Top 10 Most Diverse Films of 2023
Graded on Gender, Race, LGBTQ, Disability, and more
Written by Li Lai
Previous Top 10 Most Diverse Films: 2023 / 2022 / 2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017
2023 has wrapped, so we’re taking this New Year’s Day to celebrate the most inclusive films that came out last year. For folks new to our publication, a quick rundown: We score movies based on metrics for gender parity and racial diversity, taking into account the representation of LGBTQ, adults over 60, disabilities, religions, and body diversity. (See our full methodology here.)
Our top picks are by no means exhaustive, and if we had all the bandwidth in the world, this list would look a bit different. We didn’t review some great films like The Color Purple, Cassandro, Joyland, and Rye Lane, but they champion fresh voices and we applaud them all the same.
Now, without further ado, here are Mediaversity’s Top 10 Most Diverse Films of the year!
10. The Holdovers
Da’Vine Joy Randolph absolutely carries The Holdovers, her bereaved character written with depth, family, and backstory in this feel-good movie about imperfect humans finding comfort in each other.
Mediaversity Grade: B+
The Holdovers is currently streaming on Peacock and available for purchase on other platforms.
9. Polite Society
Known for her comedy series We Are Lady Parts, British Pakistani director Nida Manzoor delivers more lovable young Muslim heroines in her feature debut, Polite Society.
Mediaversity Grade: A-
Polite Society is currently streaming on Prime Video and rentable on other platforms.
8. Little Richard: I Am Everything
Lisa Cortes’ enjoyable documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything showcases the titular Black musical pioneer and isn’t afraid to critique Richard’s later denouncement of his own queer identity.
Mediaversity Grade: A-
Little Richard: I Am Everything is currently streaming on Max and rentable on other platforms.
7. Bottoms
Queer and Jewish director Emma Seligman follows up their critically acclaimed Shiva Baby (2020) with Bottoms, a high school sex comedy featuring Black and lesbian main characters.
Mediaversity Grade: A-
Bottoms is currently streaming on MGM+ and rentable on other platforms.
6. KOKOMO CITY
Music producer and trans woman D. Smith directs documentary KOKOMO CITY, using an intimate yet refreshingly quotidian lens to chat with NYC- and Atlanta-based trans women, many of them surviving through sex work.
Mediaversity Grade: A
KOKOMO CITY is rentable on streaming platforms.
5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
In Rian Johnson’s second Knives Out (2019) movie, nonbinary Black actor Janelle Monaé plays Andi, a tech entrepreneur who gets the lion’s share of Glass Onion’s character development. The large and diverse cast also includes gay detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and several actors of color, such as Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., and Jessica Henwick.
Mediaversity Grade: A
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is currently streaming on Netflix.
4. Past Lives
An immigrant narrative, a marriage story, and a polemic about connections from childhood that cannot be shaken — Korean Canadian Celine Song’s Past Lives is all these things and more.
Mediaversity Grade: A+
Past Lives is streaming on Viki and rentable on other platforms.
3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Across the Spider-Verse reprises Afro-Latino superhero Miles Morales and expands its world, delving into other characters like Spider-Gwen and Pavitr Prabhakar, or Spider-Man India. Furthermore, disabled superhero Sun-Spider and a passing game of pickup wheelchair basketball may only appear briefly, but they still go far in normalizing the fact that people move through the world in different ways.
Mediaversity Grade: A+
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is currently streaming on Netflix and rentable on other platforms.
2. Joy Ride
Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians, Raya and the Last Dragon) is no stranger to breaking barriers for Asian American content as a Malaysian American writer. Her raucous directorial debut, Joy Ride, further brings bawdy and refreshing stories for its female, nonbinary, and queer Chinese and Korean American protagonists.
Mediaversity Grade: A+
Joy Ride is currently streaming on STARZ and rentable on other platforms.
1. Mars One
Brazilian family drama Mars One expanded to the United States in 2023, and we’re all the better for it. It centers around a Black family living in Contagem, Brazil, and deeply humanizes its wide cast of characters. Lesbians in their 20s, adults over 60, a boy who dreams of becoming an astrophysicist, and various disabled narratives all organically weave into a sensitive and beautiful film. When it comes to craft and inclusivity, Gabriel Martins’ Mars One can’t be beat.
Mediaversity Grade: A+
Mars One is streaming on Netflix.
Mediaversity Reviews grades TV & films on gender, race, LGBTQ, disability, and more. Follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and Facebook to join the conversation!
