Slick Sapphic Movies

2020 - Ammonite

Trailblazing fossil hunter, searches for ground-breaking fossils along the Lyme Regis coastline to sell to tourists and support her ailing mother and herself. A wealthy visitor employs her to take care of his convalescing wife...

Loosely inspired by the life of H.U.G.E.L.Y overlooked trailblazer English palaeontologist Mary Anning. Spoiler Alert - the real Frances Bell (Charlotte Murchison in the movie) was just 14 when she visited Lyme Regis in 1824 and Mary was 10 years her senior. Forgive pedestaling, I have a Phd in ... palaeontology, and, I'm queer ;) Would have loved her to play on my team but, Hmmm ?

Dir: Francis Lee | Kate Winslet & Saoirse Ronan

2020 - Feel Good

Recovering addict and comedian tries to control her addictive behaviours. At her stand-up show she meets hetty girl...

A semi-autobiographical comedy TV series from Canadian comedian Mae Martin.

Creator: Mae Martin | Mae Martin & Charlotte Ritchie

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2020 - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

"Mother of the Blues" arrives late to her recording session in 1920s Chicago. Not only is she battling with her white manager and record producer over control of her music, her ambitious trumpeter has an eye on her girlfriend...

Based on the play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1982) by August Wilson inspired by "The Mother of Blues" Ma Rainey's Life, which won a Tony Award for Best Play.

Dir: George C. Wolfe | Viola Davis & Taylour Paige

2020 - Onward

Teenage elf brothers go on a quest to find magic to spend one last day with their father, who died when they were too young to remember him.

Disney's first openly gay character in animation: Officer Specter, appears in one scene saying "It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?". Onward has been BANNED in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia due to this gay reference while Russian censors changed the word "girlfriend" to "partner" and avoids mentioning Specter’s gender. Shocking - it is 2020!

Dir: Dan Scanlon | Lena Waithe

2020 - Tove

Artist meets a theatre director in Helsinki just after the end of WW2. As she struggles with her personal life, her creative endeavours take her in an unexpected direction.

Tove is a biographical film of Swedo-Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, who created the popular Moomin books which were inspired by stories she told scared children in bomb shelters during WW2.

Dir: Zaida Bergroth | Alma Pöysti & Krista Kosonen

2021 - Anne+

Upbeat chick, moving into a new flat in Amsterdam, runs into her first love that triggers memories of her past "plus" girlfriends...

Back in 2015, writer Maud Wiemeijer met director Valerie Bisscheroux in a gay club and moaned about the lack of queer films and TV. Bringing in Valerie's actress friend Hanna van Vliet they started crowdfunding and created Anne+ as a web series. MUST see!

Series Creators: Valerie Bisscheroux, Maud Wiemeijer & Hanna van Vliet...

2021 - Benedetta

Young Benedetta is brought into a Convent in Italy as a bride for Jesus Christ. Eighteen years later it's not just her miracles that scandalise the cloistered sisters but a wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin...

Based on a true story but Verhoeven's interpretation is just as naff as his infamous movie Showgirls. Rather read the book, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy Judith C. Brown. Only included it here to illustrate naff lezza films by softcore male directors.

Dir: Paul Verhoeven | ‎Virginie Efira, Daphne Patakia

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2021 - Eldorado KaDeWe

An exclusive fashion showcase in the prestigious KaDeWe Berlin department store, the owner's daughter asks a beautiful sales assistant to alter a man's suite for her. Armed thugs enter...

Wohoo - the lezza couple don't die! BUT hauntingly the series traces the effects of fighting in a horrific war, the fall of the cultural renaissance of & Weimar Republic and, the rise of the NSDAP, antisemitism, eugenics... Controversy over Weimar outdoor shoots including modern vehicles, graffiti etc some report, due to budget constraints? Nailed it! In every city, ghosts of history walk with us and Berlin is gallantly addressing this with over 5,000 Stolpersteine. A MUST watch.

Director: Julia von Heinz | Valerie Stoll & Lia von Blarer

2021 - It's A Sin

Four fun gay boys and their girl pal lead a hedonistic life in flamboyant 1980s cruising London bars and hosting parties in their Pink Palace flat, until... a "gay flu" reaches UK shores.

Russell T. Davies was inspired by his long-time friend, actor, Jill Nalder's experiences of loosing three friends to AIDS and her her HIV/AIDS activism. Moreover, Davies made a point of casting all the gay roles with real gay actors and Jill Nalder played the mother of Jill Baxter (based loosely on Nalder). MUST see!

Program Creator: Russell T Davies | Olly Alexander, Lydia West...

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2021 - Plan B

High school student ... pops her cherry! Can she and her bestie, in 24 hours, acquire ... a Plan B pill and, what will they sweetly discover about themselves and each other?

