Raising Hell

Hold on Tight

A short documentary exploring the ways LGBT couples show affection, and how small interactions like holding hands in public can carry, not only huge personal significance, but also the power to create social change.

Roze Bubbel

Two mothers lovingly raised Afra. Growing up felt like a safe pink bubble to her. But this bubble burst when she discovered the obstacles her parents had to overcome to have a child. For example, one mother did not exist legally for 12 years, and 30 years later this is still the reality for multi-parent families. When Afra heard this, she became determined to tell the story of these families. This documentary shows what happens to you when you fall outside the 'standard' picture of a family. In the film we follow Afra, and her two mothers, two multi-parent families, the experts Henny Bos (professor of Sexual and Gender Diversity in Youth), Sara Coster (board member Meer dan Gewenst and child wish coach) and former D66 member of parliament Lisa van Ginneken.

2026

Adam's Apple

An intimate, collaborative documentary told through the dual perspectives of Adam, a transgender teen, and his mother, visual artist Amy Jenkins, that offers an authentic and tender counterpoint to the hostility facing trans youth today. Adam’s journey balances the milestones of gender transition with the rhythms of adolescence. As Adam asserts his identity and steps out into the world, his parents grapple with the challenges of raising a teen while learning to let go. Through a visually poetic approach, the film transforms a deeply personal archive, collected over two decades, into a powerful, joyful testament to the beauty and difficulty of reckoning with profound change.

6.7

Love Alone Can't Make a Child

Love Alone Can’t Make a Child chronicles the love story and emotional odyssey of Maria and Christiane who, for over a decade, have been trying to fulfil their desire of giving birth to a child of their own. The director, a childhood friend of Maria, lovingly narrates the couple's journey, showcasing their resilience in the face of ever-increasing challenges, and the intricate dynamics of a relationship under tremendous strain. More than anything else, the film continually pursues what love truly means in a long-term romantic relationship.

Same Difference

Following the debate over California's Proposition 8, this short film is an exploration of how modern American families are constructed, not only those within the LGBTQ community.

3.0

2023

We Live Here: The Midwest

Explore timely, personal stories of LGBTQI+ families who strive to build lives in their communities despite biased legislation and mounting prejudice.

3.5

2008

The Baby Formula

Two adventurous women in love are desperate to have their own biological child. They take a chance on an experimental scientific process and make sperm from their own stem cells. Pregnant with humor and unexpected twists, their journey ultimately confirms that all life is a gift and all families are crazy.

2009

The Boy Who Was Born a Girl

Jon is a typical teenage boy in all respects except one: he was born a girl. He has now been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition that affects over 100 British children every year, and is embarking on an extraordinary journey of transition. Director Julia Moon follows mother and son through the first three months of Jon's life-changing treatment as the testosterone pushes his female body into male puberty.

6.1

2023

The Dads

On a fishing trip with Matthew Shepard's father, five disparate dads discuss their love, hopes and fears for their trans kids in this short documentary.

1.0

2015

My Transgender Kid

Two British families discuss the challenges they face raising children who identify as a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth.

Legal Stranger

Amy and Alex, of Virginia, were married in the District of Columbia after same-sex marriage was legalized. Eager to start a family, the newlyweds planned for months to get pregnant through artificial insemination. After several attempts they were finally pregnant. But joy quickly turns to sorrow as Alex learns she is banned from adopting her own child in Virginia because she's gay. Legal Stranger documents the journey of a same-sex couple trying to create a normal life for their child in a state and country which refuses to recognize their marriage.

4.0

1984

Choosing Children

CHOOSING CHILDREN is a pioneering film about parenting in non-traditional families and helped to open dialogue about the meaning and reality of the "modern family." This film takes an intimate look at the issues faced by lesbians and gay men who decide to become parents after coming out.

10.0

Our Dad, Danielle

The extraordinary story of a world-renowned patent attorney in Sugar Land, Texas who, at 57, came out as a trans woman and is now navigating LGBTQ+ issues and fighting for trans rights in the vortex of Texas conservatism, as she and her family challenge the idea of what modern love looks like.

7.0

Nicola Adams: me and IVF

Nicole Adams and her girlfriend share their IVF-story.

1.0

1998

Modern Times: Pink Parents

A British lesbian couple with one child and looking to get pregnant again partner up with two gay men to make their expanding family a reality,

6.3

2019

All in My Family

After starting a family of his very own in the United States, a gay filmmaker documents his loving, traditional Chinese family's process of acceptance.

3.0

2022

Beyond Tragedies

Recalling his childhood and relationship with his mother, a film student tries to understand the origin of his love for cinema and tragedies.

Son, I Love Your Mouth 2: The Taste of the Forbidden

4.0

Son, I Love Your Mouth 2: The Taste of the Forbidden

Second part of the romance between father and son. In this installment Alex introduces his new girlfriend to Gonzalo, who cannot hide his jealousy.

6.0

2025

Fairyland

A father-daughter relationship evolves through an era of bohemian decadence in 1970s San Francisco to the sober and heartbreaking era of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

5.7

2003

Goldfish Memory

A small group of friends experience relationships which grow and stumble, involving everything from straight, gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships. The speed with which these relationships last leads to the Goldfish memory effect, the belief that a Goldfish only has a 3 second memory is a metaphor for the transient nature of the characters relationships.

Recommended Movies

6.3

2019

All in My Family

After starting a family of his very own in the United States, a gay filmmaker documents his loving, traditional Chinese family's process of acceptance.

6.9

2020

Welcome to Chechnya

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.

7.0

2016

Extremis

A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.

6.5

2015

Heart of a Dog

Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.

7.2

2018

Black Sheep

After the high-profile killing of Damilola Taylor, Cornelius' family move out of London. But when they discover their new town is run by racists, Cornelius takes a drastic step to survive.

6.9

2014

Rich Hill

If you ever find yourself traveling down Interstate 49 through Missouri, try not to blink—you may miss Rich Hill, population 1,396. Rich Hill is easy to overlook, but its inhabitants are as woven into the fabric of America as those living in any small town in the country. This movie intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in said Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.

6.5

1967

Portrait of Jason

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.

6.4

Tabloid

A documentary on a former Miss Wyoming who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary.

6.9

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.

6.1

2015

(T)ERROR

This real-life look at FBI counterterrorism operations features access to both sides of a sting: the government informant and the radicalized target.

7.3

The Crash Reel

The Crash Reel tells the story of a sport and the risks that athletes face in reaching the pinnacle of their profession. This is Kevin Pearce’s story, a celebrated snowboarder who sustained a brain injury in a trick gone wrong and who now aims, against all the odds, to get back on the snow.

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

7.3

2012

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.

7.5

The Last Repair Shop

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead

7.4

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead

Retrospective documentary about the making of the horror cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead."

6.8

1996

Looking for Richard

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

6.5

2016

Embrace

Embrace follows body image activist Taryn Brumfitt's crusade as she explores the global issue of body loathing, inspiring us to change the way we feel about ourselves and think about our bodies.

7.1

2006

Deliver Us from Evil

Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.

Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars

6.4

2012

Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars

In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.

7.1

The Class of ‘92

A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

6.1

Tricked: The Documentary

This character-driven film considers the evolving sex trafficking landscape as seen by the main players: the exploited, the pimps, the johns that fuel the business, and the cops who fight to stop it.