Gays, rejoice! Queer actress Tessa Thompson is playing queer again, but this time MUCH more obviously! While I, like any queer nerd, love Tessa Thompson’s portrayal of King Valkryie in the MCU, her queerness is not as…overt as it could be. Cut scenes and lines try to bury her obvious (to us) queerness under all that swagger and charm, but we couldn’t be fooled. Well, there is no hiding Tessa Thompson’s new role under a bushel; even just in the teaser trailer, it’s obvious that her character, the titular Hedda, is queer and attracted to the magnetic and sultry Eileen. (Hedda even says, quite literally, “Come on, Eileen,” which had me giggling and kicking my feet a bit, I won’t lie.)

Based on the 1891 play by Henrik Ibsen, Hedda tells the tale of a stifled housewife who throws an elegant party with her husband where things start to devolve into chaos. As in the play, an ex of Hedda’s shows up to shake things up…but writer/director Nia DaCosta has gender-bent this ex into a woman named Eileen (Nina Hoss) who shows up with her new gal pal Thea (Imogen Poots), sending Hedda into a bit of a tailspin. DaCosta (who was also the writer/director of The Marvels, which featured aforementioned Valkryie) says that making Hedda’s ex a woman gave Hedda’s fight against “the men that tell them what they should and shouldn’t be doing” more depth, saying it “made it more potent, more powerful, and also more unfortunately tragic.”

This is not the first retelling of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, but it is definitely the gayest, and I can’t wait.

Hedda will be coming to theaters in October, but you can watch the electric energy for yourself in this teaser trailer.

“A little chaos is good for the gathering,” indeed.

A Chaotic Selection of News

+ Sophie Turner read her thirst tweets at Buzzfeed, and most of them were lesbians fawning all over her and she was LIVING for it

+ Betty Who falls victim to this horrifying new trend of queer female celebrities getting so defensive about the fact that they’re dating a man when literally no one said anything about it that they spin out into homophobia and start talking like far right straight people saying things like “It’s kind of like, now we’ve come so far, that our community is so strong, that now it’s like a crime to be straight”….when meanwhile, straight marriage isn’t the thing being potentially outlawed in our country

+ There are some queer bakers in this year’s cast of The Great British Bake Off, including a drag king

+ Lupita Nyong’o stars in the famously gender bendy (I mean we’ve all seen She’s the Man, right?) Twelfth Night for Shakespeare in the Park

+ ICYMI Abbi Jacobson talked to Autostraddle about voicing another queer animated character

+ Chappell Roan performed at the Reading Festival this weekend, singing all of her songs plus a cover of Heart’s Barracuda

+ This is only tangentially pop culture related but I thought it was sweet: The two women who run the Aubrey Plaza and Kathryn Hahn fan pages started dating each other, just as Agatha and Rio would have wanted; fandom can be so cute sometimes!

+ British artist KWN is coming across the pond to host and perform at Atlanta Black Pride Weekend

+ Julia Fox is pansexual but “can’t see why a man would be beneficial” which is such a mood

+ Lady Gaga performed to a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden this weekend

+ Last but definitely not least: We have extended the deadline for the 2025 Autostraddle TV Awards until TOMORROW (August 26th) and noon EST so if you thought you missed your chance to vote THINK AGAIN and go vote now!

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Everyone dates their parents, says Freud and also gay people online thirsting over actresses twice their age. Our most formative relationships play out again and again through friends, through lovers, through teachers, through employers, even through therapists. But these repetitions are not always so obvious. Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut Hot Milk, based on Deborah Levy’s novel of the same name, understands the complex ways parental relationships can seep into the rest of our lives.

Hot Milk is about a young British woman named Sofia (Emma Mackey) who accompanies her mother Rose (Fiona Shaw) to the Spanish coast in an attempt to cure Rose’s mysterious illness. A perpetual student with a focus on anthropology, Sofia’s life is in limbo, her true focus on her difficult mother’s well-being. As Rose begins to work with her new doctor (Vincent Perez), Sofia wanders the Spanish beaches and meets a Berlin transplant named Ingrid (Vicky Krieps).

From the beginning, Ingrid provides further concern for Sofia as much as she provides escape. It’s a relief to watch Sofia create a distance from her mother and seek out her own life and own pleasure, but Ingrid has flags redder than Sofia’s jellyfish sting. She’s immediately controlling, emotional, and overly affectionate. She also seems to be in a relationship with a man named Matty (Yann Gael) who may or may not be aware that Ingrid has sexual pursuits elsewhere.

On the surface, Ingrid and Rose have little in common. Rose is scared of the world while Ingrid seems to hunger for it. One can even imagine Sofia looking at Ingrid and seeing her as the complete opposite of her mother. Alas, two people don’t need to share surface similarities to treat someone the same way. And the closer Sofia gets to Ingrid, the more their twisted dynamic resembles the one she’s trying to escape with Rose.

The acting in this film is remarkable. Shaw, Krieps, and Patsy Ferran in a small role as Rose’s nurse are all excellent. But it’s Mackey who holds the film together. She was great throughout all four seasons of Sex Education and this film is proof that wasn’t just the magic of Maeve Wiley. With the right roles, Mackey could establish herself as one of the best young actresses working today. Unfortunately, the film does not quite match her performance.

Lenkiewicz’s directorial work is strong with an effective controlled style, a tight pace, and a clear ability to garner great acting. If anything the writer of queer films such as Disobedience and Colette, should’ve trusted her direction more. The script is overwritten, stating things bluntly that have already been communicated — and communicated better — in the silences. Every extended dialogue scene felt stuffed with confused exposition that weakened the characters rather than deepening them.

