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Film & TV Recs: Best of 2022

This year this is a very short post. We weren’t really watching a lot, let alone LGBT media. How that happened? Who knows! Maybe next year will be our year and we’ll finally become actual connoisseurs of gay cinema?

Do you want to check out what we loved in 2021? Here’s the post. Otherwise, enjoy!

ANNA
Interview with the Vampire (2022), cr. Rolin Jones

Rep: Black gay mc, bi mc, Black achillean side character
TW:
blood, gore, body horror, murder, violence, racism, homophobia, domestic violence

Quite literally the best thing that happened to modern television since Black Sails. Groundbreaking! Perfect in every way! Added race and class, and sexuality to the conversation in the most natural & thoughtful of ways. The actors? They were simply possessed by the characters. Not a single thing could be improved!

With Love (2021), cr. Gloria Calderón Kellett

Rep: Mexican American gay mc, Filipino American bi mc, Mexican American nonbinary mc, genderqueer side character, Black LGBT side characters

Already talked about this one in my rec list of Christmas Movies & TV Shows, but let’s say again: the most wholesome show on the planet. Loved it for the family bonds, for the complicated relationships, for characters’ growth.

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), dir. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman

Made me cry at least like three times. It’s important to learn our history, and that means the painful parts, too. But this documentary still manages to make the story of the AIDS epidemic somehow about love & hope. And community.

Fire Island (2022), dir. Andrew Ahn

Rep: gay cast, Asian American mcs
TW: drugs, off screen dubious consent

Just to be clear: this is one of the best Jane Austen adaptations. I said what I said. It’s fun, it makes sense as a retelling but also a story of its own. It’s a perfect summer romcom.

Under the Christmas Tree (2021), dir. Lisa Rose Snow

Rep: lesbian mc, Black lesbian mc

Yes, I watched this Christmas movie in like February and no, I do not regret that. It’s a sweet romance, with a slightly absurd plot (as you would expect from a Christmas movie!), and the main characters have a great support system. Pure joy.

CHARLOTTE
Summerland (2020), dir. Jessica Swale

Rep: sapphic mc, Black sapphic li

Two years late to the party on this one, but better late than never! Summerland is about second chances and found family, shot against a gorgeous backdrop. If you, like me earlier this year, haven’t seen it, you need to rectify that.

Rūrangi (2020), dir. Max Currie

Rep: trans mc, West Asian New Zealander achillean li, Māori bi mc

This is a very quiet film, very introspective, about reconnection and second chances (do you see a theme developing here?), this time between friends and family. If you want a film that makes you feel like there’s hope for everyone still, this is for you.

Smiley (2022), cr. David Martín Porras & Marta Pahissa

Rep: gay mcs, lesbian mc, Chilean lesbian side character, gay side characters

Smiley, as the title may suggest, is a miniseries that will have you smiling uncontrollably. Primarily about two gay men, one openly romantic and the other secretly wishing for love, it also features a couple of sideplots: some older gays, some messy lesbians, and even some heterosexuals you’ll find yourself reluctantly interested in. Just a fun way to end the year in all!

Russian Doll (2019) cr. Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne & Amy Poehler

Rep: Black bi mc, sapphic side characters

Much like with my favourite reads of this year, a lot of what I’ve been watching and loving centres on human connection and relationships forged. This can’t be more true than for Russian Doll, about two strangers stuck together in a timeloop, fated to die every day. It’s one of those where you start thinking, oh this is a lot of fun, and before you know it, you’re sobbing into your cereal.

1899 (2022) cr. Baran bo Odar & Jantje Friese

Rep: gay mcs

Sometimes all you want is a mindfuck of a series and, happily, that’s what 1899 provides! It’s probably best I don’t attempt to describe this one, not least for fear of spoilers. Where would I start, for one? All I can really say is you don’t want to miss it.

Are any of these on your top of the year? What others made your list?

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