Movies Like Va-Bene

If you liked Va-Bene (2018), a movie directed by Brenda Akele Jorde, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Whip It (2009)
★ 6.7/10
In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin.
2
I Am Divine (2014)
★ 7.3/10
Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty…
3
Skin (2009)
★ 6.4/10
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
4
Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
★ 6.7/10
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest…
5
The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
★ 6.3/10
The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers as the female Christ.
6
Three Christs (2017)
★ 6.7/10
Dr. Alan Stone breaks new ground for treatment of the mentally ill through an experiment on three paranoid schizophrenic patients who believe they are Jesus Christ.
7
Lemonade (2016)
★ 8.4/10
The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.
8
Gracie (2007)
★ 6.2/10
A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.
9
Salomé (2013)
★ 6.1/10
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé…
10
3 Generations (2016)
★ 6.4/10
A teenager transitions from female to male, and his family must come to terms with that fact.
11
Godspell (1973)
★ 6.7/10
In modern-day New York City, John the Baptist calls out to a group of young men and women to learn from the teachings of Jesus. Through song and dance, they relive Christ's crucifixion.
12
Lowriders (2017)
★ 6.7/10
A young street artist in East Los Angeles is caught between his father's obsession with lowrider car culture, his ex-felon brother and his need for self-expression.
13
Home (2021)
★ 6.7/10
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
14
I Am Vanessa Guillen (2022)
★ 7.5/10
Vanessa Guillen was 20 years old when she was found murdered at a US Army base. Rather than submit to silence, her family fought for justice and change.
15
Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
★ 7/10
11-year-old Akeelah Anderson has a way with words. After winning her schoolwide spelling bee, she decides to enter the competition, despite her classmates' derision and the antipathy of her mother Tanya. Thanks to the…
16
The Forge (2024)
★ 8.2/10
19 year old Isaiah Wright lives for basketball and video games. A year out of high school, he has no job, no plans, and no idea how to be a man. At odds with his single mother Cynthia, Isaiah is given an ultimatum – to…
17
Switch (1991)
★ 5.9/10
Steve Brooks, a sexist womanizer, is killed by a group of his angry former lovers. In heaven, he makes a bargain with God for redemption and agrees to return to Earth. Once there, he must have a sincere relationship…
18
The Starling Girl (2023)
★ 6.3/10
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
19
Pope Joan (2009)
★ 6.8/10
A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
20
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
★ 6.9/10
Pennsylvania, 1993. After getting caught with another girl, teenager Cameron Post is sent to a conversion therapy center run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick, whose treatment consists in…