SPOILER WARNING!

5. ‘Young Hearts’

Young Hearts is a Dutch film directed and written by Anthony Schatteman, his first directing debut. The film was released December 18, 2024 in Belgium. The premise of the film is a 14-year-old boy, Elias, falling for another boy, Alexander. It’s a coming-of-age story where they both battle wanting to be together, as well as not understanding their feelings towards each other until Elias comes to terms with the fact that he is in love with Alexander and embraces his sexuality.

Elias portrayed by Lou Goossens

Alexander portrayed by Marius De Saeger

8.3/10 on IMDb

86% on JustWatch

98% liked this movie (according to Google)

Music composed by: Ruben De Gheselle

Cinematography by: Pieter Van Campe

Edited by: Emiel Nuninga

4. ‘Love Lies Bleeding’

Love Lies Bleeding is a film directed by Rose Glass; written by Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska. It was released in March 8, 2024, in the US. The story is about a woman Lou, a gym manager ,who falls for a woman named Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder who has a dream of going to Las Vegas to pursue her career. Their love flourishes into something more sinister when they get involved with Lou’s criminal family.

Lou portrayed by Kristen Stewart

Jackie portrayed by Katy M. O’Brian

6.6/10 on IMDb

94% on Rotten Tomatoes

3.5/5 on Letterboxd

76% liked this movie (according to Google)

Music composed by: Clint Mansell

Cinematography by: Ben Fordesman

Edited by: Mark Towns

3. ‘I Saw the TV Glow’

I Saw the TV Glow is a film directed and written by Jane Schoenbrun. It was released on January 18, 2024, and is a horror, fantasy film about a teen, Owen who gets told by another classmate about a mysterious late-night TV show—a vision between his world and another. Owen’s sense of reality begins to shatter. This film is outwardly queer but has serious queer undertones, especially towards the trans community. For example, “I saw the TV glow, and it shattered” is an allegory for, ‘I saw my true self once and it was destroyed by (probably) religious and/or transphobic parents’.

Owen portrayed by Justice Smith

5.8/10 on IMDb

84% on Rotten Tomatoes

3.5/5 on Letterboxd

66% liked this movie (according to Google)

Music composed by: Alex G

Cinematography by: Eric K. Yue

Edited by: Sofi Marshall

2. ‘Wicked’

Wicked is a film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. It was released on November 24, 2024. This film is an adaptation of the original musical Wicked which is based on The Wizard Of Oz. The story begins with a woman named Elphaba who is different from other people by having green skin since birth. She is misunderstood and ashamed for the way she looks.

Elphaba meets Galinda, a self-absorbed non-powerful witch. They hate each other in the beginning because of their differences until Galinda realizes she was in the wrong and befriends Elphaba. The movie takes a twist in Oz where all anyone will ever see Elphaba as is evil. Elphaba knows she is not, but if that is what others want to believe, then so be it. It is not explicitly said that this movie is queer, but once again there, are a lot of queer undertones. Ariana Grande (Glinda/Galinda) has stated that Galinda is a bit in the closet, and has mentioned a couple of times that Galinda could be gay, and the entirely of Oz is queer.

In the Wicked novel written by Author Gregory Maguire, it was written that Elphaba and Galinda kiss. Every undertone and story in Wicked is shown and not shown. Setting the ideal that Oz is a wondrous huge place where it is extremely diverse in language, culture, color, gender, sexuality, and more! Wicked is a queer story that is subdued by the main plot of “good vs. evil” and the complex emotions of manipulation, but it is there.

Elphaba portrayed by Cynthia Erivo

Galinda (Glinda) portrayed by Ariana Grande

8/10 on IMDb

88% on Rotten Tomatoes

73% on Metacritic

87% liked this movie (according to Google)

Music composed by: Stephen Schwartz, John Powell

Cinematography by: Alice Brooks

Edited by: Myron Kerstein

1. ‘Challengers’

Challengers is a film directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes. Released April 26, 2024. This film sets off with a woman tennis player, Tashi, transforming her husband into a tennis player. Tension and stakes are high when he finds himself playing against his ex-best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend. This film is about tennis but also has queerness in it, because Patrick and Art had an unspoken relationship between them; generally Challengers is about passion, the sport of tennis, and relationships.

Tashi portrayed by Zendaya

Art portrayed by Mike Faist

Patrick portrayed by Josh O’Connor

7.1/10 on IMDb

88% on Rotten Tomatoes

3.9/5 on Letterboxd

67% liked this movie (according to Google)

Music composed by: Trent Rezor and Atticus Ross

Cinematography by: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

Edited by: Marco Costa