Photo by: Sophie Emeny

From March 23 until March 31, Brock’s pride week celebration will be undertaken through a series of events available to students. Those wishing to extend their celebration of the LGBTQ+ community have a plethora of movies they’re able to turn to. 

Here’s a list of lesser-known LGBTQ+ movies to continue your celebration of pride with:

Rosie 

A lesser-known gem in the world of media is the 2022 comedy-drama movie Rosie, which was released at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by award-winning Métis actor Gail Maurice, Rosie follows the unique life of an orphaned First Nations child who is the film’s namesake. With no other family members present after her Mother’s passing, Rosie is taken in by her quirky aunt “Frédérique” (Melanie Bray) who lives in Montreal. Frédérique is friends with two lively two-spirit friends, “Flo” (Constant Bernard) and “Mo” (Alex Trahan).

The majority of the film is set in 1980s Montreal where Flo and Mo are sex workers, making most of the film centre the so-called outskirts of mainstream society. While challenges are faced along the way as Frédérique, Flo and Mo aren’t prepared to raise a young child, the film re-imagines what “home” means — a message that resonates with many people in the LGBTQ+ community. 

Rosie can be watched through Prime Video, or purchased on YouTube, Apple TV or Google Play. 

Bros

Also premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, Bros is a romantic comedy that was released in 2022. The film’s existence in itself is ground-breaking for the film industry: it is the first major studio-produced film with a primarily LGBTQ+ cast. Produced by well-known filmmaker Nicholas Stoller, Bros also features numerous big-name actors like Luke Macfarlane who plays “Aaron” and Billy Eichner who plays “Bobby Lieber.” The film is placed in New York City where LGBTQ+ advocate Bobby  meets Aaron at a nightclub. 

While Bobby and Aaron don’t initially seem to have a connection and are both against falling in love, they eventually get together. Beyond having a significant budget for an explicitly queer and queer-casted film, Bros has a great plotline.

Bros can be watched through Google Play, Apple TV, and Prime Video.

Shiva Baby

Shiva Baby, as the name suggests, follows a young woman’s encounters at a Jewish funeral. “Danielle” (Rachel Sennott) is a bisexual woman who, while at a funeral, is surrounded by various people that she is either interested in or has been in a romantic relationship with, including her sugar daddy “Max” (Danny Defarrari) and ex-girlfriend “Maya” (Molly Gordon). Danielle is university-aged, blunt, witty and leading a messy life which makes her a very relatable character. 

The film also seems to encapsulate the chaos felt by being bisexual and progressive as the main character is torn between love interests and has to handle being faced with awkward encounters and stereotypes. For example, throughout the movie she faces her mother’s criticisms and suggestions that because she’s bisexual she’s overly sexual. 

Shiva Baby can be watched on Netflix, or bought from YouTube, Google Play, or Apple TV.