Year seven of me putting together this challenge originally created by the brilliant Zā!
As always I've kept it to 40 criteria, many of which can be shorts if you choose, to ensure that it's a doable year long challenge.
Also as always, I would love it if people created their own fun bonus criteria!
Tag all of your reviews with Queerchallenge26 so we can read each others' reviews and post the link to your list in the comments below! I won't be creating a master list of participants but we can all find and like each others' lists in the comments.
If you have any trouble finding a movie to meet any of the criteria or simply don’t want…
Year seven of me putting together this challenge originally created by the brilliant Zā!
As always I've kept it to 40 criteria, many of which can be shorts if you choose, to ensure that it's a doable year long challenge.
Also as always, I would love it if people created their own fun bonus criteria!
Tag all of your reviews with Queerchallenge26 so we can read each others' reviews and post the link to your list in the comments below! I won't be creating a master list of participants but we can all find and like each others' lists in the comments.
If you have any trouble finding a movie to meet any of the criteria or simply don’t want to do that criteria (this is supposed to be fun not homework!), you can swap it out for a criteria from a past challenge. Past challenges:
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
John Waters will be turning 80 in 2026, so we're starting with a trifecta of criteria celebrating both him and Divine.
Here are the criteria for the 2026 Queer Film Challenge:
1. A film directed by John Waters starring Divine
2. A film directed by John Waters not starring Divine
3. A film starring Divine not directed by John Waters
4. One of the four films in which Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn costar (credit to Lollo and his dedication to this as a bonus criteria over the years, I just have one more to watch so I'm stealing it for this year!)
5. A film directed by Anucha Boonyawatana (once again credit to Lollo for including this as a bonus criteria in the past!)
6. A film directed by Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang
7. A film starring #ally Elizabeth Taylor
8. A film with costumes designed by Irene Sharaff
9. An Indigenous queer film
10. A film produced by David Lewis
11. A film directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
12. A film from Emma Tolkin’s “Be Gay Do Crime” list
13. A film starring Elliot Page
14. A film starring Olivia Thirlby
15. Any film from anyone's Trans Canon list
16. A film starring or a stand up special from Wanda Sykes
17. A film starring Cynthia Erivo
18. A film based on the writing of or featuring Sarah Waters
19. A film written by, based on a book by, starring, or directed by Bret Easton Ellis
20. A queer documentary
21. A film directed by a trans woman
22. A film directed by a trans man
23. A film by a non-binary or genderqueer director
24. A lesbian/WLW/sapphic film directed by a woman.
25. A lesbian/WLW/sapphic film directed by a man.
26. A gay/mlm film directed by a woman
27. A gay/mlm film directed by a man
28. A film featuring an asexual character, or one theorized to be asexual since it's not something that really gets as much identity in film.
29. A film featuring a bisexual character.
30. An Indian or Pakistani queer film
31. An African queer film
32. A Latin American queer film
33. A European queer film
34. A Middle Eastern queer film
35. An Asian queer film
36. A queer comedy
37. A queer horror movie
38. A sci fi movie with queer characters or directed by a queer person
39. An action movie with queer characters or directed by a queer person
40. An animated queer movie
