Best movies like Where There Is Shade
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In Cambodia still haunted by the crimes of the Khmer Rouges, a 45 years old French crossdresser, Mirinda, lives as a prostitute in the backstreets of Phnom Penh. Meeting a young trafficked girl, he gradually discovers the feeling of fatherhood.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 47
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Cambodia
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Where There Is Shade (2015):
Similar in 79%
White Shadow (2013)
Plot Summary:
Since 2008, albinos in Tanzania have become human targets. Witch doctors offer huge sums of cash for their body parts to be used in magic potions. From 2008 to 2010, more than 200 witch-doctor inspired murders occurred. As a local saying goes: “Albinos do not die, they just disappear.” This is the story of Alias, an albino boy on the run. After his father’s murder, his mother sends him to the city. His uncle Kosmos, a truck driver, takes care of him. Alias learns fast in the city, selling sunglasses, DVDs and cellphones, it will not take long before the boy experiences at first hand the difficulties of life and of being different.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 409
Genere: Drama
Country: Tanzania, Germany, Italy
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, touching, suspense, existential horror, offbeat
Similar in 76%
Bugis Street (1995)
Plot Summary:
It’s monsoon season in Singapore. Bugis Street, the epicentre of multisexual nightlife and unchained libido, is where a band of hedonistic, transidentical poeple has taken root at wacky love hotel SinSin.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 151
Genere: Drama
Country: Singapore
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: erotic, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy, gay cinema
Similar in 75%
All Mistakes Buried (2015)
Plot Summary:
A lone, struggling addict takes on a dangerous underground criminal ring in his small Southern town to retrieve a stolen pendant he believes will save his marriage.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 408
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 75%
Unspoken Passion (2008)
Plot Summary:
Sikil tells the story of two men and a woman who are involved in a bizarre love triangle. These three friends grew up in a small town south of Manila. Enzo is a young closet gay prostitute who's obsessed with his childhood friend who happens to be a call-boy and has a girlfriend. Other interesting characters are the bi-sexual pimp, a regular bathhouse customer, and a sampaguita vendor-pickpocket-shoplifter and caretaker of Adong's daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 103
Genere: Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, erotic, offbeat, sexual, sexy
Similar in 84%
The Fruit Machine (1988)
Plot Summary:
Eddie and Michael are two 16-year-old gay friends from Liverpool. Berated by his father for his camp behavior, Eddie runs away from his Liverpool home and joins Michael, a streetwise hustler, who is also on the run.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, serious, grindhouse, independent film, realistic, crying, crime drama, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 76%
The Stranger in Us (2010)
Plot Summary:
In this verité-style drama, Anthony, a newcomer to San Francisco, attempts to come to terms with his abusive ex-lover when he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a street hustler.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 530
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, emotional, captivating, independent film, touching, serious, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Sous X (2015)
Plot Summary:
Jean-Jacques spent 9 years in prison for robbery. When he comes out, he finds the neighborhood where he grew up but things have changed ... The country is in crisis, the young people are holding the business and his old friends are urging him to resume his activities ... It may be for Jean-Jacques the time to ask the right questions.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 45
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Love in the Time of Civil War (2014)
Plot Summary:
Lauded Quebec filmmaker Rodrigue Jean (Lost Song) takes a fearless, unflinching look at the reality of addiction in this tough-minded docudrama set in the bleak milieu of hustlers and junkies in Montreal.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 498
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, realistic, disturbing, serious
Similar in 75%
Holly (2006)
Plot Summary:
Shot on location in Cambodia, including many scenes in actual brothels in the notorious red light district of Phnom Penh, HOLLY is a captivating, touching and emotional experience. Patrick, an American card shark and dealer of stolen artifacts, has been 'comfortably numb' in Cambodia for years, when he encounters Holly, a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl, in the K11 red light village. The girl has been sold by her impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 913
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, France, Israel, Cambodia
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, psychological, touching, bleak, sincere, sad, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 85%
The Dune (2013)
Plot Summary:
An Israeli man searches for his father in France.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 268
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Israel
