BFI Flare presents

The debut feature from acclaimed short filmmaker Claire Oakley is a riveting psycho-sexual drama in which nothing is quite what it seems.

This powerful tale of love behind bars won the Queer Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.

Gemma Arterton stars in acclaimed theatre director Jessica Swale’s moving Second World War drama, as a woman rediscovering her ability to love.

The classic high-school coming-out story gets a smart revision in this sharply perceptive teen drama.

Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger star as two very different women who fall in love in this 1950s-set romantic drama.

Delightfully unexpected buddy movie about a heartbroken TV weatherman's relationship with a migrant worker.

Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern's towering tall story hoaxes the world.

A blossoming friendship between two drag performers born 60 years apart is the subject of this emotionally engaging comedy.

Matt Smith stars as legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in this full-frontal homage to the devilish bad boy, whose sex life fuelled his career.

The simmering sexual tensions of a group of old friends come to the boil in this sizzling psychological drama, which playfully evokes the spirit of François Ozon.

Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.

Lukas Dhont's breathtaking debut feature encompasses the heartache, courage, and punishing training of a ballerina transitioning in her teenage years.

Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart captivate in this bodice-ripping retelling of the strange and fascinating case of Lizzie Borden.

The daily misfortunes of a lonesome rent boy are laid bare in this tough but tender portrait of life on the fringes of society.

After being released from prison, a young African American woman goes in search of her father.

Sensitive and increasingly different from his hyper-masculine brothers, a young boy faces the truth of his own desires.

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara illuminate Todd Haynes’ intoxicating adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s beloved novel.

A dream-like encounter between two ex-lovers becomes a meditation on love, life and loss in this hauntingly beautiful film.

A young gay man (Finnegan Oldfield ) flourishes under the tutelage of Isabelle Huppert's drama teacher, in this stirring drama from director Anne Fontaine (The Innocents).

An unflinching and sometimes graphic account of the life, art and legacy of the legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Alex Lawther is outstanding as a teenage rebel in this tale of an unrepentant high-school outsider, directed by Trudie Styler.

A young man falls for the new boy at school in this energetic and inventive adaptation of Andreas Steinhoefel’s acclaimed YA novel.

Russell Tovey stars as a Premier League footballer who shares a fumbled pass (of the sexual kind) with a teammate (Arinzé Kene), changing everything - both on and off the pitch.

Celebratory yet reflective documentary charting the LGBTQ+ movement's momentous journey towards equality.

Rupert Everett astounds as Oscar Wilde, depicting the fallen star in the final years of his life, in this heartfelt and captivating passion project.

Andrew Steggall’s deft and delicate drama about a teenage dreamer who falls for the rough beauty of a local boy while staying in France.

Winner of the 2017 Oscar for Best Picture (eventually!), Barry Jenkins’ intoxicating drama follows the furtive life of a gay black boy through 80s Miami.

A gorgeously photographed, teasingly libidinous exercise in latent homoeroticism set over a long hot summer in Buenos Aires.

A sweepingly romantic adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s best-selling memoir, an impassioned love letter to his partner, John Caleo.

Dry, sarcastic, maddening Mary must find a date for her best friend’s wedding in this Irish feel-good hit for misfits everywhere.

Ben Whishaw stars in an intimate portrait of two strangers brought together by the common language of grief.

Lush retelling of the story of lesbian monarch Queen Christina of Sweden, combining period drama with a deeply personal love story.

When an adventurous trio set off for the secluded island of Amen, they're blissfully unaware of the horrors that lie in wait, in this indie bisexual riff on The Wicker Man.

Kristen Wiig plays a woman trying to start a family with a gay couple, in this biting black comedy set among a diverse Brooklyn community.

Writer-director Philipp Garner also stars in this refreshing gay drama, a portrait of a couple trying to make it work in the film world of Los Angeles.

This deeply intimate portrait of an Argentine football club is a forensic, fetishistic expose of soccer’s clandestine dressing-room culture.