Yep, a bit BookSmart-ish but still highly commended as it airs cultural issues, sexuality and ... a woman's right to take control ... No Way? In America, most states have "Conscience Clauses" that allow the right of physicians and other health care providers such as pharmacists to refuse to provide services such as Plan B (morning-after) pills, abortions ... if for example, they feel like it is morally against what they believe in.

Director: Natalie Morales | Kuhoo Verma & Victoria Moroles

2021 - Passing

Years later, High School "besties" unexpectedly meet. Both have been "passing" in different ways. Will they re-kindle their "special" friendship?

Based on Nella Larsen's 1929 novella Passing, this is actress Rebecca Hall's directorial debut (hi five!), who is part African American.

Director: Rebecca Hall | Tessa Thompson & Ruth Negga

2021 - The World To Come

Forlorn Mother mourns for her dead daughter in bleak 1850s Schoharie County, America. Then charismatic Tallie, and her husband, lease a nearby plot of land...

The film set was built on ground previously settled by Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning "floating driftwood".

Director: Mona Fastvold | Katherine Waterston & Vanessa Kirby

2021 - Twenties

Aspiring sassy writer, with her two straight best friends, try to make their dreams come true in... Hollywood. Will they make it?

A humorous and enlightening, quasi autobiography of slick (writer, producer & actress) Lena Waithe's early years working in Hollywood. So many more hurdles to jump to get into film / TV - mega bravo, Lena Waithe (who voiced Officer Spector in Disney's Onward which was BANNED in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia due to this gay character!)

Series Creator: Lena Waithe | Jonica T. Gibbs, Christina Elmore & Gabrielle Graham

2022 - Blue Jean (Movie)

As homophobic Section 28 is about to be passed, a Tyneside PE teacher's life is further pushed to the brink by the arrival of a new school girl ...

The UK's Section 28 / Clause 28 of the Local Government Act was enacted on 28th May 1988. It was a condemning piece of UK legislation that stated that a local council "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

Director: Georgia Oakley | Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes & Lucy Halliday

2022 - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Struggling Chinese American struggles to cope with everything, including her daughter's gayness. She is swept up into a wild adventure in other universes and the lives she could have led...

Apparently Everything Everywhere All at Once is the first Best Picture Oscar winner which features an out lesbian character and her lesbanism as integral to the film's plot.

Directors: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert | Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu...

2022 - Nelly & Nadine

For decades, a French lady kept her grandmother's diaries, photographs and home movies in her attic but they were too painful for her to explore. "Nelly & Nadine" documents the true story as she finally opens the dusty treasure chest, unearthing an evocative tale of lesbian love and resilience which began on Christmas Eve, 1944 in Ravensbrück concentration camp when a voice calls out "Sing something from Madame Butterfly!".

Do watch and support LGBT documentaries! Nelly & Nadine will melt your heart!

Documentary Dir: Magnus Gertten

2022 - Señorita 89

Miss Guerrero arrives with 31 other excited beauty queens at the paradiscal La Encantada Estate for grooming before competing in Miss Mexico 1989. What will be their fairy tale ending?

Bravo - the lezza protagonist is interwoven in to this story which covers issues of the beauty pageant industry & women's rights seldom voiced. In 2003, Mexico became the second country in Latin America, after Ecuador, to provide anti-discrimination protection for LGBT people. Do watch it!

Creator: Lucía Puenzo | Bárbara López, Ilse Salas...

2022 - So Damn Easy Going (Så Jävla Easy Going)

Teen having a bad day as her crucial ADHD meds have run out, as she can't afford them, meets the charming new girl in school ...

Bravo in tackling the taboo subject of ADHD. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) symptoms include difficulty concentrating / paying attention, impulsive behaviour, and fidgeting. Although ADHD can't be cured, it can be managed with medication. Watch it!

Directors: Christoffer Sandler | Lina Åström & Jessika Jankert

2022 - Tár

A renowned female lesbian conductor is accused of sexual misconduct...

Did you know that in 2020, only 8 of the world's 100 top conductors are now women, compared to just 1 in 2013! (source: Classic FM) Portraying a female conductor as a predatory Weinstein figure when being a female conductor is so hard to attain, for me, is ... pants. Therefore, I hadn't been keen to watch this movie, even though I'm huge fan of Cate Blanchett. Eventually I did and... I R.E.A.L.L.Y didn't like it. NB director and screenwriter = Todd Field - he aint invited to my slick gay pals sewing circle.

Director: Todd Field | Cate Blanchett & Noémie Merlant

2023 - Bad Behaviour (TV MiniSeries)

A chance meeting with a former fellow pupil brings back noxious memories for bewitched girl of, heinous bullying (as a victim and, a perpetrator), TOXIC love... that took place at a posh girls' school outback experience camp ...

