Movies like Safe Space (2024)
The best movies like Safe Space (2024) are Howard (2018), Western Stars (2019) and OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022). If Safe Space hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedParis Is Burning (1991)8.0/10 from 578 votes
- NewestOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)Released 2026
Howard (2018)
Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWestern Stars (2019)
The incomparable Bruce Springsteen performs his critically acclaimed latest album and muses on life, rock, and the American dream, in this intimate and personal concert film co-directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022)
Grammy® winner singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes a familiar road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album “SOUR,” to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo recounts the memories of writing and creating her record-breaking debut album and shares her feelings as a young woman navigating a specific time in her life. Through new live arrangements of her songs, intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage from the making of the album, audiences will follow Olivia along on a cinematic journey exploring the story of “SOUR.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)
Experience the meteoric rise of Oasis through rare footage and untold stories as the band reunites for Oasis Live '25, chronicling their journey from Manchester streets to global rock stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLive Aid (1985)
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKedi (2017)
A profile of Istanbul and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Red Pill (2016)
When a feminist filmmaker sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, she begins to question her own beliefs. Chronicling Cassie Jaye’s journey exploring an alternate perspective on gender equality, power and privilege.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParis Is Burning (1991)
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNothing Like a Dame (2018)
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles (2021)
Fresh off the heels of her brand-new album, "Happier Than Ever," this cinematic concert experience features an intimate performance of every song in the album's sequential order – for the first and only time – from the stage of the legendary Hollywood Bowl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGlee: The Concert Movie (2011)
A concert documentary shot during the Glee Live! In Concert! summer 2011 tour, featuring song performances and fans' life stories and how the show influenced them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvicii: True Stories (2017)
Documentary about the arena-packing Swedish DJ, chronicling his explosive rise to fame and surprising decision to retire from live performances in 2016.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Secret Love (2020)
Amid shifting times, two women kept their decades-long love a secret. But coming out later in life comes with its own set of challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Irishman: In Conversation (2019)
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino in conversation about The Irishman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBecoming (2020)
Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others as she tours with "Becoming."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Song Without Home (2026)
After 11 years confined to her family home, Adelina flees from a Georgian village to Vienna in search of the freedom to be herself. As she builds a new life, she faces a past that refuses to let her go. Through immersive imagery and the mother-daughter bond, A Song Without Home paints a layered portrait of belonging and the complexity of freedom beyond physical liberation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
#BKKY (2017)
Jojo, a 17-year-old girl from Bangkok, is about to graduate from high school. After her friend Q reveals a secret to her, the two girls grow close and spend all their time together. Jojo's father wholeheartedly approves of the friendship and is just glad that Jojo is not going on any dates with boys.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Montgomery Clift (1983)
A documentary incorporating footage of Montgomery Clift’s most memorable films; interviews with family and friends, and rare archival material stretching back to his childhood. What develops is the story of an intense young boy who yearned for stardom, achieved notable success in such classic films as From Here to Eternity and I Confess, only to be ruined by alcohol addiction and his inability to face his own fears and homosexual desires. Montgomery Clift, as this film portrays him, may not have been a happy man but he never compromised his acting talents for Hollywood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Johanna Dohnal - Visionary of Feminism (2020)
Johanna Dohnal, whose political career spans three decades, was one of the very first explicitly feminist politicians in Europe. As a member of the Austrian socialist government and the first Austrian minister for Women’s Affairs from 1990 to 1994, Dohnal was responsible for founding Austria’s first women’s refuge as well as criminalizing of marital rape. Yet her legacy remains yet to be discovered and re-examined. DIE DOHNAL makes a first step, and it makes Dohnal come alive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Things We Dare Not Do (2020)
In the small Mexican coastal village of El Roblito, 16-year-old Ñoño lives what seems to be an idyllic existence with his loving family. But he holds a secret. Defying gender norms, Ñoño works up the courage to tell his family he wants to live his life as a woman, a fraught decision in a country shrouded in machismo and transphobia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Polonia: ¿zona libre de LGTBI? (2021)
Jon Sistiaga takes an immersive trip to Poland, a country divided into two zones: on the one hand, the urban and pro-European, and on the other, the rural and ultra-Catholic, still anchored in the traumas of the war and the post-war period. Is Poland a homophobic country or does it have a homophobic government? How does the European Union allow this situation?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Kween For A Day (2020)
Baltimore-based drag queen Shaunda Leer (Scott Murdock) discusses why she's chosen to perform in drag for over ten years. She also recounts several stories about her family relationships and concerns about her physical safety as a member of the GLBTIQ community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Absolutely Trans Is Beautiful! (2017)
What does it mean to be transgender? How did the trans rights movement come about? What progress has there been made, and what is there still to be done? Absolutely Trans gives us a detailed history...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Little Potato (2017)
Wes Hurley's autobiographical tale of growing up gay in Soviet Union Russia, only to escape with his mother, a mail order bride, to Seattle to face a whole new oppression in his new Christian fundamentalist American dad.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Auntie (2014)
After the death of his parents, a gay man comes back to his village to live in his small world of happiness, dreams, sadness and loneliness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Safe Space?
The closest matches to Safe Space are Howard (2018), Western Stars (2019) and OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Safe Space?
Start with Howard (2018), the closest match to Safe Space.
What is the highest-rated movie like Safe Space?
Paris Is Burning (1991), rated 8.0/10 by 578 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Safe Space?
Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Safe Space chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Safe Space, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.