Everything queer coming to streaming platforms in July

With temperatures quickly rising—and going through the roof out west—folks with air conditioning are definitely staying put. To those of you lounging around your house for the next few weeks waiting for the heat to break, we’ve got you covered for another month of LGBTQ2S+ content. From a lesbian love that spans three centuries to a modern rendition of Gossip Girl, check out this diverse list of movies, TV shows and Pride events streaming on your favourite platforms throughout the month of July. 

Stonewall 

Coming July 1 to Hulu in the U.S.

The problematic coming-of-age drama Stonewall from 2015, directed by Roland Emmerich, is coming to Hulu on July 1. Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine), a teenage boy from Indiana, is kicked out by his parents in a conservative rural community in the late 1960s after being outed as gay. After making his way to Greenwich Village in New York, he is befriended by a group of young, queer, racialized and gender fluid street kids and drag queens. The film follows Danny as he fights for self-acceptance and against the growing discrimination and violence against queer folks that lead to the Stonewall uprising in 1969.

Philadelphia

Coming July 1 to Amazon Prime 

The 1993 American legal drama Philadelphia, directed by Jonathan Demme, is coming to Amazon Prime on July 1. The film was one of the first mainstream Hollywood movies to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his portrayal of closeted lawyer Andrew Beckett, a senior associate at the largest law firm in Philadelphia. Andrew tries to hide his sexuality and his HIV-positive status from the firm, but when his physical condition worsens, he is fired. Andrew must fight for his rights as he fights for his life.

The Lady in the Van

Coming July 1 to Amazon Prime

The 2015 British comedy-drama The Lady in the Van, directed by Nicholas Hytner, is available on Amazon Prime starting July 1. Based on the memoir by gay comedic genius Alan Bennett, the film tells the (mostly) true story of his interactions with an elderly woman named Mary (Maggie Smith), who lived in a van on his driveway. Originally she was going to park there for three months, but stayed for 15 years. Played by Alex Jennings, Bennett brings home multiple men but never dates, typically keeping to himself. As Bennett juggles responsibility for the motherly figure living in his driveway and his biological elderly mother who wants to move in with him, he starts to realize that maybe he doesn’t want to be totally alone. 

Vancouver Pride

Throughout July on their website

With around 60 in-person and online events, Vancouver Pride has announced a diverse list of events including concerts and discussion panels. For example, Symphonic Pride with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is on July 30, and celebrates queer stories told though live and filmed spoken word and dance performance. The event also includes prominent queer members of the Vancouver LGBTQ2S+ community and special musical guests. 

Yukon Pride

Throughout July on their website

The Yukon Pride Centre presents a calendar of online Pride events for the month of July. The  Pet Club runs on the first Monday of every month, where you can join queer and trans Yukoners showing off their pets on Zoom. Another event is the Queer Stitch & B*tch, a chance to craft and chat running on the last Wednesday of the month on Zoom. 

The Summer House 

Starting July 2 on Revry 

The 2019 film The Summer House, directed by Luke Willis, will be available to watch on Revry starting July 2. The short queer-thriller follows Greg (Tim Torre) who, after many years away, returns to his family’s secluded vacation house with his boyfriend, only to find himself being tormented by the ghost of his homophobic father.

Fear Street trilogy

July 2, 9, 16 on Netflix

The first installment of the horror trilogy Fear Street based on R.L. Stine’s series will be available to watch on Netflix starting July 2. The trilogy follows the past 300 years of Shadyside’s sinister history. Part one follows a group of teenage friends in 1994 trying to figure out who is responsible for the series of brutal murders in the area. Part two, set in 1978, will be available to watch on July 9 and part three, set in 1666, will be available to watch on July 16. Deena (Kiana Madeira) and Samantha (Olivia Welch) play lesbian teenagers navigating their rocky relationship while being targeted by the crazy horrors of Shadyside. To make things even more complicated, the two characters are from different time periods, with one being from the mid-1990s and the other from the 1600s.

The Legend of the Underground

Broadcast at 4:40 p.m. EDT July 3 on HBO; streaming on HBO Max in the U.S.

Exposing the punitive laws in Nigeria that have put an already beleaguered community at increased risk of extortion and violence, this new feature documentary follows a group of a young LGBTQ+ Nigerians who have created safe houses in Lagos and Harlem. 

Reading with Royalty 

Beginning July 3 via Zoom

The Calgary Public Library is partnering with Calgary Pride to present Reading with Royalty, a recurring program featuring local drag queens leading a family-friendly storytime every week. Starting July 3, the program hopes to be a safe space to express and discuss gender identity. 

TransMilitary

Starting July 4 on Revry 

The 2018 feature-length documentary TransMilitary, directed by Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson, will be available to watch on Revry starting July 4. The documentary chronicles the lives of four people who risked their lives and careers by coming out as trans to officials in the Pentagon in the hopes of attaining the equal right to serve. 

Moneyboys 

Premiering July 6 at the Cannes Film Festival 

The 2020 Taiwanese LGBTQ+ drama Moneyboys will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 6. The film follows Fei, a gay young man who leaves his hometown to become a sex worker in order to support his family only to realize later that while his family accepts his money, they don’t accept his sexuality. While trying to move forward, Fei meets Xiaolai, a lover from his youth that makes him face the guilt of his past. 

