Finding good queer representation in film can often feel like an unnecessarily difficult task. Tropes such as “bury your gays” or the villainization of queer and queer-coded characters make it so that authentic queer joy on screen can feel like a treat.
In reality, all people deserve to feel like they relate to someone on screen because film serves as a reflection of life. However, when you constantly see people like you suffering on screen, it is hard to translate that to real life and feel like you belong.
Queer characters are deserving of being messy and even hated at times. Queer characters deserve to be able to die in film, just as straight and cis characters do. A queer film market oversaturated with disproportionate suffering and hatefulness, however, takes away from the ability for queer cinema to be a reflection of the complexities of people and queerness.
The following are 10 films in which the queer character does not die, and their queerness is not an obstacle in the way of them obtaining happiness. Not all of the films have exactly happy endings or end with the main character finding all the answers they need; that is not reality. The films depict highs and lows and the individuality of people’s stories.
Jongens (2014): When 15-year-old Sieger develops feelings for his relay race team teammate, he must work towards self-acceptance. Dutch
But I’m a Cheerleader (1999): Megan is sent to a conversion camp after her friends and family suspect she is a lesbian, but to their dismay, Megan begins to find friendship, first love and independence at the camp. English
Anything’s Possible (2022): Kelsa navigates romance, friendship and existing while trans during her senior year of high school. English
Of an Age (2023): Set over two 24-hour periods 11 years apart, ballroom dancer Kol navigates first love and self-identity. English
Bottoms (2023): Best friends PJ and Josie start a female “fight club” in order to impress the cheerleaders they have crushes on. English
Badhaai Do (2017): Shardul and Sumi are both closeted and agree to marry one another to lessen their families’ nagging. Hindi
Wildhood (2021): Link leaves his father’s home with his half-brother Travis in order to find his mother. Along the way, the brothers meet Pasmay, and Link learns more about his identity and heritage. English, Mi’kmaq
Goodbye Mother (2019): Van returns to Vietnam to visit family after studying in America; with him, he brings his boyfriend Ian, whom Van’s family knows as only his friend. Vietnamese
The Way He Looks (2014): Blind teenager Leonardo’s world changes when he and his best friend Giovana meet new student Gabriel, and Leonardo looks for more independence in his life. Portuguese