I must confess I HATED Bad Behaviour; the protagonist being spellbound by a bully, the lack of call-out, that bullying is DEPLORABLE ... I was shocked to discover, it's based on the memoirs of Australian writer Rebecca Starford ( Bad Behaviour (2015)) who collaborated in the writing of the miniseries. If you are suffering from bullying please seek help (I did & told my parents & friends) - cybersmile.org has some international helpline numbers.

Director: Corrie Chen | Jana McKinnon & Markella Kavenagh

2023 - Green Night (Movie)

Chinese immigrant, trapped in a life of oppression by her Korean husband, encounters a mysterious green-haired girl who is trapped in the dangerous world of drug trafficking ...

Green Night caused a flutter on Chinese social media due to its portrayal of ... Lesbian Love. China has a history of censoring LGBTQ content e.g. scenes of gay kissing and lines mentioning the word "gay" were all edited out from the movie Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). Moreover, Disney's movie Lightyear was banned in China because it featured a ... lesbian kiss! Find more about LGBTQ cinema censorship in China.

Director: Shuai Han | Fan Bingbing & Lee Joo-young

2023 - Heartless (Sem Coração)

In a small Brazilian fishing village, free-spirited teen is enjoying her summer before leaving to continue her studies. From the beach she sees "Heartless" suddenly emerging from the sea with an octopus wrapped around her arm ...

Heartless is based on the directors short film of the same title, which received the Illy Prize for Best Short at Directors’ Fortnight during the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

Director: Nara Normande & Tião | Maya de Vicq & Eduarda Samara

2023 - In the Company of Women (Las buenas compañías)

Summer of 1977, Bea joins a group of Basque women fighting for women rights and the right to abortion in Spain. She meets an older, well-off girl and ...

During 1974 to 1988 it has been estimated close to 200,000 Spanish women travelled to England and Wales to have an abortion (source:The National Library of Medicine). In the Company of Women (Las buenas compañías) won the 2023 Audience Award for Best Feature at the San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival.

Director: Silvia Munt | Alícia Falcó & Elena Tarrats

2023 - Polarized (Movie)

Evangelical Christian and aspiring songwriter is forced to take a job at a new farm where she meets a Palestinian Muslim ...

Slick Shamim Sarif has directed lesbian cult classics: I Can't Think Straight (2008) and The World Unseen (2007). Quote from Shamim: "I had the idea for the film when Trump was elected and when Brexit was happening." I'm so hearing her for: peace, love and happiness!

Director: Shamim Sarif | Holly Deveaux & Maxine Denis

2024 - Chuck Chuck Baby

Helen spends her days caring for her dying mother-in-law and her nights packing chickens in a Welsh chicken factory. Her world is turned upside down by the return of her school girl crush ...

Chuck Chuck Baby characters sing alongs to slick tunes by Neil Diamond, Minnie Riperton (of Loving you fame) ....

Director: Janis Pugh | Louise Brealey & Annabel Scholey

2024 - Drive-Away Dolls All the Silence (Todo el Silencio)

CODA girl has three passions in life: her girlfriend, teaching sign language and acting. Her world shatters when she discovers that she too is losing her hearing ...

All the Silence (Todo el Silencio) features an extensive cast of deaf and hard of hearing actors and the entire movie was filmed in single, unbroken shots.

Director: Diego del Rio | Adriana Llabres & Ludwika Paleta

2024 - Gondola (Movie)

In the remote mountains of Georgia, a girl starts work as a gondola lift attendant. She always meets the other girl attendant when their gondolas pass each other halfway. What begins as delayed-chess games evolves into ...

Gondola is dialogue-free, with quirky sleek Wes Anderson style and slick cinematography. To woo you to watch it, watch the trailer on YouTube

Director: Veit Helmer | Mathilde Irrmann & Nino Soselia

2024 - Love Lies Bleeding (Movie)

Chain-smoking Gym Manager is bored of unblocking the gymn's bogs. Hey presto - en route to a competition in Las Vegas, Bodybuilder punches in for training ...

In real life, Katy O'Brian used to be a competitive bodybuilder! Though defo not a lesbian movie trope with body-building, steroids and blood and gore ... hmm, I'll stick to hairtastic Bound

Director: Rose Glass | Kristen Stewart & Katy O'Brian

Transit (A Lesbian Short)

Dir: Kerry Weldon

Also check out my Youtube playlist of some slick Lesbian Short Films from across the world.

History of Homosexuality on Film

Dir: Just Write

BUT, also watch stellar The Celluloid Closet directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

2021 - After Blue (Movie)

In a galaxy far, far away ... on a colonised planet where women only survived, young Roxy (aka Toxic) rescues Katarzyna Buszowska (aka Kate Bush), who has been buried up to her neck in sand to await death by the incoming tide ...

I had to include this. OMG! - what were the director, actresses and film crew tripping on? Can you make it through to the end? Pure ... C.R.I.M.I.N.A.L, LOL.

Director: Bertrand Mandico | Elina Löwensohn & Paula Luna