'All Boys Aren't Blue,' 'Unapologetic': The 4 best LGBTQ films we watched at Outfest Fusion 2021

Are you craving bracing, thought-proving LGBTQ cinema? Look no further than the movies featured at this year's 18th annual Outfest Fusion Film Festival, which celebrates QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, indigenous and people of color).

From Black queer activists in Chicago standing up to police to Latina transgender sex workers in New York fighting persecution of their own, this year's slate of movies remind audiences of how critical it is to listen to underrepresented communities to better understand them – and that no community is a monolith.

Between April 16 and 20, those interested in watching films spearheadead by many queer and trans filmmakers of color can check out online screenings and several outdoor drive-in viewings in Los Angeles ($10 on-demand for individual films or $99 for an all-access pass; drive-ins cost $30 per vehicle and $8 per passenger). The festival will show 10 features and more than 40 short films from 18 countries.

We watched a sampling of the 10 feature films from this year's festival and picked our favorites (we already saw the excellent "Ma Belle My Beauty" at the Sundance Film Festival, which is also streaming at Outfest Fusion). Here's a look at what stood out:

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'All Boys Aren't Blue'

Non-binary writer George M. Johnson's memoir comes to life in this beautiful short feature, with different narrators (Bernard David Jones, Dyllon Burnside and Thomas Hobson) appearing as Johnson at different stages of the author's life. The film, directed by Nathan Hale Williams and reminiscent in its approach to Kamilah Forbes' adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between the World and Me," touches on issues of Black masculinity and Black queerness. Viewers will feel chills listening to Johnson's words – these in particular: "One way of being a man means you must be straight. Masculine. I didn't have the ability to separate my blackness from my queerness."

'Caught (Caer)'

This film mixes documentary and fiction in telling the stories of Rosa and Paloma, two transgender Latina sex workers in Queens, New York. Non-profit organization TRANSgrediendo Intercultural Collective members star in the film, and the movie was also written, produced and edited in collaboration with the group. "Caught," directed by Nicola Mai, digs into the complexities and nuances behind sex work, and also shows something rare in films that cover the transgender community: moments of joy and friendship. It's a must-watch to educate yourself on the transgender community and sex worker concerns.

'Kapana'

Same-sex relationships are still subject to criminalization in Namibia – which makes this story, billed as the first gay love story out of the country, all the more striking. Out middle-class insurance broker George falls for closeted working-class food vendor Simeon, complicating both of their worlds in "Kapana," directed by Philippe Talavera. Their budding romance reveals the shame and stigma the African community faces, and the movie does an excellent job educating its audience about HIV and specifically PrEP, the drug that helps prevent contracting HIV.

'Unapologetic'

This Ashley O'Shay-directed documentary about protests against police violence features queer Black organizers Janaé Bonsu and Ambru Gambrell (who uses the name Bella BAHHS professionally) in Chicago, tracking everything from the aftermath of the 2012 killing of Rekia Boyd to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's election in 2019. The subject remains disturbingly relevant given the ongoing Derek Chauvin murder trial for the death of George Floyd and the killing of Daunte Wright.

In case you missed this over the summer: Outfest 2020: The 5 best LGBTQ+ films we watched (from 'Shiva Baby' to 'Cured')

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Outfest Fusion 2021: The 4 best queer, transgender films we watched