12 Movies To Watch That Weren’t Nominated for Oscars
With an emphasis on queer flicks
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Though the Oscars are the biggest awards show in the nation, they’re far from the only voting body handing out awards for cinematic achievement. For example, I’m part of GALECA, a group of LGBTQ entertainment critics. We honor films and television through the Dorian Awards, voted on by our members. The Dorian Awards often nominate films overlooked by the Oscars and other more prominent awards, in part because LGBTQ films still struggle to get noticed. (Here are this year’s nominations.)
What follows is a list of films that weren’t nominated for any Oscars, but are still worth your time. Several of these films were nominated for Dorian Awards, while the rest are films I enjoyed and think deserve more love. Many great films came out in 2025, and if you’re looking to catch up ahead of the Oscars, here are some additional entries you can add to your watchlist.
Sorry, Baby
In addition to Sinners, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Sentimental Value (which were all rightfully nominated for Best Picture), Sorry, Baby was my favorite film of the year. Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby follows Agnes (Victor), a literature professor at a small college in New England dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Much of the film centers on her relationship with her best friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie), who supports Agnes through all of life’s ups and downs.
Though Sorry, Baby tackles serious topics like assault and trauma, its dynamic tone, which oscillates from sad to funny to both at once, gives the film a sense of buoyancy. More importantly, these tonal shifts reflect the perplexing, non-linear trajectory of real life and the process of healing. The film isn’t sad and hopeful and funny and heartbreaking for the sake of being those things, but rather because that’s what it’s like to live a life — whether in the wake of trauma or not. A stunning debut from Victor, whose voice feels startling their own, Sorry, Baby is a must-watch.
Is it gay? Yes, Agnes’ best friend, Lydie, is queer, and Eva Victor is non-binary. The film was nominated for four Dorian Awards, along with two additional nominations for Victor.
Where to watch: HBO Max.
Twinless
You’ve probably never seen a film quite like Twinless, and that’s reason enough to give it a watch. Written and directed by James Sweeney, the film follows Roman (Dylan O’Brien), who attends a support group for people who have lost their twins after his twin brother, Rocky, is hit by a car. Roman meets a lonely man named Dennis (Sweeney) at the group, and the two become fast friends, until a dark secret tests the strength of their relationship.
I won’t go into the plot any further, because I think it’s best to experience without any expectations. O’Brien gives an amazing performance in the film (he was nominated for Film Performance of the Year at the Dorian Awards), and he really shows his range. Sweeney constructs a character who eschews notions of likability for a more honest portrayal of the necrotic effects of loneliness. Lauren Graham also appears as Roman and Rocky’s mom, as a treat, and you won’t want to miss Aisling Franciosi’s appearance in the film.
Is it gay? Yep. The film was nominated for four Dorian Awards.
Where to watch: Hulu, Disney+, for rent on other platforms.
Hedda
If you’re a fan of Tessa Thompson or messy queers, Hedda should be next on your watch list. Based on the Henrik Ibsen play Hedda Gabler, Nia DaCosta’s film transports the drama to 1950s England. Thompson plays the titular character, a theatrical woman married to a professor. Hedda hosts a lavish party at her estate, and things become tumultuous with the arrival of her former lover, Eileen (Nina Hoss), a controversial writer and professor, and her new protegee-turned-lover, Thea (Imogen Poots). Hedda manipulates the partygoers to the point of chaos, and the evening unravels in a dramatic fashion.
Hedda is not a perfect film. The action could be more dynamic, and the plot more engaging, but the acting and the visual spectacle of it all tend to make up for these deficits. Thompson is so well-cast in the role you’d think Ibsen wrote it for her. She’s perfectly suited for this kind of introspective, character-driven period piece, whether it be Hedda or the amazing (and underrated) Passing. It’s mesmerizing to watch her turn on the charm while keeping a sense of volatility and destructiveness simmering just beneath the surface. Nina Hoss, who you may recognize from TÁR, is similarly fierce, as is Imogen Poots in her thankless role as the nagging girlfriend.
Is it gay? Yep! It was nominated for four Dorian Awards.
Where to watch: Prime Video.
Kiss of The Spider Woman
Kiss of the Spider Woman is the kind of film that either works for you or doesn’t. For me, it totally worked. The film is adapted from the stage musical of the same name, which is based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel, previously made into a 1985 film starring William Hurt and Sônia Braga. Set in early 1980s Argentina, Kiss of the Spider Woman follows Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay musical lover sent to prison for public indecency. He shares a cell with Valentin Arregui Paz (Diego Luna), a political prisoner and militant communist.
