Now in its 37th year, BFI Flare is the UK’s largest queer film event. In-person screenings take place at London’s BFI Southbank, but you can also watch online using BFI Player – after going digital during the pandemic, the festival is now more accessible than ever. And because it runs until March 26, there’s still time to get involved. This year’s extensive programme includes comedies, coming-of-age stories and documentaries from all over the world, offering an insight into inspiring and influential figures from right across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. 

Here’s our guide to ten life-affirming highlights that capture the many trials and triumphs of the collective queer experience.

Drifter

Queer people have always sought solace in nightlife, but few films chart the highs and lows as evocatively as Drifter. The debut feature from Hannes Hirsch follows 22-year-old Moritz (Lorenz Hochhuth) as he moves to Berlin for his boyfriend, then has to reinvent himself when they break up. As Moritz samples all the city has to offer – including sex, drugs and techno – he learns about himself and the bonds that hold the LGBTQ+ community together. It’s an enthralling coming-of-age story that’s far too smart to offer any easy answers.

Afeminadas 

Afeminadas – named after the Portuguese word for “effeminate“ – follows five LGBTQ+ performers living and working in five different Brazilian cities. They’re compelling characters who relish challenging traditional notions of masculinity: one describes herself as a “bricklayer by day, drag queen by night“. Director Wesley Gondim shoots his subjects - Safira O’Hara, Khryz Amusa, Chandelly Kidman, Hellena Borgyz and Jefferson Lemons – with sensitivity and restraint, building a picture of a vibrant and diverse scene where gender is an ever-shifting spectrum.

Little Richard: I Am Everything

Flamboyant and ferociously entertaining, Little Richard is widely hailed as the “architect of rock and roll” thanks to influential 1950s hits like Tutti Frutti. Directed by Lisa Cortés, this career-spanning documentary celebrates his seismic cultural impact without glossing over the blatant racism he experienced or his lifelong struggle to reconcile his queerness with his religious faith. Billy Porter, Elton John and John Waters are among the LGBTQ+ luminaries who contribute insights into a fascinating and complicated figure who still doesn’t get his full dues.

How to Tell a Secret

Adapted from Shaun Dunne’s stage play, How to Tell a Secret shines a spotlight on HIV/Aids in Ireland. Dunne and co-director Anna Rodgers enlist actors to speak the unedited words of real people living with HIV, which highlights the shame that still surrounds the disease. It’s not just a timely reminder that HIV hasn’t gone away – sadly, Ireland has one of Europe’s highest diagnosis rates – but also a reclaiming of the narrative. This film shows that people living with HIV are overcoming the stigma to live happy, healthy lives.

Kokomo City

This empathetic documentary follows the lives of Black trans women sex workers living in Atlanta and New York City. Each of the four subjects – Daniella Carter, Dominique Silver, Koko Da Doll and Liyah Mitchell – is candid and charismatic, and director D Smith tells their stories in an intimate and unvarnished way. The threat of physical violence is very real, and there’s a cruel dichotomy in the way some clients disparage them in public while paying for their services behind closed doors. You’ll come away with nothing but respect for these tough, funny and proudly resilient women.

Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn

When Malcolm Kenyatta says “there has never been a candidate like me”, he isn’t exaggerating. This riveting documentary follows the Philadelphia politician’s historic bid to become the first openly gay Black man in the US Senate. It’s very much an against-the-odds story – not just because Kenyatta doesn’t come from straight white privilege, but also because he has a tiny campaign budget compared to his rivals. Director Timothy Harris doesn’t shy away from the homophobia that Kenyatta faces along the way, but ultimately, his film is an uplifting portrait of a genuine change-maker. 

Who I Am Not 

Though intersex people make up 1.5-2% of the world’s population, they remain misunderstood in mainstream heteronormative society and marginalised within the LGBTQ+ community. This tender documentary from director Tünde Skovrán challenges widespread ignorance and misconceptions by shining a spotlight on two inspiring intersex South Africans: beauty queen Sharon-Rose Khumalo and activist Dimakatso Sebidi. It’s an informative and profoundly moving film that doubles as a timely reminder that gender has never, ever been binary.

It’s Only Life After All

Music docs are rarely as illuminating as this one. As openly gay women who have been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and environmental causes since the 1990s, the Indigo Girls – singer-songwriters Amy Ray and Emily Saliers – are cherished queer pioneers. Director Alexandria Bombach tells their story with a keen eye on the wider context: by swimming against the socio-cultural tide in less enlightened times, the duo became icons for a generation of queer folks and women in particular. Even if you’ve never heard an Indigo Girls song, you’ll come away wanting to dig into their discography.

The Stroll

This poignant documentary takes its name from a colloquial term for a patch of Manhattan’s Meatpacking district that was once walked by Black trans women sex workers. Using archive footage and first-person recollections, directors Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker paint a picture of the community they built in the face of racism, financial hardship and social marginalisation. It’s a story made bittersweet by the fact that The Stroll has now been gentrified into a supposedly “desirable” neighbourhood. "I can’t believe how many times I had to go to jail for this Highline Park to be built,” Lovell says wryly.

Wolf and Dog

This queer coming-of-age film is positive without being saccharine. Ana Cabral and Ruben Pimenta play Ana and Luis, two teenage friends getting to grips with their sexuality in São Miguel, a Portuguese island where traditional religious beliefs still hold sway. This might sound like a recipe for trauma porn, but director Claudia Varejão takes a more nuanced approach, portraying the local LGBTQ+ community as stifled outsiders rather than tormented outcasts. The touching result will connect with anyone who has overcome a struggle just to be themselves.

BFI Flare runs at BFI Southbank in London until March 26. Tune in on BFI Player here, and check out their LGBTQIA+ selection of films here.