Laerte-se

Original title: Laerte-se (Brazil, 2017)

Director: Lygia Barbosa, Eliane Brum

Cast: Laerte Coutinho

Genre: Documentary

Plot: After showing herself as a man for almost 60 years, Laerte Coutinho, one of Brazil's most brilliant cartoonists, presents herself to the world as a woman.

Laurence Anyways

Original title: Laurence Anyways (Canada, France, 2012)

Director: Xavier Dolan

Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Suzanne Clément, Nathalie Baye, Monia Chokri

Genre: Drama

Plot: Laurence is a brilliant writer and literature professor in his late thirties, living happily with his partner, Fred. Their relationship is tested when Laurence tells Fred that, even though he loves her, he no longer feels comfortable as a male and wants to become a woman. Initially, Fred stays with him, and supports his transition process, but over time their relationship declines. They break up and Fred marries another man. After several years, the two meet again, and realize that their love never ended.

Notes: The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and won two awards: Best Actress (Suzanne Clément), and Queer Palm for Directing (the Queer Palm is an independent award given to LGBT-themed films during the Cannes Film Festival, founded in 2010 by journalist Franck Finance-Madureira, who organizes it every year).
Director Xavier Dolan was inspired to write "Laurence Anyways" after hearing the story of Luc Baillargé, who became Luce. At the time, Dolan was unaware that Lyse Lafontaine, the film's co-producer, had been Baillargé's girlfriend and that they had a son, Mikaël. Baillargé died of a heart attack before Laurence Anyways was completed; the film is dedicated to her.

Lingua Franca

Original title: Lingua Franca (USA, Philippines, 2019)

Director: Isabel Sandoval

Cast: Eamon Farren, Lev Gorn, Mark Nelson, Lynn Cohen, P.J. Boudousque, Shiloh Verrico

Genre: Drama

Plot: Olivia is a Filipino girl who works as a caregiver for an elderly Russian woman in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Her residence permit has expired and her only hope in getting a green card is to get married, which would give her the right to stay. When the possibility of a marriage of convenience with an American falls through, she begins a relationship with Alex, the Russian woman's nephew and an employee in a slaughterhouse. He does not know that she is a transgender woman. When he finds out, Alex feels his manhood threatened, and begins to exploit Olivia's fear of being deported from the United States to hurt her emotionally.

Lola

Original title: Lola (Germany, 2020)

Director: Francesca Tasini

Cast: Christina Andrea Rosamilia, Klaus Salminen, Giovanni Morassutti, Nikole Kehrberger, Tommaso Ragno, Florenz Hardt, Sophie Nobile, Margot Baraldi

Genre: Short movie

Plot: Lola is a transgender person who wants to be a mother. Together with her partner Johnathan, she embarks on the path of adoption, but things become complicated… will Lola be able to make her dream come true?

Notes: Awarded best LGBT film at the Paris Play Film Festival.

Lola Pater

Original title: Lola Pater (France, Belgium, 2017)

Director: Nadir Moknèche

Cast: Fanny Ardant, Tewfik Jallab, Nadia Kaci, Lucie Debay

Genre: Drama, comedy

Plot: Zino Chekib is an Algerian boy living in Paris. When his mother dies, Zino goes searching for his father, who left home when he was a child. Meanwhile, his father has transitioned and is now Lola, a charming woman who teaches dance and lives with a new partner. Initially, Lola hides the truth from her son, pretending to be a friend of his father’s, but then she reaches him in Paris and tells him the whole truth, trying to mend fences. Thus emerges Lola’s painful story, from her childhood in Algeria. The film then focuses on Zino and Lola’s difficulties in building a relationship.