Top 10 Gay Movies at Amsterdam LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2021

Our Top 10 list of the best gay movies in 2021 selected for the Amsterdam LGBTQ+ Film Festival Roze Filmdagen 2021. Already for 25 years, the biggest Dutch LGBTQ+ film festival is inviting the LGBTQ+ community to see the best, the most popular, and the newest LGBTQ+ movies, shorts, and documentaries. To make sure, you won’t miss any of the great movies, shorts, and films from Germany to Vietnam, from Cyprus to Greece, or from the USA to Sweden, we teamed up with festival director Werner Borkes to select some of the best movies about gay men, love, families and different generations from around the world. In 2021, the LGBTQ Film Festival in Amsterdam will celebrate its 24th-anniversary featuring some of the best Gay Movies 2021 like the Swedish movie “Are we lost forever”, the US-American film “Cicada” and the movie “Goodbye Mother” from Vietnam.

Top 10 List of the Best Gay Movies 2021 at Roze Filmdagen

SADLY, the LGBTQ+ Filmfestival Roze Filmdagen edition 2020 had to be canceled just a couple of days before the opening night. In the Netherlands, cinemas and theaters are currently not open. Therefore, the organizers decided for the 2021 edition to turn the queer film festival into an online version. That means: Start planning your queer home cinema nights in March 2021! Streaming will begin on 11th March 2021 with the opening movie of the Amsterdam LGBTQ+ Film Festival. The LGBTQ+ film nights will continue for 11 days in total until 21st March 2021. The film festival will feature movies, documentaries, and short movies coming from many countries like the other editions in the past year. But don’t worry, you won’t get lost with our list of the best gay movies, including trailers and screening information on couple of men. And now, snuggle up and enjoy the best gay movies 2021 selected for the Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam 2021!

#1 Are we lost forever | Sweden

(2020) One morning Hampus tells his friend Adrian that he wants to end the relationship. Adrian is completely devastated, as they had been living together for the past three years, and he hadn’t seen anything coming. When Hampus has moved his share of furniture (including half the bed) out of what is now Adrian’s apartment, the divorce becomes real. Adrian just can’t understand why things went wrong; for a year, he’s been working through his grief. Is there any way to get Hampus back?

“The script is the strongest asset; universal and with lots of recognition, for everyone!” – MovieZine

“Excellent romance with a very talented cast” – QueerGuru

“Painful breakups and loving encounters in an intimate relationship drama” – Gothenburg Film Festival

Swedish and Danish, with Dutch subtitles

#2 The man with the answers | Cyprus / Greece / Italy

(2021) Victor is an ex-diving champion in his twenties who lives with his grandmother in a Greek coastal town. After her sudden death, he jumps into a dusty old car without giving any reason and starts a drive with the final destination being Germany. On the ferry, he meets Matthias, a handsome German man. Victor is absolutely not looking for company, but the free-spirited Matthias manages to seduce him anyway, giving him a ride to Germany. The apparent opposites embark on a trip that takes them through the breathtaking mountainous landscape of Italy. The travel adventures take two men out of their comfort zone and their attraction grows.

Will they find the answers they seek from each other as their destination looms on the horizon?

English, Greek, German and Italian, with English subtitles

#3 Cicada | USA

(2020) Ben flies from one casual hook-up to another. Although most encounters barely make it to the next morning, he feels different when he meets Sam. The two instantly have a deep connection, and they spend more and more time together. As they reveal intimate details to each other, it becomes clear that if they really want to let the other in, each must face past traumas.

This understated and already critically acclaimed queer film is based on the life and love experiences of director and lead actor Fifer. The story not only tackles issues of racism and class stereotyping but also offers a delightful and honest romance.

English, no subtitles

#4 Goodbye Mother | Vietnam

(2019) Nau Van, son of a Vietnamese family, returns from the United States for the first time in nine years. He also brings his Vietnamese-American friend Ian under the guise of “friendship”. Van’s mother, who has taken over the family business, expects her son to fulfill his obligations not only in their business quickly, but also on a personal level: he should marry and have children. Van struggles with the expectations of his loving but determined mother and becomes torn between duty to his family and the freedom of living abroad with Ian. Van’s grandmother, who suffers from dementia, immediately confuses Ian with her beloved grandson upon arrival to tender and comical effect.

This charming family drama will seem familiar to many of us who often feel forced to choose between family, loved ones, and cultures.

