OutFest Picks 25 Life-Changing Films

In honor of their 25th anniversary, OutFest has selected 25 GLBT movies that "changed our lives" in the past 25 years.

Ranging from mainstream hits to independent favorites, foreign films to documentaries, they are (in chronological order):

• Making Love (1982)
• The Hunger (1983)
• The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
• My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
• Desert Hearts (1985)
• Parting Glances (1986)
• I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)
• Law of Desire (1987)
• Maurice (1987)
• Longtime Companion (1990)
• Paris is Burning (1990)
• Tongues Untied (1990)
• My Own Private Idaho (1991)
• Poison (1991)
• The Crying Game (1992)
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
• Go Fish (1994)
• The Celluloid Closet (1995)
• The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love (1995)
• Beautiful Thing (1996)
• Ma Vie en Rose (1997)
• High Art (1998)
• Boys Don't Cry (1999)
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
• Brokeback Mountain (2005)

What is always fun about lists like these is to do a breakdown of the numbers, which provides an interesting way to look comprehensively at the films represented. Thus, OutFest's list includes:

• 9 films from the 1980's.
• 14 films from the 1990's.
• 2 films from the 2000's.
• 4 documentaries.
• 2 foreign language films.
• 1987 and 1990 are the most represented years, with 3 films each.
• Rob Epstein is the only director with two films on the list: The Times of Harvey Milk and The Celluloid Closet.
• A total of 7 Oscars were won by 5 of the films, but no Best Pictures (damn you again, Crash!).

As for the breakdown of what's G, L, B or T:

• 15 films with gay subject matter.
• 8 films with lesbian subject matter.
• 7 films with bisexual subject matter.
• 6 films with transgender subject matter.

The only film to feature all four is, naturally, The Celluloid Closet.

Links via OutFest.org.