The film will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to solve their mommy issues in the bed of another woman. But it’s frustrating how often the film ignores its strengths, instead ending up an overwrought series of clichés. And yet, there are sequences — single glances from Mackey even — that still make it worth a watch. I just wish Lenkiewicz had trusted her images over her words. Sometimes the sharpest writing happens in the gaps.

Hot Milk is now available to stream.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Lilly Wachowski, whose impressive list of previous work includes The Matrix, Sense8, and Work in Progress, is creating a new sci-fi thriller short film. While she often works with her sister, this seems to be a solo project, where she will serve as executive producer, and it will be the directorial debut of Geena Rocero, a trans filmmaker who also wrote the film and will star in it. In fact, the entire cast of this short film, called Dolls, will be made up of trans women, including Arewà Basit, Vas Eli Macy Rodman, and Yên Sen. The score was composed by Susie Ibarra.

The short is about a private investigator who is trying to solve the mystery of a missing girl that seems to have some connections to a dating workshop for trans women that could potentially be a cult and is described as “a trans-coded take” on The Stepford Wives.

Wachowski says she’s “so proud to be part of this beautiful, weird, striking debut,” and I for one can’t wait to watch it. (And already know I’m going to want more than its 18-minute runtime.)

The title of the film, of course, references the term “doll” that is sometimes used to describe trans women, which is believed to have originated in the 80s ballroom scene. While the term has been around in the trans community for decades, it has been more front-of-mind lately because of the “Protect the Dolls” shirts by queer fashion designer Conner Ives (the purchase of which raises money for Trans Lifeline) that have been spotted on celebrities like Pedro Pascal as of late.

The short doesn’t have a release date yet, but there have been some sneak peek images shared with Them to tide you over until we get more news about the short.

More Links I’ve Selected Just For You

+ This is me using a review link to tell you to watch The Hunting Wives on Netflix if you, like me, have been waiting for Brittany Snow to play a girl kisser again since John Tucker Must Die (or just generally like parody shows that make Republicans out to be hypocrites, and also murder mysteries)

+ Catch a glimpse of Danielle Brooks’ lesbian character Leota in the Season 2 trailer of Peacemaker that dropped at San Diego Comic Con this weekend

+ Chappell Roan is having a mini pop-up tour this fall and will donate $1 per ticket to trans charities

+ The Mighty Nein, Critical Role’s newest (and gayest) animated series yet is coming to Prime Video in November

+ Reese Witherspoon’s daughter Ava Phillipe (who is queer herself) landed the titular role in queer film Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me

+ The queer supes of Gen V are coming back for Season 2 on September 17th and the trailer shows some crossover with The Boys

+ Supposedly there’s a Bend It Like Beckham sequel in the early stages of being conceived (make it gay, you cowards!)

+ Juno Temple’s queer character Keeley will return in Season 4 of Ted Lasso

+ Country singer Danae Hays has gone public about her relationship with a new woman after her divorce last year

+ Lena Dunham might be wrong about a lot of things, but she sure is right about this: “Everything is better with queer people in it.”

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Pride Month may be over, but dancing at the gay club is a year-round activity. Nothing compares to that energy on a dance floor surrounded by other queer people with music flowing through you. And sometimes lesbian and queer movies succeed at capturing that feeling!

Personally, I think we need way more gay club scenes in sapphic cinema. I love a quiet talking moment at a gay bar as much as the next person but it’s not the same. That’s why I’ve gathered this list of my ten favorite night club scenes — many at queer clubs, some at straight clubs where queer people make them gay. So inhale those poppers, grind on your crush, and dive in!

Bonus: The entire movie Shakedown

This is a documentary about a club rather than one scene from a narrative film, but how could we talk about night club scenes without at least mentioning Shakedown?? If you haven’t seen this film chronicling the Black lesbian strip club Shakedown from 2002 to when it was shut down in 2004, you should change that immediately.

10. “Fantasy Crush” from Girltrash: All Night Long

I do not believe in guilty pleasures so I will not apologize for this inclusion. While this musical adaptation of a popular web series was disowned by co-creator Angela Robinson, its most charming moment takes place at a lesbian club. Seasoned lesbian Misty is crushing on the fuckboi of the group while newbie lesbian Colby is crushing on Misty and the two sing a duet about their fantasy crushes. Misty and Colby are played by the leads of South of Nowhere which means nothing to me but possibly meant/means a lot to some of you. I just like musicals!

9. The opening of Holy Camp!

Yes, another musical! Originally based on a play, I love the decision to open the movie adaptation with the two leads escaping their summer camp to attend a concert and dance at a club. It opens up the world for the characters and lets us see the night out that makes the next day’s hangover worth it. A film as sincere as it is blasphemous, this sequence sets a town that brings the energy of a night out to the dance numbers and holy romances of its more modest setting.

8. Bad coping mechanisms in The Wedding Banquet (2025)

Not to generalize about our diverse lesbian community, but there’s a reason the next two entries find a queer woman out with their gay guy bestie. Sometimes your lesbian friends are home in bed or busy with a game night and thank God you have a gay male friend to drink too much and go dancing with you! While Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of The Wedding Banquet has many moments of affection across the queer community, my favorite is Chris and Angela going to club to avoid dealing with their separate partner conflicts.

