Movies–and the art world in general– have always been a great place to explore gay themes, especially before it was as commonly accepted to be gay.

I lived in the Broadway location for a short time when I had to study movies. This was way back before streaming was an option so I was at the mercy of whatever HBO programming or the IFC channel decided to throw on–and, of course, Kim’s Video. I just absolutely reveled in stories about my people, LGBTQ people–even if they often died tragically as was the wont of pre-2010 gay movies.

I remember growing up watching movies like Paris is Burning, The Broken Hearts Club, Urbania, Lost and Delirious, If These Walls Could Talk 2, The Laramie Project (I know it’s a play), Angels in America (YES I KNOW it’s a play) and Beautiful Thing.