P5 - Sapphic Movies | Girl Friends of Dorothy

2018 - Carmen y Lola

Gitana (Gypsy) pupil, while working at her Father's stall, gives soon-to-be married teenage Gitana girl rain cover for her Father's stall, in a suburban Madrid street market...

Carmen y Lola is the first film to deal with lesbian love in a Roma community. My best boy friend is from Roma blood - Roma's are so stereotyped and their stories so rarely told. Director Arantxa Echevarría won two awards at the Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights.

Director: Arantxa Echevarría | Zaira Romero & Rosy Rodríguez‎

2018 - Derry Girls

Double trouble - during the 1990s Irish troubles, five friends navigate their teenage years attending an all girls' Catholic school who constantly get into trouble.

Gloriously written series in which the Lezza is a by the way, she's gay. Nicola Coughlan who played Clare Devlin knew her character would come OUT months before the rest of the cast members did. A cracking series but poignant too.

Creator: Lisa McGee | Nicola Coughlan, ‎Saoirse-Monica Jackson...‎

2018 - In My Skin

School girl leads a double life to hide from her friends, the truth about her mother’s sad mental health issues and her anxieties and insecurities of teenage life. One day, in the school toilets she meets a ray of sunshine...

This darkly comedic and touching TV series started off as a one-page treatment by Kayleigh Llewellyn's based on her childhood experiences of caring for her mother which which was commissioned by the BBC. Thank you BBC.

Written: Kayleigh Llewellyn | Gabrielle Creevy & Jo Hartley

2018 - Killing Eve

Bored security services op wants excitement. Enter fashionista stealth Russian assassin. They become equally obsessed with each other in an epic game of cat and mouse...

Based on Luke Jennings novellas "Codename Villanelle". Series 1 was the best with writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge > apparently, body count of...27! 18 murdered by assassin with 1 killed in self-defence, 6 killed by other characters, 1 suicide, and 1 accidental death (wow, someone counted this?). Series 4: shame on YOU, showrunner, Laura Neal!

Season 1 Writer: Phoebe Waller-Bridge | Jodie Comer & Sandra Oh

2018 - Lizzie

Spinster lives under the strict rules of her domineering father and horrid stemother in Massachusetts, 1892. Finding a kindred spirit in the newly arrived live-in maid their friendship blossoms. Tension mounts with the father...

Spoiler Alert: Based on the true story of Lizzie Borden who was the prime suspect in the horrendous axe murders of her father and stepmother. Lizzie get your axe!

Dir: Craig Macneill | Chloë & Kristen Stewart

2018 - Rafiki

Tomboy helps her father in a small convenience store while he campaigns for a local election in Nairobi. Enter neighbourhood girl whose father is also running in the local election...

Rafiki was inspired by the novel "Jambula Tree" by Monica Arac de Nyeko which chronicles two Ugandan girls in love. As homosexuality is illegal in Kenya - the movie was banned by the country's film classification board.

Dir: Wanuri Kahiu | Stars: Sheila Munyiva & Samantha Mugatsia

2018 - Tell It To The Bees

Dr returns to her Scottish rural hometown to take over her late father's medical practice in the 1950s. A young boy takes an interest in the Dr's bee colonies...

Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Fiona Shaw (Carolyn Martens - Head of the Russia Desk at MI6 in Killing Eve) the book's ending is different from the movie.

Dir: Annabel Jankel | Holliday Grainger & Anna Paquin

2018 - The Favourite

Neurotic and frail Queen occupies the throne while England is at war with the French. Duck racing and furry rabbits are thriving. Her confident subtly governs the country in her stead whose younger penniless cousin (former aristocrat) begs for a job...

Spolier Alert: Queeny did not keep rabbits and... it is considered unlikely that she was physically intimate with her female friends.

Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos | Olivia Colman, Emma Stone & Rachel Weisz

Sapphic Movies: The Miseducation of Cameron Post

2018 - The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Teenage girl and girlfriend canoodling in a car on homecoming night are discovered and outed. She is sent to a gay conversion therapy centre by her conservative Aunt...

It was the first Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner in over 25 years to not receive immediate distribution.

Dir: Desiree Akhavan | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz

2018 - Thoroughbreds

Well-to-do teenage girl rekindles her awkward friendship with her childhood friend who starts tutoring her. After lessons, a deadly plan is hatched. Who's the sociopath and who's the psychopath?

Yeh, I know it's not a Lesbian flick but I found it so slick, I had to include it here :) The film was originally written by Cory Finley (the director) for the stage.