7. Night club day dream from Nina’s Heavenly Delights

From coping with an old relationship to dreaming about a new one, this scene captures that common lesbian experience of standing at a night club, watching your crush dance, and wishing it was you touching her. Nina’s gone to the gay club with her gay best friend and run into Lisa. Amid the swirls of music, alcohol, and a performance from The Chutney Queens, Nina imagines touching Lisa in a heavenly glow. Like many a disappointing night at the club, it won’t happen quite yet, but the thought sure is pretty.

6. Super spy make out from Atomic Blonde

Like many spy movies, the plot of Atomic Blonde is fairly unimportant. What is important is the fight sequences and this steamy make out. Charlize Theron and Sofia Boutella kiss at the bar of a club and then excuse themselves to somewhere more private. But things are never simple for someone in this profession so pretty soon Theron’s character pulls out a gun. But, hey, let’s be honest: This only makes it hotter.

5. Alyssa explores in Where the Wind Comes From

This was my favorite movie I saw at Sundance this year and I’m so excited for it to get released and more people to watch it! One reason is for the incredible club scene in the middle of the movie. Director Amel Guellaty does such a great job creating the magical vibe of the club and that’s before the sequence and the movie even get gay. I don’t want to say too much about this sequence since the movie isn’t out yet but lets just say it combines strangers bonding in a bathroom, a hot femme helping someone with her makeup, flirting via sharing a cigarette, a dash of magical realism, bold formal choices, and a club make out. A perfect moment in a perfect film!

4. Good girl gone bad in Black Swan

Can a white swan become a black swan? What if she does molly at the club? This sequence that largely takes place in the dark with flashes of dance floor shenanigans is equal parts erotic and frightening. It captures that feeling of being out of control at a club which can to lead to some of the best nights and certainly some of the worst. Lucky for Nina as played by Natalie Portman, she makes it home ready for a lezzy wet dream.

3. The opening of Pariah

An Audre Lorde quote, brief shots of people getting into a club, and then… all you ladies pop your pussy like this, shake your body don’t stop don’t miss. A woman slides down a pole upside down to “My Neck, My Back” and then the camera spins around on baby stud Alike’s overwhelmed face. Throughout the film Alike will face challenges of first love and familial homophobia, but the euphoria of queerness felt in moments like this opening are what makes the film so special. It’s a reminder that someday Alike will grow up, return to a club like this, and find a place of total belonging.

2. Separate parties in Eva + Candela

This is arguably the lesbian breakup movie and this sequence is among its best. With distance building, both literal and emotional, Candela and Eva find themselves having separate nights out. At different times, they both try to call the other with no success, but otherwise they actually find joy elsewhere. It’s a bittersweet moment as they both realize they don’t actually need or maybe even want their partner. At this point, they’re better with new people. They’re better on their own.

1. The kiss from Mars One

Okay, you got me. Every lesbian film list I make is just an excuse to try and get more people to watch my favorite queer movie of the last five years: Mars One. From number four on the lesbian movie make out list to number one on the night club list, I’m once again here to write about this perfectly choreographed club kiss. May this scene inspire you to go to the club this summer and actually make a move. The days of lesbian longing are over. There’s no time! Eye contact is fun, but kissing is better. The clubs are waiting. Dance! Kiss! Live!

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

I’ve loved the Criterion Collection since the summer of 2007 when I got The Red Shoes, Seven Samurai, and Ace in the Hole in a Barnes & Noble buy-two-get-one-free sale. Not only did the home video label allow me to watch a wide range of new films — they also provided so many special features to obsess over as a child who wanted to be a filmmaker.

My love has only increased over the last five years since they became the rare company to hear critiques — including my own — and actually improve. Their vision of the canon used to be so limited and now it has expanded for the benefit of us all!

For many years, their Criterion Closet videos have shown celebrities — often people who are at the offices for one of their films — making selections of the Criterion releases that have meant the most to them or that they most want to check out. It’s such a joy to watch people geek out about movies! And so I’ve gathered all the videos from queer people with some thoughts on their selections.

Agnès Varda

As I discussed a couple weeks ago, yes, Agnès Varda was bisexual. She was also a fan of Girls! I love listening to Varda talk about art and her selections from Campion to Kiarostami to Lena Dunham are excellent. Also The Marriage of Maria Braun is the film that caused me to fall in love with Fassbinder’s work.

Favorite pick: An Angel at My Table (1990)

Andrew Haigh

Visiting the closet with actress Charlotte Rampling, the director of Weekend and All of Us Strangers has such fun banter with his 45 Years lead actress. His picks are also very British! Which I say with minimal judgment! How could a gay British boy not shout out Merchant/Ivory and Sunday Bloody Sunday I suppose.

Favorite pick: Black Narcissus (1947)

Aubrey Plaza

Visiting the closet with her late husband and collaborator Jeff Baena, Plaza’s picks feel very in line with her creative voice from Ghost World to Scenes from a Marriage to Harold and Maude to 3 Women to picking I Married a Witch based on the title and cover art — something I also did once.

Favorite pick: Safe (1995)

Ayo Edebiri

Ayo is a true cinephile!!! This is one of the best of these videos not just because of the picks — which are excellent — but because of how Ayo talks about movies.

Favorite pick: Charade (1963) or To Sleep with Anger (1990) (don’t make me choose)

Bowen Yang

I also really love how the picks are talked about here. And as someone whose favorite John Waters film is Multiple Maniacs, thrilled to see that represent the director. Also very relatable how in the final moments he snags two huge box sets.