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, psychological, sincere, serious, gloomy, detective
Similar in 89%
Lea (2011)
Plot Summary:
Léa lives in Le Havre, where she attends college whilst taking care of her elderly grandmother. To make ends meet, she works as a waitress in a night club. Her admittance to the Institute of Political Studies in Paris offers her new opportunities, but at a high price. Léa finds work as a striptease artist, so that each evening she can put into practice the theory of economic liberalism which she learns by day.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 425
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexy, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, explicit, gloomy, sexual, hot
Similar in 83%
Sworn Virgin (2015)
Plot Summary:
Years after declaring her eternal virginity and opting to live life as a man in the mountains of Albania, Hana looks to return to living as a woman as she settles into a new existence in modern-day Milan.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Albania, Kosovo, France
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, psychological, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, lgbt cinema, queer cinema, moody
Similar in 76%
A Woman's Way (2009)
Plot Summary:
George is released from prison after 14 years of incarceration for a murder he committed in his small Greek village. He spends his first night out in a cheap downtown hotel in Athens. There he meets Strella, a young transsexual prostitute. They spend the night together and soon they fall in love. But the past is catching up with George. With Strella on his side he will have to find a new way out.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, captivating, erotic, sexy, surreal, disturbing, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 86%
The Story of the Stone (2018)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of an 18th century Chinese classic remixed for an honest depiction of gay life in Taipei in the 21st century.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 179
Genere: Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, contemplative
Similar in 81%
A Perfect Son (2000)
Plot Summary:
A man's terminal illness reunites him with his estranged brother.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 361
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, independent film, sincere, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 84%
Man at Bath (2010)
Plot Summary:
Omar and Emmanuel go to great lengths to prove they are not in love.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, contemplative, psychological, captivating, erotic, sincere, serious, sexual, independent film
Similar in 77%
Initiation (2009)
Plot Summary:
16-year old Axel and his clique are rioting in a residential home. There he meets the 80-year old Gustav who gains interest in the young boy, as he reminds him of his lost love.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 176
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria, Germany
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Refuge (2017)
Plot Summary:
The lives of a Hollywood actress battling drug addiction, a teen with a violent past, a teacher fighting to keep a dream alive, and a cop caught in a love triangle are brought together by fate.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 30
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, touching, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Sex My Life (2008)
Plot Summary:
Tells the story of seven Iranian transgender individuals living in Tehran who live pieces of their own lives on the screen.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 82
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 76 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, sincere, touching, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
Melting Away (2011)
Plot Summary:
Shlomo who discovers in his son's Assaf room, women's clothing and accessories, decides to 'teach the boy a lesson'. When Assaf returns to his parents' home on a rainy night from a party, his attempts to enter home fail. His father, with the silent consent of his mother, locked the door. At present, 4 years later, Gallia turns to an investigation agency to help her find her son Assaf and bring him to Shlomo, his father who is dying of cancer. One night, at a night club in Tel Aviv, Assaf is seen performing as a beautiful transgender lady singer who goes by the name of Anna. After a few days a private nurse turns up at Shlomo's room at the hospital, sent as she claims by the insurance agency to assist Shlomo. The nurse is Anna (his son Assaf) and she manages to conquer Shlomo's heart by her charming personality and her special attitude toward life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 194
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel, Canada
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, touching, realistic, captivating, psychological, sincere, serious
Similar in 75%
Gun Hill Road (2011)
Plot Summary:
An ex-con returns home to the Bronx after three year in prison to discover his wife estranged and his teenage son exploring a sexual transformation that will put the fragile bonds of their family to the test.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film, queer cinema, bilingual
Similar in 85%
Quick Change (2013)
Plot Summary:
