The best LGBTQ movies on Netflix right now

This multi-Oscar-nominated film based on the August Wilson play of the same name stars Viola Davis as the title character, a blues singer from the 1920s. Davis mesmerizingly transforms into the influential woman who was not only a talented singer but also an advocate for Black and LGBTQ+ rights, even if she wasn’t as overtly outspoken as others. Rainey made no apologies for her lifestyle, openly dating women at a time when the mere thought was taboo, particularly for a woman of color. While the movie is worth watching for the incredible performances alone, including the late Chadwick Boseman as the ambitious trumpeter Levee Green, it’s an important film that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.

This documentary by artist Rachel Mason is a riveting look at the popular and long-running bookstore and gay pornography shop, Circus of Books, in West Hollywood and in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The store was first established in the ’60s as Book Circus. Rachel’s parents, Karen and Barry Mason, who were working with Hustler publisher Larry Flynt at the time, took over the store in the early ’80s and renamed it Circus of Books. The straight, religious couple with kids, however, kept the nature of their work a secret from family and friends. The business went through many challenges, from being caught in an FBI sting during President Ronald Reagan’s crackdown on pornography, to gaining a reputation for attracting hustlers in the wee hours of the morning. The store served as a refuge for LGBTQ community members during the height of the AIDS crisis, and the film highlights Karen and Barry’s struggles with being so heavily immersed in LGBTQ culture at a time when it was not socially accepted. Rachel’s doc tells the fascinating story of the store’s historical significance for the LGBTQ community, her parents’ role as unintentional activists, and how the internet destroyed the business.