Favorite pick: The Complete Films of Agnès Varda

Charlotte Wells

This gets extra points for her quoting Brief Encounter: “I’ve fallen in love. I’m an ordinary woman. I didn’t know such violent things could happen to ordinary people.” And for the confirmation that the final shot of Aftersun was inspired by La Chambre. (I hope Criterion sent her the Chantal Akerman Blu-Ray set once they finally rescued those early films from the Eclipse label.)

Favorite pick: Eclipse 19 Chantal Akerman in the 70s which is now Out of Print so get this even better Akerman set instead

Cheryl Dunye

The first of many closet jokes on this list! So cool hearing Cheryl Dunye talk about Hollis Frampton and the influence of video art and experimental cinema on her work. And her picks overall might be the very best since she snags the Akerman, Varda, and Marlon Riggs sets. Truly cannot put into words how happy it makes me that The Watermelon Woman is finally in the Criterion Collection.

Favorite pick: The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs

Desiree Akhavan

In this video, Desiree Akhavan talks about taking a directing class with Ira Sachs — more from him later — and being introduced to the films of John Cassavetes. She also talks about the influence of Safe on The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Perfect video.

Favorite pick: Do the Right Thing (1989)

Elegance Bratton

I love the shoutouts here to Douglas Sirk and Melvin Van Peebles. It kind of feels passé to single out Rashomon among Kurosawa’s work but it remains my favorite and I appreciate what Bratton has to say about the film here. Also he shares that The Battle of Algiers is his favorite film of all time which given The Inspection is… interesting!

Favorite pick: The Battle of Algiers (1966) or Some Like It Hot (1959) (simply cannot choose)

Gregg Araki

This is one of those director videos where every pick together makes so much sense for the artist’s voice. Bringing Up Baby meets Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me meets Pink Flamingos with a dash of Godard.. yeah I’ve seen The Doom Generation!

Favorite pick: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Hari Nef

Leave it to a trans woman to pick some Almodóvar. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is among my favorites and a great pick along with so many other great choices like The Naked Kiss, Grey Gardens, and possibly my all-time favorite Criterion release: the restored edition of The Red Shoes. Also yes shoutout Design for Living, an incredible early throuple movie.

Favorite pick: The Red Shoes (1948)

Ira Sachs

Very relatable to call being in the Criterion Closet an erotic experience. This video also has some fun facts like how Sachs wanted to write about The Killing of a Chinese Bookie in college but Gena Rowlands wouldn’t send him a print so he wrote about Tati’s Playtime. He also shares that Little Men was inspired by Ozu’s I Was Born But… and Good Morning and a scene in Love Is Strange was inspired by a moment in Bergman’s The Magic Flute. Very good picks and a very good video from Passages director and Desiree Akhavan’s professor!

Favorite pick: Charulata (1964)

Isabel Sandoval

“This is the next best thing to transitioning” is an incredible way to start one of these. Picks like The Age of Innocence fit with the swooning romance of Isabel’s work! I also love the idea of spinning around and picking something at random.

Favorite pick: John Cassavetes Five Films or The Complete Films of Agnès Varda

Jaboukie Young-White and River L. Ramirez

A unique video since it’s five comics making their picks at the same time. I think only two are queer but correct me if I’m wrong. Not a ton of deep dives but everyone is having a good time!

Favorite pick: Some Like It Hot (1959)

Janelle Monáe

This is another unique one because icon Janelle Monáe kept her picks all on theme with Halloween. It’s like a fun little film school class on horror and horror-adjacent films taught by the hottest professor you could imagine.

Favorite pick: Eraserhead (1977)

Jenni Olson

I enjoy listening to Jenni talk about movies more than just about anyone. She has great picks here and I especially appreciate the choice of the Louis Malle documentaries Eclipse set, a collection I got when I was way too young that challenged me in the best way.

Favorite pick: Desert Hearts (1985)

Jeremy O. Harris

At eight minutes and nineteen seconds this is by far the longest of these videos, but it’s worth it. “There’s a lot of required to be gay in my opinion and a lot of that required reading is in movies. And a lot of those movies are weird and European.” Yes, agreed. Everyone should make their friends watch Teorema. Also love the reveal that he shares a birthday with the Marquis de Sade. This one is for the Geminis.

Favorite pick: Teorema (1968)

Joel Kim Booster

Despite starting the video saying he has bad taste, his picks are good! I am also thrilled and a bit surprised that The Others is now in the collection. And how could anyone not love The Philadelphia Story?

Favorite pick: In the Mood for Love (2000)

John Early

John Early has been in the Criterion Closet at least twice and I wish there was a video of his visit with Stress Positions director Theda Hammel but we do have this one with Jacqueline Novak. A fun, chaotic energy here and I do love that they stumble upon one of my favorite queer horror movies: The Uninvited. Also it’s the movie I love most that I’m least likely to recommend but I agree that Fat Girl is such a special movie and I’m sorry if you watch it because we’re saying that.

Favorite pick: Fat Girl (2001)

John Waters

The Blob to 8½ is so very John Waters and this video does not disappoint with his wide range of picks. I do not share his love for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls but something I love about Waters’ taste is it’s always a mix of work I love and work I do not.

Favorite pick: 8½ (1963)

Julia Fox

Pretty sure she is the only person to enter the closet with a briefcase, but she really gets points from me for crying as she talks about Almodóvar. She also does a random pick and ends up with Ugetsu which is such an incredible film to stumble upon!

