SUMMARY
Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under Sony and its labels, GLAAD has given Sony an INSUFFICIENT grade.
Highlights of Sony’s wide theatrical releases include a trans teen shining in A Man Called Otto and the exploration of Whitney Houston’s sexuality in the biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody. It would have been exciting to see more films beyond the drama genre include LGBTQ representation in wide releases.
Sony Picture Classics is known for documentaries and international films, and both these genres had LGBTQ-inclusive films last year. From bisexual leads in Return to Seoul and Hytti nro 6 to LGBTQ inclusion in music documentaries, Sony Pictures Classics tells many LGBTQ stories. Sadly, Sony’s streamer Crunchyroll contained no LGBTQ-inclusive films, despite the fact that the anime fanbase is full of eager queer consumers.
Overall, GLAAD hopes to see more LGBTQ inclusion in Sony’s future comedy, family, and animated slates to parallel their recent dramatic releases.
HISTORY
Founded as Cohn-Brant-Cohn Film Sales in 1918, the film studio was renamed Columbia Pictures in 1924. It began to garner prestige in the 1920’s for producing some of the biggest films and stars of the classic Hollywood era, as well as its association with director Frank Capra. For a brief period in the ‘80s, the studio was acquired by Coca-Cola and launched TriStar pictures. Columbia/TriStar was its own entity before Sony purchased it in 1989. Since 1992, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s specialty film label, has acquired, produced, and distributed independent, documentary and arthouse films. In April 2021, Sony entered into multi-year deals with Netflix and The Walt Disney Company to host films on their streaming platforms, Disney+ and Hulu, after their theatrical runs. Legendary Entertainment reached a distribution deal with Sony to distribute its future slate of films in November 2022, however, this deal does not include Warner Bros.’ Dune and MonsterVerse films. Currently, Sony distributes films from its many imprints including Columbia, Tristar, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen Gems, and Affirm.
The political thriller Advise and Consent (1962) included a subplot where a Senate chairman is blackmailed over an affair he had with another man prior to his death by suicide, and TriStar’s Basic Instinct (1993) led to LGBTQ groups, including GLAAD, denouncing vilified portrayals of lesbian and bisexual women. Sony Pictures Classics has released multiple high-profile LGBTQ films, such the documentary The Celluloid Closet (1995), based on GLAAD co-founder Vito Russo’s book of the same name, which explores LGBTQ representation throughout the history of cinema. Additional LGBTQ-inclusive films from Sony Pictures Classics include My Life in Pink (1997); Kill Your Darlings (2013); Pedro Almodóvar’s I’m So Excited! (2013); Love Is Strange (2014); Grandma (2015); The Meddler (2016); GLAAD Media Award winners Call Me By Your Name and A Fantastic Woman (2017); GLAAD Media Award nominee Pain and Glory (2019), Greed (2020), GLAAD Media Award winner Parallel Mothers (2021) and more.
This GLAAD Media Award-nominated film follows Otto, a man who is angry at the world after the death of his wife, Sonya. Slowly, over the course of the film, his hard veneer is chipped away by the kindness of his neighbors. One of those neighbors is Malcolm, a teen boy who Otto confronts about his paper delivery skills. Malcolm tells Otto that it’s one of his many jobs as he saves up for a car. He also confides in Otto that Sonya was one of the first people to support him through his transition, calling him Malcolm before many others did. Otto attempts to take his own life many times in this film, and one of them is interrupted by Malcolm knocking on his door, looking for a place to stay after his dad kicked him out for not being the child he wanted. Otto takes Malcolm in and teaches him about cars the way his own father taught him. This relationship clearly affects Otto in a positive way, bringing out a softer side of him. At the end of the film, when Otto passes away, he leaves his truck to Malcolm, showing the value of their relationship. Though Malcolm was not a lead character, it’s very welcome progress to see a young trans man play a pivotal and positive part in the major narrative of this movie. 
This biopic of legend Whitney Houston follows her rise to fame, her struggles with addiction, and her personal relationships. One of those is with Robyn Crawford, who was Whitney’s lover before her marriage. The film shows the tenderness of that relationship, and how the industry and press encouraged Whitney to end it. When Whitney sleeps with Jermaine Jackson, it causes Whitney and Robyn to fight, with Whitney citing the bible and saying they will go to hell for this relationship. Whitney and Robyn maintain a close friendship, even as she marries Bobby Brown, who Robyn has contentious relationship with. Ultimately, Robyn and Bobby’s tensions escalate and Robyn decides to leave Whitney’s life. The film also features bisexual record producer Clive Davis, who serves as another concerned party, trying to convince Whitney to go to rehab. His partner is also briefly featured. Overall, the film painted a tragic picture of the beloved singer and treated her queer relationship with respect and gravity.
This documentary highlights the art and cultural impact of Leonard Cohen’s work, particularly focusing on his song “Hallelujah.” Though Cohen has mentioned a latent interest in men in interviews, this facet of his identity was not highlighted in the documentary. There were, however, several LGBTQ musicians interviewed in the film. The most prominent was Brandi Carlile, who talked about “Hallelujah” and its impact with her own reckoning of her faith with her sexuality. Out singer Rufus Wainright also has a prominent role in the documentary, talking about his cover of “Hallelujah” making huge waves with its inclusion on the Shrek soundtrack. Other LGBTQ folks who appeared in the documentary but didn’t fall under GLAAD’s methodology include Clive Davis, Amanda Palmer, and Jeff Wasser, plus archival footage of k.d. lang performing the titular track. 
This drama follows a Finnish student, Laura, and a Russian miner, Ljoha, in a train compartment together and their ensuing relationship and conversation. Laura is seen early on in the film with her lover Irina. She speaks to Ljoha about both the love and the troubles in that relationship, and how Irina was supposed to come on this trip, but had to work; leaving Laura on her own. A romance develops between Laura and Ljoha on the train and the two kiss. This act does not invalidate Laura’s fraught relationship with Irina. Rather it shows the main character as a bisexual woman figuring out where she belongs. Having a queer protagonist in a film set in Russia in the ‘90s could have opened the gates for Laura to face prejudice from the world, particularly from Ljoha, but instead the film gave a nuance to Laura, with her queerness and relationship to Irina simply a facet of her identity. 
This film follows the release of country legend Tanya Tucker’s 2019 comeback album When I’m Livin’. The album is written and produced by out lesbian singer Brandi Carlile, who is very much the second lead of this documentary. Carlile touches on how Tucker’s toughness helped shape her ideas of gender and sexuality. She also introduces her wife and child to Tucker, who is very pleased to meet them. Carlile has become a music legend in her own right and this doc is a touching portrayal of her new friendship with her own idol.
This film follows Freddie, a woman who was born in South Korea and then was adopted by French parents as a baby. In the film, her flight to Tokyo is canceled and she decides to take an impromptu trip to Seoul, where she begins searching for her biologial parents. During the film, which takes place over several years, Freddie sleeps with several different men. She also attempts to kiss Tena, a woman who is her makeshift translator and friend in South Korea, who swiftly rejects her. Years later, when Freddie has a boyfriend, she invites another woman to kiss her boyfriend and watches. The film’s focus is not on Freddie’s sexuality, more on the complex dynamics with her biological parents and South Korea. However, these moments show that Freddie is attracted to women as well as men. Though not a huge part of the story, Freddie’s queerness adds a layer to an already complex character, and it is exciting to see a queer lead of a critically acclaimed independent film.