Sundance shines light on real-life LGBTQ+ stories
03/28/25
Telling Our Truth
Jovelle Tamayo
From Paris is Burning in 1991 to How to Survive a Plague in 2012 to Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen in 2020, some of the most important documentaries about LGBTQ+ communities and rights have been shown at the Sundance Film Festival. The 2025 festival was no different.
Documentarians know the value of recording and preserving evidence. At a time when our community continues to face unprecedented attacks, these new films highlight the importance of documenting LGBTQ+ history as it unfolds.
Two documentaries that debuted at this year’s festival directly cover the current political attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, and two others illuminate aspects of the trans community that are often misunderstood or misrepresented in the current discourse. Scroll on to learn more...
Heightened Scrutiny
Chase Strangio appears in Heightened Scrutiny by Sam Feder, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Sam Feder’s Heightened Scrutiny follows Chase Strangio as he becomes the first out trans lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court. The case hits especially close to home, as it’s about trans kids’ right to access health care.
The Librarians
A still fromThe Librarians by Kim A. Snyder, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute / photo by Amy Bench
Kim A. Snyders’ The Librarians also focuses on unsung American heroes. In states like Texas and Florida, librarians are standing up to book bans from Republicans that target content and books discussing issues of race, sexuality, or gender identity. The documentary shows how the book bans, supposedly from concerned parents, came as an organized attack from the political organization Moms for Liberty and its deep-pocketed donors. It also shows that those challenging the bans are the vanguards in protecting our right to access them.
Enigma
Amanda Lear appears in Enigma by Zackary Drucker, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute / photo by Lys Arango
Zackary Drucker’s Enigma tells the stories of two trans icons, April Ashley and Amanda Lear. These two women, and many of their fellow performers at Le Carrousel nightclub in Paris in the 1950s, are a direct and powerful testament that trans people’s existence isn’t new: we’ve always been here, and we’ve always been at the forefront of culture.
GEN_
A still from GEN_ by Gianluca Matarrese, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute / photo by Bellota Films / Stemal Entertainment / Elefants Films
From director Gianluca Matarrese, GEN_ follows Dr. Maurizio Bini, an unorthodox doctor at a Milan hospital who specializes in two often misunderstood practices: fertility treatments and gender transitions. Through the doctor’s story, we get a simple and clear look at the real-life people behind the trans medical world.
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