Favorite pick: All About My Mother (1999)

Julio Torres

Overall such good picks from the creator of Fantasmas, one of the few TV shows I’ve seen in recent years that has made me feel the possibility of art. A mix of humor and horror and idosyncracity that fits right in with his own work. I love the way Where Is the Friend’s Home? and After Hours become in conversation with one another.

Favorite pick: Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Karyn Kusama

Obsessed with Karyn Kusama going with a theme as specific as “how do we address power, what do we do with power.” Rewatching this video — and watching Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers for the first time this month — has reminded me I need to get the Criterion edition of The Damned because I’ve owned the same very old DVD for many years and I’m sure the Criterion version is gorgeous. God I love her selections so much and this is probably the video with the most choices I haven’t seen.

Favorite pick: Three Films by Luis Buñuel

Katya Zamolodchikova

I didn’t realize Katya was such a cinephile and this was such a delight to watch a few weeks ago. Starting with a Tarkovsky film and eventually making it to Todd Solondz’s Happiness does feel right for her though.

Favorite pick: Querelle (1982)

Lee Daniels

The Fellini set that Daniels starts with is going to be my next big Criterion purchase. Also more Querelle love here! Daniels describes his taste/inspirations as “a little euro, a little ghetto, a little homo” but then also throws in The Piano a movie that I loved so fiercely for so many years and really need to revisit. (The Paperboy should get a Criterion release.) Woah who said that?

Favorite pick: Essential Fellini

Lily Gladstone and Erica Tremblay

I’m obsessed with Lily Gladstone and Hirokazu Kore-eda becoming pals on the Cannes Jury. After Life was the movie I watched the night before my 30th birthday and it’s a really special one. I haven’t seen Gladstone’s first two picks so I need to change that, but once Erica Tremblay arrives her first pick is Certain Women and God do I love that film and Gladstone in it. Also very cute that they pick movies for each other.

Favorite pick: Certain Women (2016)

Maya Hawke

Imagine your dad was Ethan Hawke. Seems like fun! Their banter here is very sweet and I am also very much a Children of Paradise missionary. I’m dead at the reveal that Ethan Hawke took Uma Thurman to see Husbands on one of their first dates.

Favorite pick: Children of Paradise (1945)

Nathan Lane

Nathan Lane says his husband loves Rififi and that reminds me the two of them happened to be in my theatre for Black Bag. I bet his husband loved it! We’ve had Beyond the Valley of the Dolls gays but finally a Valley of the Dolls gay. I love how many of these he hasn’t seen and he’s just taking based on actors and vibes.

Favorite pick: Mikey and Nicky (1976)

St. Vincent

For some reason St. Vincent isn’t really on my radar anymore, but I was obsessed with her in high school and high school me would’ve melted at her saying, “Oh! Do we have The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant?” I think we should get an update on whether she watched the Chantal Akerman films and what she thought of them, because pretty sure based on her other picks she fell in love.

Favorite pick:  Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978

Todd Haynes

More beautiful Brief Encounter love! Everyone watch Brief Encounter! I always love when people pull out films to mention but then are like “I already have this” like he does. This video could be an hour long and I’d be happy.

Favorite pick: In a Lonely Place (1950)

Trace Lysette

Moonstruck and Love Jones are such incredible romance picks. Also Thelma and Louise lets be honest. I hope Trace did end up watching Satyricon with a joint because that sounds like a perfect experience.

Favorite pick: All About My Mother (1999)

Want to make some purchases of your own? The Barnes & Noble 50% off Criterion sale is now through July 27. Can’t afford to buy? Subscribe to The Criterion Channel or go to your local library!!! The library is how I watched most Criterions as a kid.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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You might be wondering, “What best lesbian movies are on Hulu? I bet some of the best lesbian movies are all over Hulu!” More specifically: “Where can I see two women stare longingly into each other’s eyeballs?????” Well good news! we have you covered.

Our Top 10 Picks For Lesbian, Trans and Queer Women Focused Movies on Hulu:

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

#4 on our list of the Best Queer Movies of 2023

Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning meditation on crime and justice in the snow stars Sandra Hüller as a bisexual German writer living in France who is charged with murder after her husband is found dead, having descended from the top floor of their house into the snow. ” The two-and-a-half hour runtime clips along with the excitement one might expect from the crime genre,” writes Drew. “And yet, the film’s greatest strength is how severely it rebukes that genre and its sibling genre: the courtroom drama.”

Blue Jean (2023)

#17 on our list of the Best Queer Movies of 2023

In 1980s Ireland, Jean is a high school PE teacher and netball coach who dodges lesbian rumors at work while enjoying a robust queer community at home and a radical dyke girlfriend, Viv. As homophobic politicians fight to root lesbians out of education altogether, Jean’s worlds begin to collide when she runs into a new student, Lois, at the gay bar. “The triumph ofBlue Jean is that it takes time showing the queer lives at stake,” writes Drew in her review of Blue Jean. “This is not a dour film. It has hot lesbian sex, sweaty snapshots of queer bars, and, ultimately, portrays the power of community. This makes the constricting environment of the school all the more painful.”

Carol (2015)

#5 on The 100 Best Lesbian Movies

Perhaps you’ve heard of Carol? There is this fancy woman Carol Aird, and she meets a younger woman, Therese, at a department store. She leaves her gloves and then they have lunch. Then they have an entire affair! It takes place in the 1950s.