Despite having seemingly nothing in common, the two men grow close as Molina narrates the story of his favorite musical, The Kiss of the Spider Woman. The film jumps between the prison setting and Molina’s telling of the film, in which a perfectly cast Jennifer Lopez plays the protagonist, Aurora, as well as the villain — the Spider Woman. Luna and Tonatiuh both play roles in the movie-within-a-movie as well. Kiss of the Spider Woman covers tricky terrain, traversing from the dark world of the prison to the faux-technicolor dream of the musical. Ultimately, the film’s stylized melodrama buoys a heartfelt story, and excellent performances from Tonatiuh, Luna, and Lopez sell its big swings.
Is it gay? Yes, it is. It was nominated for two Dorian Awards, and Tonatiuh also received a nomination.
Where to watch: Rentable on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, Fandango.
Pillion
If you’re wondering why Swedish heartthrob Alexander Skarsgård was walking around in all those slutty little outfits last year, it’s because he was promoting his new BDSM rom-com, Pillion. Harry Lighton’s directorial debut stars Harry Melling as Colin, a meek gay man who strikes up a relationship with a sexy, mysterious biker named Ray (Skarsgård). Ray teaches the naive Colin the ways of BDSM, and Colin finds that he’s well-suited to being a submissive partner. Meanwhile, Ray remains a very attractive enigma.
Pillion has received a lot of press for its explicit content, but it’s no more shocking than you’d expect, particularly if you’ve seen Skarsgård in True Blood. It’s basically a romantic comedy wherein sex, and in particular the dynamic between a dominant and a submissive partner, carries a lot of weight. Melling is very good in the lead role, and it’s kind of amazing how sultry but also sort of cute Skarsgård is here. More lighthearted than you might expect, but there’s some depth there too.
Is it gay? Yes, very much so. It was nominated for two Dorian Awards.
Where to watch: You may be able to watch it at a theater near you, but it’s not streaming yet.
A Private Life
Jodie Foster speaks French, but she’s not gay in A Private Life — you win some, you lose some. Foster plays Dr. Lilian Steiner, a psychiatrist in Paris. When one of her longtime patients dies, she becomes convinced it was foul play, and conducts an ill-advised investigation into the matter. She ropes in her ex-husband (Daniel Auteuil), struggles with her relationship with her son (Vincent Lacoste), and worries she’s losing her mind.
Part noir mystery and part dark comedy, A Private Life features a zippy, occasionally hairbrained plot. Foster’s performance is the film’s most compelling aspect. It’s great to see her out of her element — speaking French among locals, and appearing less and less competent at her job (her usual mode) as the film goes on. She’s so great here, presenting as an initially impenetrable character who becomes more interesting as the cracks begin to appear. The plot gets a little silly after a while, but Foster is really great, and her goofy dynamic with Auteuil is an unexpected delight.
Is it gay? Sadly, no. TW for Jodie Foster playing straight.
Where to watch: It might be playing in theaters near you, but it’s not streaming yet.
Highest 2 Lowest
I’ve barely seen anyone talking about Spike Lee’s most recent film, and that’s just not right. Highest 2 Lowest stars the legendary Denzel Washington as David King, a music mogul and founder of an influential record label. After putting up most of his assets in a bid to regain control of his business, a ransomer attempts kidnap his son, but makes a mistake and kidnaps the son of his friend Paul (Jeffrey Wright), instead. As David considers whether to pay the ransom for another man’s son, time may be running out for his kingdom.
A pseudo-remake of Akira Kurosawa’s influential 1963 film High and Low, Lee makes the story totally his own. Washington is stupendous in the lead role, letting you know exactly what kind of man David is within the first three minutes. Lee’s cinematic gifts are on full display here, and the film’s subway chase scene is a gorgeously shot showstopper. Things heat up in the best way when an expertly cast ASAP Rocky shows up, and I won’t tell you whether or not Washington throws down in a rap battle in this movie — you’ll just have to watch and find out. The rhapsodic score is a delight and gives the film a sense of old-school Hollywood bombast.
Is it gay? Nope.
Where to watch: Apple TV+.
See You Soon
Alexandra Swarens has been reliably cranking out low-budget lesbian films for the last decade, with seven feature films under her belt in the last seven years. (I interviewed Swarens in 2024 about her film The Holiday Club.) Her 2025 film See You Soon is her best yet. Sort of a Before Sunrise for the lesbian set, the film follows Kate (Swarens), who has a layover in Paris on the way to her sister’s wedding. She meets a French artist named Juliette (Clementine Pinet), and their night together blooms into something more.
