Best movies like Politics of the Heart

In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.

Two friends meet after 15 years. They have a complicated and intimate past that becomes impossible to deny in spite of intentions to the contrary.

Inspired by real events, this ribald comedy pits an unlikely gang of students against their principal after she bars safe-sex activities on campus. Protesting Principal Weller's muzzling of free speech, the teens stage a bold and hilarious rebellion.

When an Italian man comes out of the closet, it affects both his life and his crazy family.

The wife of a pastor who preaches against homosexuality embarks on an affair with a female writer.

A wry interweave film about baby making and how as time marches on the decision gets more intense and less romantic.

Recently relocated from San Francisco to conservative suburbia by her lesbian mothers, Tru struggles like all teens to fit in and find love, but her quest is complicated by sexual politics, closed minds, and closeted friends as she seeks to establish her school's first Gay-Straight Alliance.

Kathleen Turner stars as suburban mother and devout Catholic Eileen Cleary, who has always kept up appearances. When she runs for the Catholic Woman of the Year title at her local parish, her final test is introducing her family to the board for the seal of approval. Now she must finally face the nonconformist family she has been glossing over for years...

The daughter of a preacher becomes the centerpiece for a conservative political campaign but finds herself falling in love with a woman.

In his early twenties, Sam Cagnina, oldest son of a Mafia hit man, meets Steven, a handsome 19-year old college student and they fall in love. Then, after a few years Sam offers Steven a "visionary" idea. What if they could find a woman who would fall in love with both of them and agree to live in a "trio" relationship? They spend the next 7 years dating and looking for that special woman. Finally, they meet Samantha, a young, struggling actress. THREE OF HEARTS explores this very unique trio union as they negotiate their living arangements, fall in love and open one of the hottest wellness centres in New York City. Everyone who comes in contact with them is never quite sure how the relationship works. But the one thing which seems certain is their love for each other.

Chronicling one story of courage born out of the highly mediatized and controversial Prop 8 2008 election results in California. A Californian married gay couple and their two adopted children fight back against discrimination, ignorance and hate through home videos posted on their YouTube channel, Gay Family Values. As they pursue their American Dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempt to strip it from them.

After 39 years together, Ben and George finally tie the knot, but George loses his job as a result, and the newlyweds must sell their New York apartment and live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet.

When his husband Gabriel files for divorce, Nicky fights for custody of their eight year-old son Owen, as he struggles to come to terms with what it means to love someone and what it means to be a father.

When Dot's granddaughter puts her into a nursing home, Stella stages a breakout, and takes Dot to Canada so they can get married. They pick up a hitchhiker along the way.

Faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son's youth league baseball team, Max Morris, a famous comedian, decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an attempt to find the inspiration for his next movie.

This documentary film tells the dramatic story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple living in Virginia in the 1950s, and their landmark Supreme Court Case, Loving v. Virginia, that changed history.

This anthology film explores three sudden acts of violence and examines the impact on the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire: In Binghamton, New York, an ESL instructor faces domestic violence at home and even greater peril at school. Friends take a night out in Paris only to find themselves caught up in a horrifying situation. And two lovers at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando fight to survive a chaotic night of terror.

Two adventurous women in love are desperate to have their own biological child. They take a chance on an experimental scientific process and make sperm from their own stem cells. Pregnant with humor and unexpected twists, their journey ultimately confirms that all life is a gift and all families are crazy.

Annie has it all in life. A wonderful husband and a darling little girl. All is going well until she goes to a softball practice and meets Maggie. Maggie -- cute, athletic, and openly gay -- touches feeling deep down inside Annie that she has no idea existed. Maggie also is attracted to Annie but vows to her friends that she will not make a move on her because of her wonderful family. As the friendship gets closer and as they struggle to stay apart, all hell breaks loose. A night of dancing and drinking puts Annie in the arms of Maggie. The love affair begins and reaches a point where there may be no way back.

While the fight for LGBTQ Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum, the 1970s witnessed horrific custody battles for lesbian mothers. Mom's Apple Pie: The Heart of the Lesbian Mothers’ Custody Movement revisits the early tumultuous years of the lesbian custody movement through the stories of five lesbian mothers and their four children. Narrated by Kate Clinton, the documentary interviews the sons and daughters who were separated from their mothers, the mothers themselves, and one woman who made the difficult decision to flee with her children.