Crush (2022)

#62 on The 100 Best Lesbian Movies

This delightful teen rom-com is a lesbian movie on Hulu full of queer actors playing queer characters. Paige is an aspiring artist who joins the track team to beef up her college resume, hoping to get closer to her eternal crush, Gabby — but ends up finding herself drawn to somebody unexpected! “From the extremely winsome leads to the easy story beats and quick humor, it’s darn cute and wholly queer,” wrote Analyssa in her review. “By about 20 minutes in, I had adapted to all the Gen Z speak and was fully along for the ride.”

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)

Drew called this movie, a “critique of non-violence in climate activism, a suggestion that destruction of property in pursuit of sabotage is not only morally justified but morally urgent,” a “radical masterpiece.” Sasha Lane plays Theo, a young woman dying from a rare cancer caused by pollution, and Jaume Lawson plays her Theo’s girlfriend, Alisha.

Sally (2025)

Comes out June 17, 2025

The documentary of the first American woman to go to space — remained closeted throughout her life, but gave her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy the go-ahead to attribute herself accurately in her obituary. Tam is the “true star” of this stirring film about Sally’s life and her relationship, wrote Drew, “delightfully blunt, funny and charming, and matter-of-fact.”

Fantatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (2024)

For over fifteen years, a rogue fan has posed as Tegan Quin, building relationships with other fans and even connecting with Tegan’s real-life friends and associates online, hacking into her computer and quietly terrorizing her life. This is about her mission to find her catfisher, but it’s also about so much more — a specific moment in queer online pop culture history when stars like Tegan & Sara made themselves available to fans who were looking for community and accessibility, and how that vulnerability ended up cutting both ways. Autostraddle readers overlapped a lot with Tegan & Sara fandom, so I was personally just so, so very captivated by it.

Happiest Season (2020)

This hit holiday lesbian movie by Hulu is a rom-com co-written and directed by Clea Duvall. It stars the one and only Kristen Stewart as Abby, who’s meeting her girlfriend Harper’s (Mackenzie Davis) family for the first time. But, big surprise! They don’t know that Harper is gay! Also, Aubrey Plaza plays Harper’s ex-girlfriend, Riley.

In the Summers (2024)

Queer director Alesandra Lacorazza Samudio’s directorial debut is a semi-autobiographical film about two sisters, girly Eva and tomboy Victoria, who live in California and spend fraught summers with their father in New Mexico. ”The greatest strength of In the Summers are these well-written, realistic, complicated characters and watching how the change — or don’t — and how their relationships change — or don’t — over time,” wrote Drew.

Portrait of a Lady On Fire (2019)

#4 on our list of Best Lesbian Movies of All Time

“The invention of lesbian cinema is a project as old as cinema itself,” wrote Drew Gregory in her review. “But every once in a while there is a work of art so specific, so complex, so new in its oldness and old in its newness, that it moves the craft, our craft, to another level of seeing.”

Other Lesbian and Queer Films On Hulu:

Adam (2019)

Based on a controversial graphic novel, Rhys Ernst’s Adam follows a teenage boy who spends the summer of 2006 embedded in his older sister’s vibrant queer community under false pretenses. Read this oral history and give it another chance.

The Almond and the Seahorse (2022)

Based on a play, this “stubbornly lifeless” drama finds Rebel Wilson and Charlotte Gainsbourg playing Sarah and Toni, respectively, two women struggling to manage their lives with partners suffering from traumatic brain injuries — Toni’s partner Gwen and Sarah’s husband Joe. Toni and Sarah’s connection eventually grows romantic and sexual as they search for comfort in this cold world.

Anaïs in Love (2022)

“Throughout the film, Anaïs’ interest in the married man pivots to a much greater interest in the man’s wife,” writes Drew of this lesbian film on Hulu about a chaotic thirty-something who finds herself entangled with the wife of a publisher she’s having an affair with. “But it’s not the film’s queerness that separates it from its subgenre — although I’m grateful for the steamy sex scene. What Anaïs in Love does differently is it lets its protagonist get away with everything.”

Bendetta (2021)

Our “sacrilegious lesbian nun movie” is based on the true story of a 17th-century nun who finds herself entangled in a lesbian affair with a novice and has visions that threaten the Church’s very foundation. Drew was underwhelmed, however, by its alleged scandalousness, noting, “Verhoeven’s offering ends up feeling like a relic of a bygone era — one where the only people allowed to film lesbian sex were straight cis dudes ignorant to the most exciting ways we fuck.”

Boys on the Side (1995)

A deeply beloved 90s classic in which Whoopi Goldberg plays a lesbian musician on a post-crime road trip with Mary Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore. The Indigo Girls! Nineties lipstick! Southwestern landscapes! There is so much processing and bonding in this movie, it’s almost like it’ll never end (just like a real lesbian relationship!).

Boy Meets Girl (2014)

“Eric Schaeffer’s romcom is the sweet — and messy — love story we deserve. Michelle Hendley is an absolute star as Ricky Jones, a small town girl with a YouTube following and a desire for love. It takes a dalliance with the engaged Francesca to reveal the love she has for her male best friend — and what a dalliance it is!” writes Drew. “Ricky’s sex scene with Francesca is hot and tender, and while some of us may have been rooting for the two of them to end up together, the whole thing is so sweet you probably won’t mind that she ends up with the friend. And Hendley is just so good — she’s such a pleasure to watch on screen.”

