As queer people, some of the most pivotal moments of our lives occur in spaces where music fills every corner: Moving as one in a heated club with your chosen family, singing along with your local drag queen, pressed against a throng of bodies at a life-giving concert—when it comes to expressing ourselves, music’s rapturous delights have always offered a clear path toward escape and ecstasy.
Queer cinema, an elastic catch-all for movies that focus on any mode of non-heterosexual desire, has often identified this truth with cunning inventiveness. While the very first queer films stretch back more than 100 years, it wasn’t until the advent of popular music in the mid-20th century that they became more explicitly about music. In depicting those invigorating moments on film (and creating their own), these movies showcase the diverse ways music finds its way into our lives: From Marlon Riggs’ electrifying video art merging dance music and poetry to Derek Jarman’s crushing combo of abstract sound and image, there is no limit to the ways queer film intertwines music and visuals into one enlivened work of art.
In an effort to capture that eclectic scope, Pitchfork has compiled 30 stellar examples of the form, beginning in 1965. Presented chronologically, this list includes both short and full-length films, ranging from campy musicals and cult movies with a gender-bending edge, to gay fever dreams of fandom and the contemporary lesbian classics of the Criterion Channel. This collection does not exclusively feature queer-identifying directors; instead, we focused on a mix of work from across the globe that has made a mark on filmmaking and music, merging the two to highlight a queer point of view. Think of this as your official starter pack for a deep dive into the oceans of queer cinema, with impeccable soundtracks, unforgettable performers, and electrifying dance sequences to keep you moving.