Making Grace

2005

In this intimate documentary, filmmaker Catherine Gund examines lesbian motherhood through the eyes of longtime partners Ann Krsul and Leslie Sullivan, who desperately want to have a child. Charting their unconventional path toward parenthood, from the first tough decisions -- such as choosing a sperm donor and deciding who will carry the child -- to their joy at the birth of baby Grace, this moving film reveals a uniquely emotional journey.

3.1 Average Rating

Drool

2009

After beginning an unexpected romance with her neighbor, Imogene (Jill Marie Jones), housewife Anora (Laura Harring) accidentally shoots her abusive husband, Ched (Oded Fehr), and then sets out on an outrageous road trip with her new lover and kids to dispose of the corpse. Nancy Kissam writes and directs this unpredictable romantic comedy that also stars Ashley Duggan Smith and Christopher Newhouse as Anora's children.

3.0 Average Rating

Puccini for Beginners

2006

Allegra is recovering from a breakup with her girlfriend when she starts to fall for a member of the opposite sex. Philip is the tidy professor who's romancing the ambivalent Allegra while she pursues a straight woman who's recently become single.

3.0 Average Rating

Head On

1999

This edgy indie drama follows 19-year-old Ari (Alex Dimitriades), a gay Greek-Australian whose roiling ethnic- and sexual-identity struggles lead to a wild, 24-hour odyssey. When he's not dealing drugs or bedding nameless partners, Ari joins his younger sister (Andrea Mandalis) in a battle of wills against their reactionary parents. Though he ultimately runs afoul of the law, Ari remains impenitent about his self-destructive hedonism.

3.0 Average Rating

I've Heard the Mermaids Singing

1987

Loony but lovable klutz Polly (Sheila McCarthy) lands a job in an upscale art gallery. In a major gaffe, she hangs a piece of art she mistakenly credits to her boss, Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), but which really was created by Gabrielle's lover, Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald). And when she develops an inconvenient crush on Gabrielle, Polly's troubles begin to multiple faster than dabs of paint on a Jackson Pollock canvas.

2.9 Average Rating

On the Downlow

2007

In this fascinating 2007 documentary, experimental filmmaker Abigail Child and cinematographer Arthur Jafa shadow four African-American males who are living dichotomous sexual lifestyles in Cleveland. Tending to their sexual needs "on the downlow" while maintaining a veneer of being straight, these conflicted men are ultimately forced to confront the realities of their sexual choices and the subsequent effects on their lives.

2.8 Average Rating

Venus Boyz

2002

Meet a group of women who explore their masculine sides as "drag kings" in this offbeat documentary. Using a legendary Drag King Night in New York as a starting point, we follow some of the women into their lives, whether their drag persona is an identity they assume part-time or full-time. Drag kings in London and Zurich are also interviewed, including some who are experimenting with hormones to accelerate their masculinity.

2.8 Average Rating

The Baby Formula

2008

When Athena (Angela Vint) and Lilith (Megan Fahlenbock) decide to have a baby, they don't want just any baby: They want a baby that comes from both of them. But how to do it without a man? An experimental procedure that can turn stem cells into semen, of course. With this inventive independent comedy, director Alison Reid explores the limits of scientific possibility alongside the quirks of unconventional parenthood.

2.8 Average Rating

Family Values: An American Tragedy

1996

This riveting documentary traces the experiences of filmmaker Pam Walton as she struggles to reunite with her "family values" father after a long-standing rift. Rus Walton -- a radical religious fundamentalist -- disowned his daughter because of her lesbian lifestyle. Although he once suggested that practicing homosexuals should be executed, Pam is willing to pay the emotional price to fulfill her longing for parental acceptance.

2.8 Average Rating

The Watermelon Woman

1996

While doing research for a movie about a forgotten African-American actress, black video-store clerk Cheryl (writer-director Cheryl Dunye, playing herself) discovers that her subject shared a secret love affair with a white female director. In a stroke of intergenerational coincidence, Cheryl soon finds herself in love with a white woman. The movie captured the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival.

2.8 Average Rating

Water Lilies

2007

A Caméra d'Or contender at Cannes, this coming-of-age drama from first-time feature film director Céline Sciamma tracks the sexual awakenings of three female friends over the course of a single summer. Finding privacy in the solitude of the swimming pool locker room, blossoming teens Marie (Pauline Acquart), Anne (Louise Blachère) and Floriane (Adele Haenel) come to learn the true meaning of arousal and the power of sexual attraction.

2.7 Average Rating

Old Joy

2006

When old friends Mark (Daniel London) and Kurt (Will Oldham) embark on a weekend camping trip in the Oregon Cascades, they find themselves exploring much more than nature in this meditation on friendship, memory and generational malaise. As the men journey deeper into the wilderness -- first losing, and then finding, their way -- they struggle to find common ground in the divergent paths they've chosen.

2.7 Average Rating

Humpday

2009

After hanging out with some hedonistic acquaintances, best pals Andrew (Joshua Leonard) and Ben (Mark Duplass) find their friendship tested in strange new ways when a dare leads them to contemplate filming a live sex scene together for an amateur porn festival. As the shoot date looms, our heroes must contend with two major logistical difficulties: Ben's wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore); and their heterosexuality. The indie comedy screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

2.6 Average Rating

Bar Girls

1994

Stood up yet again at Los Angeles' Girl Bar by her gorgeous but flaky girlfriend, successful TV cartoon writer Loretta (Nancy Allison Wolfe) fears she may never find her soul mate. But then in walks Rachael (Liza D'Agostino), an aspiring actress who more than catches Loretta's eye. They hit it off brilliantly, but when another woman starts flirting with Rachel, Loretta's jealousy flares up and their life together is threatened.

2.6 Average Rating

Change of Life

2009

After his lesbian daughter kills herself on the air during his call-in radio show, stridently anti-gay pastor Gary Catell (Denny Dey) wakes up to discover that time has moved backward and that he has a second chance to save his girl. But this time around, Gary finds himself on the receiving end of the spite he himself so recently espoused. Amy McClung directs this provocative drama that co-stars Alexis Pelfrey and Vince Mollica.

2.5 Average Rating

Stray Cats

2005

Best friends and hopeless romantics Boyet (Ricky Davao) and Martha (Irma Adlawan) cope with difficult relationships in this comic drama from the Philippines that highlights the special bond between gay men and straight women. As Boyet tries to tame his confusing boyfriend, Dom (Lauren Novero), who sometimes says he's straight, Martha deals with the frustrations of her long-standing relationship with Steve (Reggie Curley).

2.4 Average Rating