7 Frameline49 Films You Don’t Want to Miss

With nearly 150 films from 40 countries, the Frameline49 lineup is full of must-see titles, from Sundance standouts to yet-to-be-discovered gems. If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up (some of) the highlights to help guide you through the many Frameline49 films on offer. We are in queer media, after all. (And we’ve seen some posts.)

In James Sweeney’s sophomore feature, two men meet at a support group for people who have lost their twin. We’re not in the business of spoilers, so we’ll just say that Twinless manages an impressive high-wire balancing act of laugh-out-loud comedy and gut-punching sadness, all while showcasing co-lead Dylan O’Brien’s talents.

Long before we put our paws up to Lady Gaga’s queer anthem of a similar name, gay gospel singer and activist Carl Bean ignited dance floors with his titular disco-anthem. A LGBTQ+ icon whose legacy needs to be celebrated, the incredible subject of I Was Born This Way went on to found the Minority AIDS Project and establish the Unity Fellowship Church. Without a doubt, Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard’s document of an unsung hero is essential viewing even in the packed lineup of Frameline49 films.

Directed by Three Identical Strangers producer Grace Hughes-Hallett, this Frameline award-winning documentary chronicles the story of Jim Ambrose, who didn’t know he was born intersex until he looked into his medical history in college. Despite unearthing decades of medical scandals, The Secret of Me never sensationalizes its participants, and, instead, explores consent and identity with impressive vulnerability and resilience.

The winner of numerous Audience Awards, this Sundance standout centers on poet and activist Andrea Gibson and their wife and fellow poet Megan Falley as they come to terms with Andrea’s terminal cancer diagnosis. Directed by Ryan White and backed by Tig Notaro, Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Sara Bareilles, and Brandi Carlile, Come See Me in the Good Light is an affecting portrait that’s also surprisingly funny. With bold tenderness, this highlight among Frameline49 films illuminates what it means to really live — even as one faces their mortality.

In this Teddy Award-winning animated comedy, The Pitt’s breakout star Shabana Azeez voices Saira, the film’s titular sapphic monarch-to-be. Despite being painfully introverted, the unwilling heroine of Lesbian Space Princess embarks on a quest to save her ex, the pink-haired bounty hunter Kiki, from the so-called Straight White Maliens. Brimming with colors as bright as its gay in-jokes, this frenetic musical-comedy hybrid will delight fans of offbeat animated romps like Adventure Time and Scott Pilgrim. This is one of several Frameline49 films that isn’t afraid to lez it all out!

Selected as Croatia’s official submission for the 2025 Academy Award for Best International Feature, Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day is a sweeping historical epic and a tribute to love, loyalty, and the power of art and friendship. Despite its politically charged plot, Ivona Juka’s film is incredibly intimate and a black-and-white feast for the eyes.

If you’re still thinking about Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s beautiful debut feature, 20,000 Species of Bees, then A) we have something in common, and B) Rafaela Camelo’s The Nature of Invisible Things (A Natureza das Coisas Invisíveis) is a must-see debut among the many Frameline49 films that mark filmmakers’ first feature-length works. Intimate, lyrical, and often humorous, the film takes a deft look at intergenerational relationships through a queer lens — and injects a dose of magical realism along the way.

Browse the full Frameline49 program and buy your tickets before screenings sell out!