Elena Undone (2010)

As Erin eloquently wrote in her review I Watched Lesbian Classic ‘Elena Undone’ and I’m Sorry What, “rather than grade it to be a “good” or “bad” or “really not very good” or “garbagio” movie, I will simply ask a neutral question, which is: I’m sorry what.” The wife of a pastor embarks on an affair with a writer.

Fire lsland (2022)

This heartwarming film about a group of gay friends looking for love and sex and community on Fire Island isn’t a lesbian movie, but it’s so hilarious and heartwarming and fantastic that any queer person who believes in queer community would enjoy it. Plus,Margaret Cho gives a delightful performance as “career brunch server, age unknown, lesbian scam queen” Erin. “I lovedFire Island because it was real. It’s real to be erased and undesirable in white queer spaces as a fat person of color,” wrote Carmen in her review. “It’s real to be gay and thirst after Christine Baranski or laugh until your sides hurt over Marissa Tomei. It’s real to want to escape for seven days and never once see a straight person.”

Jagged Mind (2023)

“…my favorite works of queer horror aren’t so easily bound by genre descriptions,” wrote Kayla of this time-looping lesbian erotic thriller, “and Jagged Mind views to me much like a haunted house story — without the actual haunted house. The haunted house, instead, is a relationship.”

Loving Annabelle (2006)

This is one of those formative lesbian films that holds a special place in every millennial’s heart, despite its problematic elements. Annabelle is sent to a Catholic girl’s boarding school after being expelled from the two schools before that — and once there, she falls for her teacher, Simone.

Moving On (2023)

Two friends, Claire (Jane Fonda) and Evie (Lily Tomlin), reunite at the funeral of a third friend with whom, in college, they were an inseparable trio. The group drifted apart afterwards — Evie towards living an out gay life and her cello career, Joyce marrying a terrible man, Claire getting re-married, having kids, getting a corgi. Both arrive at the funeral with ulterior motives — Claire, for one, wants to kill Joyce’s husband. “Watching Fonda and Tomlin perform is like watching an Olympic athlete or a world-renowned ballerina,” writes Drew. “They are masters of their craft and it’s awe-inspiring to witness — even if the material doesn’t always live up to their skill.”

A Perfect Ending (2012)

As Nicole Conn movies go, this one is on the more bearable end — a rich, blonde, middle-aged wife in an unhappy marriage confides in her lesbian friends that she’s never had an orgasm and she rarely has sex with her husband, so they hire a high-class escort (Jessica Clark) to show her the ropes of herself.

Prom Dates (2024)

“In Prom Dates, best friends Jess and Hannah (played by Antonia Gentry and Julia Lester respectively) hope to fulfill the pact they made when they were 13 to have the best prom ever. But now, it’s the day before, and both girls find themselves without dates. Determined to get things back on track, Jess and Hannah set out to find new dates, Hannah comes out to Jess as a lesbian, and chaos ensues. Prom Datesis not a bad movie, but it’s also not a good movie.” — Sai, Hulu’s Prom Dates Tries to be Superbad for Queer Girls

Scream (2022)

coming June 8

Scream V introduces us to Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy, the queer niece of Randy Meeks who shares her deceased uncle’s vast knowledge of horror tropes. The story didn’t blow us away, but it is what it is and we appreciate that.

Tell it to The Bees (2018)

This romantic drama film set in the 1950s stars Anna Paquin as Jean, a new doctor in a small town who makes a connection with Lydia (Hollilday Grainger), whose young son bonds with Jean over their shared interest in bee colonies. But Jean and Lydia’s relationship, believe it or not, is a scandal!

Thirteen (2003)

Queer actor Evan Rachel Wood’s iconic coming-of-age movie finds her playing Tracy, a good kid who lives with her mom (Holly Hunter) who is transformed by her friendship with her school’s resident bad girl, Evie (Nikki Reed), a friendship that trips Tracy into a spiral of drugs, sex and self-harm. “Thirteen, for better or worse, belongs in the canon of lesbian cinema,” writes Drew. “Its tale of queer girl coming-of-age goes deeper than a kiss — even a French one.”

Under the Christmas Tree (2021)

Under the Christmas Treeis famously Lifetime’s first-ever lesbian Christmas movie! Elise Bauman is marketing whiz Alma Beltran, who crosses paths with a Christmas Tree Salesperson (?) Charlie while on the hunt for the prefect tree for the Maine Governor’s Holiday Celebration right in Alma’s backyard. What begins with sparring leads to sparking and romance with the help of Ricki Lake, the town’s pâtissière extraordinaire, who is an inspirational figure to all.

Other movies on Hulu with a minimal amount of Lesbian / Bisexual content:

All Fun and Games (2023)

A horror movie about a group of teens in Salem who find a cursed knife from the 17th century that turns children’s games into horrorshows. Laurel Marsden is Sophie, a lesbian on her way to Smith College and the best friend of Billie, one of two protagonists.

Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2021)

There’s some homoerotic themes and one ill-conceived threesome, but Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar is a delight despite how mostly straight it is. “It’s nonsensical and preposterous and silly and and senseless,” wrote Heather in her review. “It’s like spending 90 minutes inside a fever dream a Kristin Wiig ’80s sketch character might have if she got high inside some kind of Mars Cheese Castle/Dylan’s Candy Bar co-op. And I loved it.”

Black Swan (2010)

It’s genuinely difficult to decide which of the three categories on this list Black Swan fits into! Anyhow, devoted balerina (Natalie Portman) is consumed by her ambitions and brought to the brink of madness.

