Queer Documentaries is a platform we launched in 2013. The platform, which announced itself again during Pride Week 2025 with its renewed face and updated archive, aims to bring together LGBTI+ documentaries produced around the world to make them visible and contribute to queer memory.
Since its inception, QDocs aims to publicize the powerful narratives of queer documentaries that question gender norms and open space for the multi-layered stories of LGBTI+ people. In an environment where freedom of expression is being restricted more and more every day, the ability of queer people to express themselves is directly related to the support and visibility of such productions that make a note in history. This is one of our main motivations for creating archives and the sustainability of archives.
Our website creates a comprehensive archive of queer documentaries from around the world by bringing together publicly available trailers and accessible content, as well as synopses and synopses of queer documentaries. We also make available the documentaries sent by the directors and authorized for screening through various platforms.
Many national and international documentaries have been archived to date. Although lists of LGBTI+ themed films are published in different sources, this work remains unique as a comprehensive and original digital archive that focuses only on queer documentaries and is constantly updated.
Queer Documentaries is not only an archive, but also a platform that meets with the community. We have organized many screenings and events so far. Especially the accessible documentary screenings we organized in collaboration with SPoD, in which 10 directors participated, are important examples of the solidarity and participatory structure of the platform. Such collaborations have enabled us to establish one-to-one contact with the audience and allowed the directors to make their voices heard directly.
Documentary cinema is a form of expression that can tell the political, personal and cultural dimensions of queer lives in depth. For this reason, documentary has a central place for us both as a means of memory keeping and as a site of resistance. Through documentaries, it is possible to make the invisible visible and to hear everyone’s unique story.
Queer Documentaries aims to translate the website, which is bilingual in Turkish and English, into more languages in the long run and transform it into a community-based structure with translation volunteers. We also aim to improve search facilities by filtering documentaries according to genres, themes and production regions, so that users can access the content they are interested in more easily. We plan to grow the space with activities such as documentary filmmaking workshops, community screenings, online publication support, meetings with filmmakers and academic-activist partnerships. We also aim to contribute to the queer documentary production and sharing ecosystem by establishing connections with international calls and networks. We aim to make documentaries accessible and provide a space where directors who want to make films can announce their work and calls for donations. We also plan to establish a solidarity network that brings together LGBTI+ directors and LGBTI+ people working in different fields of the industry.
