Kino Lorber 

Founded as Kino International in 1997, the company combined the resources of Kino International, Lorber Films, and Alive Mind Cinema in 2009 to form Kino Lorber. Kino Lorber specializes in art house, documentary, and international films. In 2017, the studio released GLAAD Media Award-nominated South African drama The Wound, which follows closeted men during the Xhosa initiation ritual. In 2022, Kino Lorber released GLAAD Media Award-winning documentary Framing Agnes, in which a group of trans actors confront the legacy of trans people forced to choose between honesty and access to gender affirming care, executive produced by GLAAD’s Director of Transgender Representation, Alex Schmider. They also distributed queer director Saul William’s GLAAD Media Award-nominated film Neptune Frost, a sci-fi social justice musical following the relationship between the titular character Neptune, an intersex runaway, and Matalusa, a coltan miner, who together lead a hacker collective.

Magnolia Pictures

Magnolia Pictures, founded in 2001, is a subsidiary of 2929 Entertainment and specializes in independent and international releases. Previous LGBTQ-inclusive highlights include GLAAD Media Award winner Tangerine (2015), GLAAD Media Award nominee The Handmaiden (2016), Whose Streets (2017), Skate Kitchen (2018), and GLAAD Media Award nominee Swan Song (2021). In 2022, they released GLAAD Media Award nominee Anaïs in Love, a French romantic comedy centering on the titular bisexual lead as she becomes enchanted by literacy scholar Emilie, despite having an affair with her husband. 

NEON 

Neon was founded in 2017 and has released numerous award-winning and far-reaching independent films. In 2021, Bleecker Street partnered with Neon to create the joint home entertainment distribution company Decal, which launched in February with the Bleecker Street release Supernova (2021), an LGBTQ love story. Neon’s LGBTQ inclusive highlights include the critically acclaimed sapphic French romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019); GLAAD Media Award and Academy Award-nominated animated documentary Flee (2021); Kristen Stewart-led historical drama Spencer; and Ailey (2021), which paints a portrait of iconic dancer Alvin Ailey. In 2022, Neon distributed GLAAD Media Award-nominated documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which tells the story of bisexual photographer and recovering Oxy-Contin addict Nan Goldin and her mission to shame members of the Sackler family pharma dynasty for willfully helping fuel America’s opioid crisis. 

Roadside Attractions

Roadside Attractions was founded in 2003 by Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. In 2007, Lionsgate bought a minority stake of the studio and the company continues to release independent films. Notable LGBTQ-inclusive films previously released by Roadside include GLAAD Media Award winner I Love You Phillip Morris (2010); GLAAD Media Award nominees Dear White People (2014) and The Skeleton Twins (2014); Hello, My Name is Doris (2016); Whitney (2018); and GLAAD Media Award nominee Judy (2019). In 2022, Roadside distributed GLAAD Media Award-nominated war films Benediction, which paints a portrait of gay World War I era English poet Siegfried Sassoon, and Firebird, which follows a troubled soldier in the height of the Cold War in a forbidden queer love triangle. 

Oscilloscope

Oscilloscope Laboratories is an NYC-based independent feature film company founded in 2008 by Adam Yauch and TH!NKFilm executive David Fenkel (who later co-founded A24). In 2008, Dan Berger was named president of the company and signed a deal with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution in 2009. Oscilloscope’s previous LGBTQ-inclusive films include the GLAAD Media Award nominee No Ordinary Man (2021), which tells the story of trans musician Billy Tipton through the lens of trans performers and artists. In 2022, Oscilloscope released the GLAAD Media Award-nominated documentary Sirens, centering on the first and only all-women metal band in Lebanon, Slave to Sirens, whose members wrestle with friendship and sexuality while bringing refuge to Beirut’s youth.

Strand Releasing 

Strand Releasing was founded in 1989 as a distribution company for LGBTQ films, but has since expanded their repertoire without losing sight of their queer roots. Previous inclusive films include The Living End (1992); Yossi and Jagger (2002); documentary Mala Mala (2014), which spotlights Puerto Rico’s queer and trans community; GLAAD Media Award nominee Monsoon (2020); Straight Up (2020); Guatemalan drama José (2020); GLAAD Media Award nominee Twilight’s Kiss (2021); Cicada (2021) The Winner (2021); and Minyan (2021). In 2022, Strand Releasing debuted GLAAD Media Award nominee Girl Picture, a Finnish coming-of-age film featuring teen lovers Mimmi and Emma as they explore their sexualities. 

Wolfe Releasing

Wolfe Releasing is the oldest and largest North American distributor of LGBTQ films, founded in 1985. Past studio releases include Brother to Brother (2004), an unprecedented exploration of Black gay culture during the Harlem Renaissance; GLAAD Media Award nominees Boy Meets Girl (2015) and Naz Maalik (2015); An Almost Ordinary Summer (2020); Good Kisser (2020); Milkwater (2021); and GLAAD Media Award nominee The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2021). In 2022, Wolfe Releasing distributed GLAAD Media Award nominee Death and Bowling, which focuses on struggling actor X’s lesbian bowling league, Lavender League Bowling Club, after the team’s matriarch passes away.