Movies like I Don't Know Why I Hate You (2014)
The best movies like I Don't Know Why I Hate You (2014) are Welcome to Chechnya (2020), Pray Away (2021) and The Celluloid Closet (1996). If I Don't Know Why I Hate You hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestLouis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianMassimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023)Also in Italian
Welcome to Chechnya (2020)
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPray Away (2021)
In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Celluloid Closet (1996)
Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016)
Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLooking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Repair Shop (2024)
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTongues Untied (1990)
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPublic Speaking (2011)
Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiss Representation (2011)
The film MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Survive a Plague (2012)
A story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGilbert (2017)
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Bowie: Five Years (2013)
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere (2026)
With rare access and no holds barred, the acclaimed documentarian investigates a growing ultra-masculine network and its controversial influencers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMassimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023)
The life of a dying young man at the short age of only forty-one after playing the lead in Il postino. He was a brilliant stage actor before becoming an astonishing film director.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisQueercore: How to Punk a Revolution (2017)
A documentary on Queercore, the cultural and social movement that began as an offshoot of punk and was distinguished by its discontent with society's disapproval of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender communities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
100 Men (2017)
Over the course of four decades, filmmaker Paul Oremland documented his romantic and sexual encounters with roughly one hundred men. He preserved nearly all of these detailed recollections and threaded them together in a portrait of a gay life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Kiss 25 Goodbye (1991)
Outrage kiss-in at Bow Street police station in London, with a demonstration against homophobic government bills clause 25/28.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Miserere (2019)
It is a sweltering day in Buenos Aires, Miserere square and the railway station are packed. Almost unnoticed, a group of guys prostitute themselves for little money. Their thoughts emerge, deadening the oppressive hustle and bustle of the square and the station. Miserere reveals an invisible problem: the prostitution of needy men in the big Latin American cities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Frankie & Jocie (1994)
Examining the relationships between brother and sister, hetero and queer, male and female, this video weaves a provocative discussion between a Black lesbian and her straight brother. In an eloquent examination of desire and denial, Jocie attempts to make her brother acknowledge the violent face of homophobia recounting a time when she was attacked. Frankie candidly tells his sister about his own disempowering experiences as a Black man and recounts the time he tried to seduce her former lover. A candid and brilliant dialogue between family members.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (2018)
Exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and '80s shaped his vision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Super Paradise (2025)
In the 1970s, a small Greek island emerges as a symbol of hope, freedom, and self-expression. Mykonos was "paradise on earth," and for some, it still is. The island was a haven for extramarital and queer love during the dictatorship of the military junta that ruled Greece between 1964 and 1974 following a coup d’état, a regime of dominant patriarchy when even pronouncing the word «gay» on the streets of Athens could be considered a criminal act. In an overall conservative Greece, the Italian entrepreneur Pierro Aversa, a mythical figure of the European queer highlife, opened a gay bar where atmosphere and partying took precedence over profit. A free-spirited, encapsulated environment where forbidden desires could be manifested was cultivated; however, its image is not only reflected through idealistic lenses in the film – many people died in the drug-fuelled madness, and many kids were lost as well, as the locals admit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Breaking Walls (2026)
Journalist and activist Hoi Yi fights against the global rise of surveillance and censorship, while suppressing his queer identity from his family. The personal repression he faces is reflected in his commitment to the freedom of others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Gemmel & Tim (2021)
In 2017 and 2019, Gemmel “Juelz” Moore (26) and Timothy “Tim” Dean (55), two gay black men, died of a meth overdose at the West Hollywood apartment of white businessman, activist & political donor Ed Buck (66). The parallel stories of these two men, are intimately told by the friends who loved them, grieve their loss, and who hope to protect others from similarly tragic fates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Limited Partnership (2014)
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP is the love story between Filipino-American Richard Adams and Australian Tony Sullivan, who, in 1975, became one of the first same-sex couples in the world to be legally married. After applying for a green card for Tony based on their marriage, the couple received a denial letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service stating, 'You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots.' Outraged at this letter, and to prevent Tony's impending deportation, the couple sued the U.S. government, filing the first federal lawsuit seeking equal treatment for a same-sex marriage in U.S. history. This tenacious story of love, marriage and immigration equality is as precedent setting as it is little known... until now.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Don't Know Why I Hate You?
The closest matches to I Don't Know Why I Hate You are Welcome to Chechnya (2020), Pray Away (2021) and The Celluloid Closet (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Don't Know Why I Hate You?
Start with Welcome to Chechnya (2020), the closest match to I Don't Know Why I Hate You.
What is the newest movie like I Don't Know Why I Hate You?
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like I Don't Know Why I Hate You?
Yes: Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023).
How are movies similar to I Don't Know Why I Hate You chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Don't Know Why I Hate You, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.