Dorina is a transsexual woman. She’s got herself a flourishing career, albeit in an illegal cosmetic surgery business. She is a mother figure to Hero, her eight year old nephew, and a devoted wife to Uno. Between her job and her family, Dorina feels that she is one lucky woman. Until Uno falls in love.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 57
Genere: Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, bleak
Similar in 79%
The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone (2009)
Plot Summary:
Tony Luke, Jr. stars as Joey Nardone, an out-of-shape boxer, who after 8 years in prison for an unfortunate accident leaves prison and gets a shot at redemption by fighting for one young boy's future - 14 year old Jesus.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 486
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 79%
Between Something & Nothing (2008)
Plot Summary:
BETWEEN SOMETHING & NOTHING is based on filmmaker Todd Verow’s experiences at Rhode Island School of Design. After being accepted into a prestigious New England art school, sexy small-town JOE and townie mastermind JENNIFER quickly join forces. They are determined to succeed on a campus over-populated with jaded mega-rich kids awash in trust funds, abortions and drugs galore.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, independent film, captivating, suspenseful, erotic, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Darker Than Midnight (2014)
Plot Summary:
Davide is different from the other teenagers. Something makes him look like a girl. Davide is fourteen when he runs away from home. His intuition leads him to choose Villa Bellini, a park in Catania, as a refuge. The park is a world in itself, a world of the marginalized, to which the rest of the city turns a blind eye. But one day the past catches up and Davide has to face the most difficult choice, this time alone.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 355
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
The Other Family (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jean Paul and Chema have been together ten years. They have successful careers, a comfortable home and many friends. But that's all turned turned upside down when close friend Ivana rescues Hendrix from his broken home and asks them to care for the boy. Hendrix's mother Nina is a drug addict who suffers at the hands of her abusive partner Patrick. The men begin to consider making Hendrix part of their family. ~ Baseline StudioSystems.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 891
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, touching, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
FAQs (2005)
Plot Summary:
After living on the tough streets of LA for a while, India hopes that every gay basher will meet his destiny. In this case Destiny is a black, 6 foot, high heel wearing, gun toting, drag queen with an attitude and a soft place in her heart for homeless gay boys.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 528
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, talky, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Tattoo (2013)
Plot Summary:
Brazil, 1978. The military dictatorship that resulted from a coup in 1964 begins to stumble. In a cabaret-like theater located on the periphery between two cities in the northeast of Brazil, a group of artists challenges power and conventional morality with theater plays and public interferences. Led by Clécio Wanderley, the troupe Chão de Estrelas, strongly supported by its homosexual audience, along with intellectuals and other artists, practices political resistance through anarchy and mockery.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, disturbing, captivating, realistic, period piece, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 82%
Cal (2013)
Plot Summary:
Twenty-year-old Cal returns from France to Britain after receiving news that his mother is ill. His finds his home city of Bristol facing hard economic times brought on by the global economic crisis, with poverty and crime on the rise and rioting and looting almost a nightly occurrence. It is not a warm homecoming as his sick mother remains stubbornly homophobic and wants nothing to do with the now openingly gay Cal while his battered Auntie Jane, now living in a run down council house, dulls her stagnation with welfare funded booze and disturbing attempts to sexually seduce her nephew. Navigating his way across this new landscape he meets a young student who needs his help. However his act of kindness brings him into contact with a lawless drug dealing pimp and a race against time to make peace with his mother and get out of town as quickly as possible. An intense tale of a family mired in poverty, angry and lost but still searching for love, respect and acceptance.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 474
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, erotic, tense, gloomy, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
Absence (2014)
Plot Summary:
A daily, familiar, sexual and emotional drama. Based on the character Serginho, the plot is based around various aspects of this "no longer a boy, not yet a man". We follow his day to day: the recently acquired role of man of the house, taking care of his mother and younger brother; is work at the market; his friendship with Mudinho and Silvinha; and his confusing relationship, between sex and affection, with professor Ney. The film is a tapestry of the life moments of a boy in transition.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 177
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil, Chile, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, bleak