This is a story about a mother's love for her child and an activist's love for his country - and the stakes are life and death. Spanning five countries, THE ABOMINABLE CRIME explores the impacts of homophobia through the eyes of two gay Jamaicans who are forced to choose between their homeland and their lives. Simone, a young lesbian mother, survives being shot outside of her home by anti-gay gunmen. She must choose between living in hiding with her daughter in Jamaica or traveling alone to seek safety and asylum abroad. Maurice, Jamaica's leading gay-rights activist, is outed shortly after filing a lawsuit to overturn Jamaica's anti-sodomy law. He escapes to Canada, but decides to return to continue his activism.

Janine and Sandy are a lesbian couple who decide to have a baby, but after a few years Sandy dies. This tragedy is exploited by Sandy's parents to snatch the girl from Janine's care. But then, and despite having the laws against her, Janine decides to fight in order to regain custody of her daughter.

In the spring of 2004, Massachusetts began the final battle of its journey towards legalizing same-sex marriage. This documentary follows a few local couples & their families through the months leading up to & shortly after that defining occasion in LGBTQ+ history, culminating in their respective weddings. Also includes interviews with active opponents attempting to discourage the movement (& failing, of course). Premiered at the Independent Film Festival of Boston in April 2005, just a month short the decision's one-year anniversary.

What is a family? Rosie O'Donnell looks at the many answers to this question in this documentary that features original songs and thoughtful kids musing on love and family. The show provides a less than moving portrait of the remarkable diversity of so called families today, including same-sex parents, mixed-heritage families, and stories of adoption. Animated songs and musical performances by kids and families spice up the festivities along with performances and recordings by artists including Ziggy Marley, Bonnie Raitt, Doris Day, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Frank Sinatra, Rosie O'Donnell and They Might Be Giants.

Ethan Green (Daniel Letterle) has no problem finding guys who want to sleep with him or even date him, but finding someone to settle down with is a different story. Given three choices -- a sexy teenager, a hunky jock, or his ex-boyfriend who is about to get married -- will he find a Mr. Right, or is he destined to an unfabulous existence. Based on a popular gay-themed comic strip.

A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As her Christmas Eve wedding draws near, Jennifer is visited by an angel and shown what could have been if she hadn't denied her true feelings for her childhood best friend.

A lesbian mother fights to keep her son when a custody suit is brought by her ex-husband.

Dr. Finn Jeffries plays a new stepmother to her deceased lover's daughter Zelly. She also took over her lover's abortion clinic that is being protested by increasingly violent "pro-lifer's".

CHOOSING CHILDREN is a pioneering film about parenting in non-traditional families and helped to open dialogue about the meaning and reality of the "modern family." This film takes an intimate look at the issues faced by lesbians and gay men who decide to become parents after coming out.

A documentary of a gay couple's determination to be parents despite considerable legal and cultural limitations. Prevented from adopting a child, or accessing IVF facilities or commercial surrogacy in Australia, Tony Wood and Lee Matthews embarked on an international surrogacy arrangement that takes them to Iowa for the birth of their son.

The story of Reverend Jide Macaulay, an openly gay Church of England minister who wants to marry his boyfriend despite the Church not recognising same-sex marriage.

When a gay couple's impending wedding hits a snag, the grooms must rely on their friends and family to see them through.

Follows Hazel, who goes to spend the holidays in her home town, where a romance begins to bloom with a local contractor who has been helping her father with their family bakery, but some misunderstandings threaten to tear them apart.

"An Affirmative Act" is pro-gay marriage film, starring Charles Durning, Eric Etebari, Costas Mandylor, Rachael Robbins, and Blanche Baker, about a lesbian couple where one pretends to be a man in order for the two to get married and equal benefits. A slice of life of a young, professional married couple with their darling baby turns a sharp, dark corner when the pair are arrested and charged with several counts of fraud. The reason: Terry and Samantha Succi aren't the man and woman that they purported to be... Terry and Samantha married under false pretenses, ignoring state law that discriminates against homosexual partners and prohibits them from receiving the same rights and benefits as their straight counterparts.