Movies like Pray Away (2021)
The best movies like Pray Away (2021) are Believer (2017), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and The Case Against 8 (2014). If Pray Away hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestBang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (2026)Released 2026
Believer (2017)
Imagine Dragons’ Mormon frontman Dan Reynolds is taking on a new mission to explore how the church treats its LGBTQ members. With the rising suicide rate amongst teens in the state of Utah, his concern with the church’s policies sends him on an unexpected path for acceptance and change.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
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: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Case Against 8 (2014)
A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Lavender Scare (2019)
At the height of the Cold War, President Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be security risks. A vicious witch hunt ensues, ruining thousands of American lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story (2015)
Seed Money is the story of Chuck Holmes, a San Francisco pornographer turned philanthropist. Holmes helped shaped and create gay identity in the years after Stonewall, and later became a major contributor to gay advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the LGBT Victory Fund, only to find later in life that while his money was welcome in philanthropic circles, he sometimes wasn't.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Describing herself as a 'street queen,' Johnson was a legendary fixture in New York City’s gay ghetto and a tireless voice for LGBT pride since the days of Stonewall, who along with fellow trans icon Sylvia Rivera, founded Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), a trans activist group based in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Her death in 1992 was declared a suicide by the NYPD, but friends never accepted that version of events. Structured as a whodunit, with activist Victoria Cruz cast as detective and audience surrogate, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson celebrates the lasting political legacy of Johnson, while seeking to finally solve the mystery of her unexplained death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHunted: The War Against Gays in Russia (2014)
A shocking look at how a recent anti-gay amendment to a Russian propaganda law has led to increased assaults on gay men and women. In modern-day Russia, where it is estimated that just 1% of the LGBT population lives completely openly, a recent anti-gay amendment to a “propaganda” law has been followed by a rising number of assaults on gay men and women by vigilantes who, more often than not, go unpunished for their crimes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Coming Out (2015)
Following a series of gay teen suicides, a deeply closeted student confronts his repressed sexuality in search of acceptance from his family, community, and himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
P.S. Burn This Letter Please (2020)
A box found in an abandoned storage unit unearths a time capsule of correspondences from a forgotten era: the underground drag scene in 1950s New York City. Firsthand accounts and newly discovered footage help cast a long overdue spotlight on the unsung pioneers of drag.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Studio One Forever (2024)
A documentary film about Studio One which, from 1974 to 1994, was the center of queer nightlife in West Hollywood as well as the staging ground for the rise of the LGBTQ rights movement and fight against the AIDS crisis.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Southern Comfort (2001)
This moving documentary chronicles the last year in the life of Robert Eads, a trans man dying of ovarian cancer. We're introduced to several prominent figures in Robert's life -- most importantly, his life partner and caretaker Lola Cola, who is also trans. The two prepare to lead a panel at the annual Southern Comfort conference, a yearly event created for transgender individuals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Circus of Books (2019)
For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrembling Before G-d (2001)
A portrait of various gay Orthodox Jews who struggle to reconcile their faith and their sexual orientation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Do I Sound Gay? (2015)
What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisAsk Dr. Ruth (2019)
A documentary portrait chronicling the incredible life of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a Holocaust survivor who became the United States' most famous sex therapist. As her 90th birthday approaches, Dr. Ruth revisits her painful past and her career at the forefront of the sexual revolution.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture (2022)
Seeking to uncover the origins of the rabid homophobia of the conservative church, a gay seminary scholar and a straight activist make a shocking discovery: In 1946 an erroneous translation of the term homosexual in the Bible that has been weaponized against the LGBTQIA+ community ever since.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Stroll (2023)
The history of New York’s Meatpacking District, told from the perspective of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. Filmmaker Kristen Lovell, who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (2026)
Robin Byrd pioneered NYC public access with her cult sex-positive call-in show. Now the larger-than-life 70-year-old champion of free speech, queer visibility, and safe sex reflects on her unique legacy and her hidden, decades-long marriage behind the scenes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
8: The Mormon Proposition (2010)
Filmmaker and ex-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints member Reed Cowan examines that church's nationwide efforts to prevent the legalization of gay marriage - including California's Proposition 8, which was passed by voters in 2008. Confidential church documents, statements by high-ranking church officials and other sources detail 30 years of efforts to turn back gay rights, particularly by the Mormon-sponsored National Organization for Marriage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
A 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: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCured (2020)
Mentally ill. Deviant. Diseased. And in need of a cure. These were among the terms psychiatrists used to describe gay women and men in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. And as long as they were “sick”, progress toward equality was impossible. This documentary chronicles the battle waged by a small group of activists who declared war against a formidable institution – and won a crucial victory in the modern movement for LGBTQIA+ equality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
We Live Here: The Midwest (2023)
Explore timely, personal stories of LGBTQI+ families who strive to build lives in their communities despite biased legislation and mounting prejudice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Kiki (2016)
25 years after Paris is Burning, we dive back into the fierce world of voguing battles in the Kiki scene of New York City, where competition between Houses demands leadership, painstaking practice, and performances on point. A film collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, we’re granted exclusive access into this high stakes world, where tough competitions act as a gateway into the daily lives of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The new generation of ballroom youth use the motto, “Not About us Without Us”. Twiggy and Sara’s insider-outsider approach to their stories breathes fresh life into the representation of a marginalized community who demand visibility and real political power.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Tab Hunter Confidential (2015)
Throughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood’s ultimate male heartthrob. But throughout his years of stardom, Tab had a secret. Tab Hunter was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Tab Hunter himself shares first hand, for the first time, what it was like to be a studio manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio manufactured image.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Shere Hite (2023)
Shere Hite’s 1976 bestselling book, The Hite Report, liberated the female orgasm by revealing the most private experiences of thousands of anonymous survey respondents. Her findings rocked the American establishment and presaged current conversations about gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy. So how did Shere Hite disappear?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Out List (2013)
Through the voices of Americans from all walks of life, The Out List explores the identities of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in America. In this series of intimate interviews, a diverse group of LGBTQ personalities bring color and depth to their experiences of gender and sexuality. With wit and wisdom, this set of trailblazing individuals weaves universal themes of love, loss, trial, and triumph into the determined struggle for full equality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Outrage (2009)
An indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the US.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
God Loves Uganda (2013)
A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America's Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting sexual immorality and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Baby God (2020)
A shocking examination into Las Vegas fertility specialist, Dr. Quincy Fortier, who assisted hundreds of couples struggling with conceiving. Decades later, many children born from his interventions discover through DNA and genealogical websites, that Dr. Fortier had used his own sperm to impregnate their mothers without their knowledge or consent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty (2022)
A Miami pool boy finds himself trapped in a seven-year affair with a charming older woman and her husband, the evangelical Trump stalwart Jerry Falwell Jr., as he becomes increasingly entangled with the Falwells' seemingly perfect lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pray Away?
The closest matches to Pray Away are Believer (2017), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and The Case Against 8 (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pray Away?
People who watched Pray Away most often go on to Believer (2017), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and The Case Against 8 (2014).
What is the newest movie like Pray Away?
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Pray Away?
Yes: Believer (2017), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and The Case Against 8 (2014).
How are movies similar to Pray Away chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pray Away, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.