Director: Cory Finley | Olivia Cooke & Anya Taylor-Joy

2018 - Vita & Virginia

Socialite and popular author receives an invitation to a decadent Bloomsburry set costume party. There she meets a literary icon... yada, yada, yada.

Vita and Virginia actually first met at a dinner party in December 1922 and, it was not love at first sight. The following day, Virginia remarked in her diary that Vita was ‘not much to my severer taste – florid, moustached, parakeet coloured, with all the supple ease of the aristocracy, but not the wit of the artist’. Catty!

Dir: Chanya Button | Elizabeth Debicki & Gemma Arterton

2019 - Batwoman

Out girl, fills in the shoes of her missing uncle, Batman. As Batwoman she soars through the streets of Gotham city, primed to kick out naughty criminals and contend with the Wonderland Gang led by her thought-dead twin sister. Pow!

In the comics, Batwoman "dated" Captain Sawyer of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit. They became engaged but DC Comics vetoed their wedding! In protest, Batwoman's creators (Haden & J H) left the "Batwoman" title.

Dir: Various | Ruby Rose & Meagan Tandy

2019 - Booksmart

Straight A buddies, on the eve of graduation, realise that they have missed out on their teenage years. Determined to make up for lost time, the girls decide to cram four years of fun into one night...

In Booksmart, Amy is a lesbian and Molly is straight but in real life, it's vice versa: Beanie Feldstein is a lesbian and Kaitlyn Dever is straight.

Dir: Olivia Wilde | Kaitlyn Dever & Beanie Feldstein

2019 - Gentleman Jack

Gentleman Jack leaves Hastings brokenhearted, returning to Halifax, in 1832, determined to transform faded Shibden Hall, that she has inherited. A chance meeting introduces her to wealthy heiress...

Based on the collected diaries of Anne Lister, which contain over four million words and are written largely in secret code, documenting a lifetime of lesbian relationships.

Creator: Sally Wainwright | Suranne Jones & Sophie Rundle

2019 - Kattumaram

Orphaned niece is taken care of by her conservative uncle in a small fishing village which is recovering from the aftermath of a tsunami. Enter a cute female supply teacher...

Endearing coming-of-age tale seen from a rarely seen South Indian take - particularly exploring a rural, conservative Indian community's reaction to same-sex relationships.

Dir: Swarnavel Eswaran | Stars: Mysskin Anusha Prabhu Preeti Karan

2019 - Papicha

Algerian girl, hanging out with her sweet 'n fun gals, working hard to get into fashion in the... 1990's during the country's civil war, with Islamist militias targeting "immodest" women...

Hands-up - this doesn't sit here. Though we got our battles to fight, I also stand by every woman (& man) in every country, against oppression. Only a few days before Papicha's release in Algeria, the government cancelled all screenings of the movie. This could have disqualified Papicha from the Oscar's, even though it was Algeria's official submission in the "Best International Feature Film" category. The Academy granted Papicha a waiver because it's filmmakers had no control over the Algerian government's action.

Dir: Mounia Meddour | Stars: Lyna Khoudri, Shirine Boutella

Sapphic Movies: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

2019 - Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Artistic Girl is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of introvert girl without her knowing. She must observe her model by day and paint her portrait by night...

It was nominated for countless international awards including both the British and American Academy Film Awards and wins include Cannes and César. A groundbreaking record for a lesbian film directed by a lesbian?

Dir: Céline Sciamma (Tomboy & Water Lillies) | Stars: Adèle Haenel & Noémie Merlant

Sapphic Movies: Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker

2019 - Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker

Surviving members of the resistance face the First Order, and the epic conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reaches its climax with the help of Commander Girl and her pilot wife.

Disney's first gay kiss, but not a wohooo moment as it's a blink-n-you'll miss-it kiss featured in the background of a very busy scene the two characters were new additions with minor roles. The "Kiss" was cut for Dubai and Singapore audiences.

Dir: J.J. Abrams | Amanda Lawrence & Vinette Robinson

2019 - Two of Us (Deux)

Every night, in a quiet French town, an old lady sneaks across the landing, and slips into her neighbour's bed. And each morning she sneaks back into her own flat, until one day...

A really sweet yet poignant story, seldom told of coming out in old age, and the rights of unmarried partners. Groovers, were all gonna grow old - I would love a "Nina", by my side. Nominated for 2021 Golden Globes Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language. So (sweetly) LOL! The slick featured song... Sul Mio Carro... Petula Clark!

Dir: Filippo Meneghetti | Barbara Sukowa & Martine Chevallier

Slick Sapphic Movies