Derek Jarman’s Sebastiane and Blue

Beginning July 7 on Ovid

In Derek Jarman’s first feature, Sebastiane from 1976, co-directed with Paul Humfress, the Roman Sebastianus is exiled to a remote outpost populated exclusively by men. Weakened by their desires, they turn to homosexual activities to satisfy their needs. In his final—and most daring—cinematic statement, 1993’s Blue, Jarman presents a lush soundscape pulsing against a purely blue screen. Laying bare his physical and spiritual state in a narration about his life, his struggle with AIDS and his encroaching blindness, Blue is by turns poignant, amusing, poetic and philosophical. Both films stream on Ovid, beginning July 7.

Genera+ion (Season 1 finale)

July 8 on HBO Max in the U.S. and Crave in Canada

The first season of the American drama-comedy series Genera+ion ends on July 8 on HBO Max and Crave. The series follows a group of diverse high school students in Orange County, California, exploring their sexuality —often at odds with their conservative community and families—in the modern world. They’re on a mission to figure themselves out. 

Gossip Girl

Premiering July 8 on HBO Max in the U.S. and Crave in Canada

The American teen drama is making a comeback with the 2021 reboot of Gossip Girl, launching July 8. Almost a decade after the original series ended, a new cast of New York City private school teens will carry on the legacy, using social media to spread gossip. Included in the cast is queer actor and singer Jordan Alexander (Julien Calloway) and trans model and actor Zion Moreno (Luna La). Kristen Bell will be returning as the voice of Gossip Girl. (BTW: The original Gossip Girl is available to binge on HBO Max and Crave.)

Future of Film Showcase 

July 9 to 29 on CBC Gem

Future of Film Showcase is a free short film festival featuring 12 works from Canada’s most promising new voices aged 40 and younger. Included this year is Kourtney Jackson’s Wash Day, featuring trans Torontonian Eve Adrienne. The film follows three Black women faced with the politics of negotiating their sense of self as they get ready for the day. Aziz Zoromba’s short doc Faraway, which screened at this year’s Slamdance and Inside Out festivals, observes a young Arab man’s feeling of isolation after becoming estranged from his family for his sexuality. And Callahan Bracken’s My Head Aches When I Look Too Long is an animated short about a teenage boy confronting the implications of modern technology on his queerness.

Grown-ish (Season 4)

Premiering July 9 on Hulu in the U.S. 

Season 4 of the comedy series Grown-ish premieres on Hulu in the U.S. on July 9. The fourth season follows lead character Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) into her senior year at university. This season includes relationship drama, strained friendships, messages about social justice, a group vacation and a wedding. With all of this drama and the pressure of re-enrolling in university, Zoey tries not to get derailed on her path to graduation. 

Never Have I Ever (Season 2)

July 15 on Netflix

The second season of Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling’s Netflix teen rom com Never Have I Ever is premiering on Netflix July 15. The first season followed Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a first-generation Indian American who just wants to be cool and date the hottest guy in school. Her two best friends are Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez), who came out as lesbian to her friends and family last season. Will Devi finally become popular this season? 

Freaky

Streaming July 23 on Crave in Canada and Amazon Prime in the U.S.

Gay writer and director Christopher Landon’s 2020 body-swapping comedy Amzohorror flick Freaky will be available to watch starting July 23. Millie (Kathryn Newton), a 17-year-old high schooler who’s targeted by the popular crowd—and the town’s infamous serial killer “the Butcher” (Vince Vaughn). After the two magically switch bodies, Millie discovers she only has 24 hours to reverse the effects of the Butcher’s mystical dagger and get her identity back.

The Spare Rib Virtual Pride Party

2 p.m. EDT on July 24 on Zoom livestream

The Spare Rib, the Liverpool-based burlesque and cabaret, is hosting a virtual Pride show via Zoom on July 24. The livestream features a night of burlesque, cabaret and drag from all over the U.K. The performances will include Bee Jamming, Ebony Rose Dark and Meena Helvetia. 

Language as a Virus: Queer Isolation Stories

July 24 to August 13 on the Queer Arts Festival website

Vancouver’s Queer Arts Festival runs from July 24 to August 13 with in-person and virtual movie screenings. One offering is Language as a Virus: Queer Isolation Stories, an interactive feature from Bobbi Kozinuk that invites viewers to explore the effect of the pandemic on diverse queer communities. 

When I’m Her 

July 31 at Woods Hole Film Festival

The short documentary When I’m Her is streaming online for Massachusetts’ Woods Hole Film Festival on July 31. In Emily Schuman’s directorial debut, we get to know Michael Cusumano, a luminary figure at American Ballet Theatre in New York, whose trauma prevented him from realizing his full potential. Over time, he finds comfort in assuming an alter ego named Madame Olga, a sparkly turban-wearing Russian ballet instructor. When I’m Her follows Cusumano as he inhabits Madame Olga, a portal to help her students and, most of all, himself.