Vietnamese and English, with English subtitles

#5 The obituary of Tune Johnson | USA

(2020) A wealthy, gay Nigerian-American teenager is stopped by the police, shot, and immediately jolted awake; he is forced to relive this day again and again in this timely and urgent film about racism, homophobia, and police brutality in the USA. Every morning Tunde wakes up and takes a slightly different path; he experiences his coming-out, but his secret boyfriend Soren is not there yet. He ‘does it’ with his best girlfriend while having secret meetings with Tunde. And every day there is that fateful confrontation with the police. But do all paths lead to the same fate or is there a way out and light at the end of the time loop?

A thought-provoking film that doesn’t hesitate to ask the tough questions about what it’s like to be a young black gay man in the U.S. today.

English, no subtitles

#6 Rialto | Ireland

(2019) 46-year-old Colm has a seemingly nice life; a fine job in Dublin harbor, two healthy teenage children, and a sweet wife. But Colm is actually gay and has been living with his secret feelings for a long time. It drives him crazy and one day in a shopping mall toilet he has intimate encounters with Jay, a 19-year-old prostitute. A day later Jay comes into his office and demands money, otherwise, he will inform Colm’s wife. Colm, still shaken from his first experience and increasingly intimately active, continues to associate with him. And for Jay? The money is more than welcome. When Colm learns that he is being laid off due to a reorganization, his life collapses. His wife Claire wants to help him, but she cannot reach him. He can only vent his turmoil with Jay.

This strong social drama is based on an award-winning play that is a beautifully observed story about fathers and sons, the impossibility of meeting the expectations of others, and the possibility of change.

English, with Dutch subtitles

#7 A skeleton in the closet | Argentina

(2020) Manuel, an architecture student living in Buenos Aires, returns to his hometown to celebrate his parents’ wedding anniversary, but mostly to ask his family for money. With the money, he wants to move to Denmark to be with his boyfriend. At the previous family visit, he came out of the closet, and since then, his parents have been anxiously avoiding the subject: the atmosphere is therefore tense, to put it mildly. When he is dumped the emigration plan collapses. Manuel tries to figure out what to do with his life and finds solace in a intimate encounter with his former high school teacher.

Spanish, with English subtitles

#8 Monsoon | Vietnam / England

(2019) Kit can’t remember much of his native Vietnam. When he returns to the Land of the Golden Star for the first time in over thirty years, he takes in his local surroundings as any Western tourist would: the environment is as exotic as the language is incomprehensible. The aim of Kit’s travels, to find a place to scatter his parents’ ashes, thus becomes part of a journey back to his roots and to the discovery of his identity. He hooks up with an American who has his own personal connection to Vietnam. Their intimate liaison offers both men a sympathetic ear as well. An observational character piece that tenderly explores the multi-faceted ties that bind people both to locations and each other. Closing Night film.

English and Vietnamese, with English subtitles

#9 Dry Wind | Brazil

(2020) Sandro, a middle-aged man is stuck in a monotonous life cycle; he works in a fertilizer factory, spends his free time at the local public pool, and has a purely intimate relationship with his discreet colleague Ricardo. Sandro is an outsider whose life is dominated by his fetishistic desires, some of which are satiated by his colleague. Soon, a crush on his edgy Tom of Finland-like colleague Maicon, who flirts with Ricardo, evokes a tidal wave of jealousy in Sandro.

The masterful cinematography full of unashamedly strange intimate images ensures that this is not a film, viewers will soon forget. The mix between surreal erotic fantasy and beautiful yet monotonous reality, set against the tense political climate in Brazil, makes for an essential, scintillating piece of cinema.

Portuguese, with English subtitles

#10 The Teacher (wo de ling hun shi ai zuo de) | Taiwan

Award-winning drama set in Taiwan, just before it became the first Asian country to legalize same-gender marriage. When the 26-year-old Civics teacher, Kevin, openly voiced his stance on marriage equality at school, he stirs up a storm. His being madly in love with an HIV-positive man doesn’t sit well with all the surrounding people. When a rumor breaks out about his HIV status, he is forced to make choices no one should have to.

Mandarin, with English subtitles

Best Gay Movies 2021 for Roze Filmdagen:

• Overview: Tips, Info, & Articles for “Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam” >
• Start Planning: 10 Best Queer LGBTQ+ Mix Movies 2021 >
• Good to know: 10 Best Lesbian Movies 2021 >

• Check the Best Gay Movies for 2020 Film Festival >
• Check the Best Gay Movies for 2019 Film Festival >
• Check the Best Gay Movies for 2018 Film Festival >
• Best of Amsterdam “Gay” Pride with Canal Parade 2018 >
• All you need to know about traveling the Dutch capital Amsterdam >
• All you need to know for your Gay Travels to the Netherlands, Holland >