig) - Time-travel agent posing as a bartender recruits an intersex orphan who was reassigned male after childbirth complications, binding their intertwined identities to a looping mission through time.
• 2015 Tangerine (United States, Dir. Sean Baker) - Christmas Eve odyssey of two Los Angeles sex workers hunting down a cheating boyfriend.
• 2015 The Danish Girl (United Kingdom / United States, Dir. Tom Hooper) - Loose dramatization of painter Lili Elbe, an early surgical pioneer.
• 2016 3 Generations (United States, Dir. Gaby Dellal) - Teen Ray seeks medical care while mother and grandmother confront family dynamics.
• 2016 The Pearl of Africa (Uganda / Sweden, Dir. Jonny von Wallström) - Documentary following activist Cleopatra Kambugu's fight for autonomy.
• 2017 A Fantastic Woman (Chile, Dir. Sebastián Lelio) - Singer Marina defends her dignity after her partner's sudden death.
• 2018 Girl (Belgium, Dir. Lukas Dhont) - Teenage ballet student Lara trains for a professional career while seeking bodily alignment.
• 2019 Lingua Franca (United States / Philippines, Dir. Isabel Sandoval) - Undocumented caregiver Olivia balances love, immigration risk and safety.
• 2019 Port Authority (United States / France, Dir. Danielle Lessovitz) - Young drifter Paul falls for ballroom dancer Wye in New York.
• 2020 Disclosure (United States, Dir. Sam Feder) - Documentary tracing Hollywood portrayals of gender-diverse people across a century.
• 2020 Cowboys (United States, Dir. Anna Kerrigan) - Father helps his trans son explore life beyond Montana's restrictive environment.
• 2021 Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor (Canada, Dir. Shelley Thompson) - After her mother dies transgender woman Dawn goes back to her rural Nova Scotia home to rebuild trust with her estranged father while the two restore an old farm tractor side by side.
• 2021 Everybody's Talking About Jamie (United Kingdom, Dir. Jonathan Butterell) - Musical adaptation of stage hit about Sheffield teen chasing drag dreams.
• 2021 No Ordinary Man (Canada, Dir. Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt) - Bio-doc re-examines the life of jazz musician Billy Tipton.
• 2022 Joyland (Pakistan, Dir. Saim Sadiq) - Lahore family drama involving dancer Biba and the man who joins her troupe.
• 2022 Anything's Possible (United States, Dir. Billy Porter) - Modern teen romance where confident Kelsa navigates first love and viral fame.
• 2023 Monica (United States / Italy, Dir. Andrea Pallaoro) - Estranged daughter returns home to care for her dying mother and reclaim belonging.
• 2023 Kokomo City (United States, Dir. D. Smith) - Documentary capturing the candid lives of four Black trans sex workers.
• 2023 Close to You (Canada / United Kingdom, Dir. Dominic Savage) - Sam returns home for the first time in years and confronts history, family and self.
• 2024 Emilia Pérez (France / Mexico, Dir. Jacques Audiard) - Musical crime epic about a cartel boss who seeks a new life as a woman.
• 2024 I Saw the TV Glow (United States, Dir. Jane Schoenbrun) - Surreal coming-of-age tale using cult television to mirror emerging identity struggles.
• 2024 T Blockers (Australia, Dir. Alice Maio Mackay) - Camp horror where Sophie and friends battle parasitic hatred in their small town.
• 2024 Ponyboi (United States, Dir. Esteban Arango, River Gallo) - Thriller following intersex hustler Ponyboi through one perilous New Jersey night.

Enjoy!

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator

[Lori Dee]

Predestination
2014 ‧ Sci-fi/Thriller (Australia, written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig)

A time-travelling agent (Ethan Hawke) is working undercover as a bartender. A customer tells his life story of how he was assigned female at birth and grew up in an orphanage. During childbirth, doctors discovered he was intersex. Complications during the birth led to gender reassignment surgery, and his baby was mysteriously kidnapped.

I love this movie. Lots of plot twists.

[Karen_A]

This had a strong effect on me:

I Want What I Want (1972)

Not sure if I can post links. It can be seen for free on YouTube.

- Karen

[Sarah B]

Hi Lori

You mentioned

Predestination
2014 ‧ Sci-fi/Thriller (Australia, written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig)

A time-travelling agent (Ethan Hawke) is working undercover as a bartender. A customer tells his life story of how he was assigned female at birth and grew up in an orphanage. During childbirth, doctors discovered he was intersex. Complications during the birth led to gender reassignment surgery, and his baby was mysteriously kidnapped.

I love this movie. Lots of plot twists.

Sounds interesting!  I have added it to the list and thank you for mentioning it.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator

[Sarah B]

Hi Karen

You mentioned

This had a strong effect on me:

I Want What I Want (1972)

Not sure if I can post links. It can be seen for free on YouTube.

- Karen

I have added it to the list and thank you for mentioning it.  The more the merrier.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Karen_A

[Allie Jayne]

If you can find it on streaming services, Dawn, Her Dad, and the Tractor is a story of a young trans girl who had to leave home to transition, but has to come home for her mothers funeral. It covers the issues of family rejection, small town attitudes, and being true to yourself.

Hugs,

Allie

[Sarah B]

Hi Allie

You mentioned

If you can find it on streaming services, Dawn, Her Dad, and the Tractor is a story of a young trans girl who had to leave home to transition, but has to come home for her mothers funeral. It covers the issues of family rejection, small town attitudes, and being true to yourself.

Hugs,

Allie

I have added it to the list and thank you for mentioning it.  Sounds interesting.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Allie Jayne

[big kim]

Forgot the name of the film but it's a true story. JD Pardo (EZ from Mayans MC!)  does a terrific  and convincing portrayal  of a young trans teenage girl. TW it's incredibly  sad

[Sarah B]

Hi Kim

You mentioned the following:

Forgot the name of the film but it's a true story. JD Pardo (EZ from Mayans MC!)  does a terrific  and convincing portrayal  of a young trans teenage girl. TW it's incredibly  sad

The film you are referring to is called "A Girl Like Me": The Gwen Araujo Story (United States, Dir. Agnieszka Holland) - True story of Gwen Araujo who lives openly as a teenage girl until violence ends her life then her mother fights for justice and acceptance.

I have added the details to the ever growing list of films about us.  Thank you for your contribution.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator