MUBI Celebrates Pride Month With The "We've Always Been Here! Queer Cinema Looks Back" Collection

With movies such as The Handmaiden and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, MUBI celebrates Pride Month with their “We’ve Always Been Here! Queer Cinema Looks Back” collection.

In celebration of Pride Month, MUBI, the global distributor, streaming service, and production company, proudly announces the addition of The Handmaiden (2016) and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) to its upcoming Pride film season. The season is titled We’ve Always Been Here! Queer Cinema Looks Back. This collection returns to the past in search of queer lives and histories too often erased or undocumented. Moreover, it moves across centuries and styles — from lush period dramas to works that excavate cinema’s own archives. These films reconstruct history through imagination, speculation, and fragments. In doing so, they celebrate queer existence not as hidden history, but as something that has always endured.

The two new additions available to stream for We’ve Always Been Here! Queer Cinema Looks Back joins several other queer favorites already streaming on the platform, including Paul Herhoeven’s Benedetta (2021), Sebastian Meise’s Great Freedom (2021), Pedro Almodóvar’s short Strange Way of Life (2023), Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam (2024), and Luca Guadagnino’s Queer (2024).

MUBI’s We’ve Always Been Here! Queer Cinema Looks Back film season will be available to stream throughout the month of June and beyond. Movie lovers, fans of LGBTQ+ cinema, and anyone looking for powerful, inclusive stories are invited to celebrate Pride Month with this engaging lineup of films.

WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE! QUEER CINEMA LOOKS BACK PROGRAMMING

The Handmaiden (Park, 2016) – Coming June 1

In 1930s Korea, a new girl starts working as a handmaiden for a Japanese heiress living a secluded life on a sprawling countryside estate. However, the maid hides a secret: she’s a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count. Together, they plot to seduce the heiress and steal her fortune.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Sciamma, 2019) – Coming June 1

In late 18th-century France, painter Marianne is commissioned by a countess to paint the wedding portrait of her daughter Héloïse. While posing as her hired companion, Marianne is instructed to complete the portrait in secret. However, intimacy and attraction begin to blossom between the two women.

ALSO STREAMING DURING THE SEASON

Benedetta (Verhoeven, 2021) – Now Streaming

A scandalous lesbian affair rocks a quiet convent in 17th-century Tuscany. Benedetta, a nun visited by increasingly sensual and violent visions of Jesus, arouses the suspicions of abbess Sister Felicita. Distrust grows when the new arrival, Bartolomea, develops a dangerous attraction for Benedetta.

Great Freedom (Meise, 2021) – Now Streaming

In post-war Germany, liberation by the Allies did not mean freedom for everyone. Hans is imprisoned again and again under Paragraph 175, a law criminalizing homosexuality. Over the course of decades, he develops an unlikely yet tender bond with his cellmate Viktor, a convicted murderer.

Strange Way of Life (Almodóvar, 2023) – Now Streaming

After 25 years apart, rancher Silva rides across the desert to visit his former flame, town sheriff Jake. But after an evening of shared intimacy, reminiscing, and reconciliation, the revelation of both men’s link to a local crime suggests there is more to their meeting than a trip down memory lane.

Việt and Nam (Trương, 2024) – Now Streaming

In the dark underground passages of a coal mine in northern Vietnam, two young miners steal moments of intimacy and desire, their naked bodies pressed against the dark rocks. Nam is haunted by the past and plans to escape the country, but is grounded by the love he shares with Viêt.

Queer (Guadagnino, 2024) – Now Streaming

1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, an expat former soldier, shows him that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection.

MUBI To Release Luca Guadagnino's Queer On DVD, Blu-Ray & UHD Blu-Ray On May 26th

Pride programming will be available to watch on MUBI throughout June and beyond

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Carl Roberts

Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.

He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.