Like all of Swarens’ films, See You Soon features naturalistic dialogue, which often appears improvised, and an unhurried pace. Swarens always has chemistry with her co-stars, but she and Pinet are especially well-matched for this whirlwind love story. The film’s emphasis on realism doesn’t detract from its sense of romance, which induces the warm fuzzies in part because of how low-key it is. Aspirational, but not out of reach. Watch until the end for a great reference to one of the all-time best lesbian films.
Is it gay? Yes, very much so.
Where to watch: Tubi, The Roku Channel, YouTube TV, for rent on Tello Films (with no ads).
Materialists
This is a controversial pick, because many folks did not like this film. I did, but I understand why it might rub people the wrong way. Materialists, Celine Song’s follow-up to Past Lives, stars Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a successful (though not wealthy) matchmaker. At the wedding of one of her clients, Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a charming billionaire who can give Lucy the life she wants. She also reconnects with her ex, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor. Money was one of the reasons the pair broke up.
Materialists has some pretty stark tonal shifts that upend your expectations, and I think account for a lot of people’s dislike of the movie. It begins with a sort of pitch-black cynicism about love that I found oddly appealing and then transforms into something else entirely. Dakota Johnson, who is very beautiful and charming in an off-kilter sort of way, makes sense in this movie, and I think Song utilized her alluring dispassion to great effect. I found it much more interesting than I thought it would, in part because it’s a kind of knotty movie – for better or for worse.
Is it gay? Nope.
Where to watch: HBO Max.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
A lot of people disliked Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere as well, so I guess I’m feeling controversial in my film opinions this year. It really moved me! The film follows Bruce Springsteen, played by Jeremy Allen White, as he moves through a dark period in his life while recording his classic 1982 record Nebraska. As Bruce grapples with depression and mulls over the difficult events of his childhood, his friends and family struggle to help him. Meanwhile, he digs into his most personal musical project yet.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere makes smart choices for a biopic, focusing only on a brief period of Bruce’s lengthy career for maximum emotional impact. White is great in the lead role, fully embodying The Boss and externalizing his inner turmoil without overdoing it. I really resonated with what Manohla Dargis said in her review of the film — that it really sits with sadness in a way few Hollywood films do. Bruce is in deep psychic pain here, and the movie has him marinate in his pain rather than breaking out of it in a hero’s journey.
Is it gay? Nope.
Where to watch: Hulu, Disney+, for rent on other platforms.
28 Years Later
Few legacy sequels have reached the dazzling heights of Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, which came out more than two decades after the genre-defining zombie flick 28 Days Later. In an homage to the first film, which was shot on a camcorder, 28 Years Later was shot primarily using an iPhone, giving it a sense of immediacy while also acknowledging the passage of time. A clear commentary on contemporary politics, 28 Years Later follows an isolated community founded on traditional values, drawing analogies between the film’s zombie outbreak and the isolationist developments of Brexit and COVID-19.
Beautifully shot and stunningly acted, 28 Years Later is a triumph of horror filmmaking. It follows 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams), who ventures outside of his compound with his father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). He returns to the island to retrieve his ill mother (Jodie Comer) and take her to an infamous doctor (Ralph Fiennes) living off the land. Both tender and terrifying, 28 Years Later is a sumptuous return to Boyle’s zombie roots. If you watch this film, be sure to check out its sequel, The Bone Temple, next.
Is it gay? Nope, but I know how some of you feel about Jodie Comer.
Where to watch: Netflix, for rent on other platforms.
Superman
I was skeptical going into Superman because the superhero genre has gotten so oversaturated, and I’m not a big fan of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, but I came away from it pleasantly surprised. In many ways, Superman is a return to form, a classic superhero story that recalls the good old days before the MCU and DECU. We’re introduced to Superman, aka Clark Kent (David Corenswet), without any backstory. This makes perfect sense, because we all know Superman’s origin story.
When we meet Superman, his intervention in foreign affairs is being questioned, he’s just lost a fight, and the public has begun to turn on him. He starts dating powerhouse journalist Lois Lane (a commanding Rachel Brosnahan) and draws the ire of his nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Corenswet makes a lovely Superman, and Krypto the dog is a total star who is only outshined by Brosnahan, whose snappy Lois Lane is just as formidable as her superpowered boyfriend. Superman has a ton of heart, is surprisingly politically prescient, and is a good reminder of how satisfying classic Hollywood storytelling can be.
Is it gay? No, but talk to me later about Lois Lane. Queer actress Isabella Merced plays Hawkgirl.
Where to watch: HBO Max.
Thanks for your opinion! I'm actually going to watch some of these sooner than I had originally planned now 😁