A thrilling and disturbing exploration of the perils of illicit sexual encounters, beginning when a teacher initiates a tryst with one of his pupils.

The journey of a true English eccentric, from his 1960s experiments with gay erotica to a reappraisal 40 years later as an LGBT pioneer.

Ira Sachs’s refined Manhattan-set drama sees Alfred Molina’s Ben and John Lithgow’s George in the latter days of a tender, loving 39-year relationship.

A troubled teen finds love during a summer spent at a horse ranch, in this captivating lesbian drama from cult director Monika Treut.

A tragic event brings together a Brazilian lifeguard and a German tourist in Karim Aïnouz’s hypnotic melodrama.

A striking 21st-century love story about the passionate relationship between a transgendered teen and a straight man.

Michael Douglas dazzles as the flamboyant virtuoso pianist Liberace in this fascinating biopic by Steven Soderbergh.

An astonishing behind-the-scenes documentary following the famed fashion house’s new artistic director as he prepares his first collection.

The epic, passionate and strikingly naturalistic Palme d'Or-winning romance.

Three high-school girls wage war to win the latest must-have social accessory - a Gay Best Friend.

Mia is engaged to marry a man, but finds herself falling for Frida, who happens to be her new stepmother's daughter.

An assured and authentic lesbian coming-of-age drama, boasting a mesmerising and heartfelt lead performance.

Dark psychosexual thriller from prodigious Canadian director Xavier Dolan, following a young man who finds himself embroiled in a dangerous game of deception.

A wonderfully evocative period drama exploring the telling details of gay life in San Francisco in 1985 with a fantastically upbeat 80s soundtrack.

In order to impress an girl, a struggling filmmaker agrees to write an all-female retelling of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years) made his feature debut with this bold, sexually explicit drama-documentary about London rent boys.

In Pinochet's Chile, a 14-year-old boy becomes a media sensation after claiming to have witnessed visions of the Virgin Mary.

A gay British-Chinese man refuses to date Chinese men. But then Jai Ming moves in next door.

A mysterious, exotic and riveting drama about a nameless man discovered naked on a riverbank, who forms a bond with the hospital assistant who can communicate with him.

Reflective calm and ambient beauty suffuse this tale of silent sexuality, as a lonely farmer’s quiet existence is interrupted by desire.

Touching drama about a thirtysomething comedian looking for happiness.

James Franco stars in this provocative film about Michael Glatze, a pioneering gay rights activist who later denounced his homosexuality.

A married butcher in Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox Jewish quarter falls for a beautiful young man in this outstanding Israeli feature.

A filmmaker escapes the pain of a break-up through casual sex and meets a closeted lawyer in this deeply personal work from Ira Sachs.

A pair of teenage skateboarders find themselves drawn into a murky criminal underworld in this distinctive thriller.

A chance encounter between a Moroccan boy and a Spanish teen alters the course of their lives.

Cillian Murphy is extraordinary as a transgender foundling searching for her lost mother, in Neil Jordan’s runaway romp.

Pulsating with life and pounding with urgency, Robin Campillo’s extraordinary account of 1990s AIDS activism is a rousing, sensual and heart-breaking celebration of personal and political resistance.

Shailene Woodley and Eva Green star in Gregg Araki’s lyrical and impressionistic adaptation of Laura Kasischke’s novel.

This invigorating and inspiring Chilean drama from Sebastián Lelio (Gloria) follows a trans woman’s quest for a little respect. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film 2018.

An obsessive-compulsive hotel cleaner (Vicky Krieps) who harbours a fetishistic fascination with her hotel's guests meets an enigmatic dominatrix who changes her world.

In one desperate night, four disparate gay men cruise Philadelphia in pursuit of ever-elusive human connection.

Two young men meet on the sports field and fall in love. But there’s a family secret which resurfaces and threatens to tear them apart.

Documenting the testimonies from those who dared to challenge the world and helped create the modern gay community.