Movies like Queer as Art (2017)
The best movies like Queer as Art (2017) are Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), Disclosure (2020) and Howard (2018). If Queer as Art hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSupersonic (2016)7.4/10 from 253 votes
- NewestLa success story des BD cultes (2026)Released 2026
Mapplethorpe: 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 thisDisclosure (2020)
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoward (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 thisWelcome 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 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 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 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 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 thisShawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisTupac: Resurrection (2003)
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 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 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 thisAll the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
The life of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisSupersonic (2016)
Supersonic charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed and features candid new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother, and members of the band and road crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisButch Jamie (2008)
The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Bronwyn Oliver: The Shadows Within (2021)
This intimate documentary follows the journey of Bronwyn Oliver, a working-class girl from the country who became one of Australia's most influential contemporary sculptors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1985)
Nan Goldin's slide show “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” converted, mixed and screened as a film by the artist, portraying the American underground culture, the no wave scene, post-Stonewall gay subculture, among others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Trans - La confusion des genres (2022)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Uferfrauen - Lesbian Life and Love in the GDR (2020)
Portraits six lesbian protagonists from rural and metropolitan parts of the formerly socialist Republic and has them tell their captivating and sometimes outrageous life stories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
My Transgender Kid (2015)
Two British families discuss the challenges they face raising children who identify as a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
This Kind of Love (2015)
This Kind of Love follows Burmese human rights and LGBT activist, Aung Myo Min, as he returns home after 24 years in exile. Set against Myanmar's historical transition from half a century of brutal military rule, Myo shares his vision for equality for all - from children to transgender people to ethnic nationalities with his countrymen, to be part of his homeland's emergence from the darkness of dictatorship. Myo's story celebrates his belief that community and inclusion are fundamental to creating meaningful political and social change in Burma/Myanmar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
La success story des BD cultes (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
John Vaccaro and The Ridiculous (2002)
A 2002 interview with John Vaccaro, founder of the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, recalling the actors’ walkout during rehearsals of The Conquest of the Universe, and his friendship with Charles Ludlam. The Theater of the Ridiculous was a radical theater genre that embodied queer, the word and the act, and set the embers of Gay Liberation aflame.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Elbert Hubbard: An American Original (2009)
This public television documentary examines the passionate life and career of Elbert Hubbard, a businessman who in 1895 established a socially progressive community of arts and crafts-style furniture-makers and other artisans in New York state. Narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, this film explores the scope of Hubbard's vision and his commune that became known for its controversial political activism as much as for its exquisite handmade goods.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Queer as Art?
The closest matches to Queer as Art are Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), Disclosure (2020) and Howard (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Queer as Art?
Start with Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), the closest match to Queer as Art.
What is the highest-rated movie like Queer as Art?
Supersonic (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 253 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Queer as Art?
La success story des BD cultes (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Queer as Art?
Yes: Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), Disclosure (2020) and Howard (2018).
How are movies similar to Queer as Art chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Queer as Art, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.