Death on the Nile (2022)

This adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic novel finds Hercule Poirot aboard a Karnak traversing the river Nile, attempting to solve some murders! Unlike the original novel, this version features Mrs. Bowers and Marie Van Schuyler as members of a secret lesbian relationship with each other.

The Donor Party (2023)

Fresh out of a messy divorce and unfruitful online dating experiments, recently single Jaclyn has decided to get pregnant and live her dream of being a Mom by any means necessary, enlisting her friends to pull off “the ultimate sperm heist.” Her friend Molly invites “three good prospects” for Jaclyn to seduce to a birthday party for her husband Geoff.According to Movieweb, “naughtiness abounds” when “Amandine (Bria Henderson), a lesbian with eyes on Geoff’s sister, encourages Jaclyn to get down and dirty.”

The Drop (2023)

Set at a lesbian destination wedding, this comedy is focused on a straight couple who arrives and immediately drops a baby.Read Kayla’s review of “The Drop.”

Fresh (2022)

This horror movie finds a girl on an endless bad date with a seemingly perfect man who turns out to be a cannibal. Her bisexual best friend bi best friend Mollie (played by Jojo T. Gibbs of Twenties!) ends up having to save her ass.Read Kayla’s review of Fresh.

Mack & Rita(2022)

A comedy that wastes a lot of talented actors in which twentysomething Mack Martin, who feels like an old lady on the inside, becomes one (Diane Keaton) through an age-regression pod, while visiting Palm Springs with her lesbian best friend Carla (Taylour Paige).

Spencer (2021)

Kristen Stewart has a stunning turn as Princess Diana of Wales in this biopic focused entirely on Diana’s Christmas at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate while rumors of an impending divorce stirred about. Stewart’s Diana is gorgeously nervous, manic, unsettled, haunted. Her royal dresser, Maggie, is a lesbian, Diana’s closest friend and most treasured confidant.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)

This biopic telling the story of Billie Holiday is “heavy on trauma and light on queerness,” going so far as to include a kiss between Billie and Tallulah Bankhead (Natasha Lyonne) in the trailer that was cut from the film! Read our review of The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

Whitney: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022)

“Whitney and Robyn moments are sprinkled throughout the film,” writes Amari, “with brief portrayals of Robyn cheering on Whitney’s televised performances from home, acting as her creative director on the sidelines, and begging Whitney to leave Bobby Brown, but they are passing moments — and they certainly do not capture the confirmed emotionally intimate nor romantic elements of their relationship.”

So there you have it, all the lesbian movies on Hulu that we could find! And we searched high and low! Which are you most excited to dust off and revisit, or watch for the first time?

Want more streaming lesbian movies?

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As a queer person who loves all kinds of horror movies, perhaps especially post-apocalyptic survival tales, I was thrilled to hear about the upcoming film, Queens of the Dead, which is being described as a “big gay zombie movie.”

If you, too, are a fan of zombie apocalypse movies, you may have heard of George A. Romero, creator of such classics as Night of the Living Dead. This queer spin on the genre has been taken on by his daughter, Tina Romero. Tina (who wrote this movie with Erin Judge) was inspired to create this when one of the co-promoters of Hot Rabbit (an NYC-based queer dance party) broke off to make a rival event, and the original poster asked, “When will the queer community stop devouring its own?” Suddenly Tina knew she could bring her own unique voice to the genre she grew up watching her dad play in. In fact, the movie will use his vocabulary and play by his “rules.”

Queens of the Dead follows Dre (Katy O’Brian), a — you guessed it — party promoter trying to host a queer warehouse rave and drag show when the zombie outbreak starts. She’s joined by a gaggle of gays played by such icons as Margaret Cho, Jack Haven, Dominique Jackson, Nina West, Julie J, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Riki Lindhome and more.

They didn’t have a big budget, and they had to borrow Katy O’Brian from filming Mission: Impossible, but they had that scrappy spirit queer people tend to have and they made it work, and I can’t wait to see how it turned out.

Queens of the Dead premieres on June 7 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Take a Bite Out of More News

+ Over 100 celebrities signed an open letter to protect federal funding for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention programs like the Trevor Project, including but definitely not limited to: Aly & AJ, Ariana Grande, Bob the Drag Queen, Cara Delevingne, Dua Lipa, FLETCHER, Gabrielle Union-Wade, Jamie Lee Curtis, Josie Totah, King Princess, Margaret Cho, Pedro Pascal, Sabrina Carpenter, Sarah Paulson, and Sophia Bush

+ Rosie O’Donnell played a lesbian nun on And Just Like That

+ Miley Cyrus talked about her career changing, being a real life Hannah Montana, regretting some of her tattoos, not wanting to be a mom, and more in an in-depth interview

+ Stranger Things has dropped a date announcement teaser for its fifth and final season

+ Mini Spice Girls reunion alert! Mel C and Emma joined Mel B for her 50th birthday celebration, decked out in Scary Spice leopard print

+ CW has renewed All American for its eighth and final season

+ Cynthia Erivo talks playing a queer character while she was coming out, advice for queer people in these tumultuous times, and more

+ V. E. Schwab had me at “toxic lesbian vampires”

+ Lady Gaga will guest star on the upcoming second season of Wednesday on Netflix, which absolutely tracks, in my opinion

+ Hacks was always supposed to be five seasons, but now that they’re breaking the fifth season…they might need more time to get to their planned ending (and I’m okay with that)

+ Maria Bello filed for divorce from her wife of one year

+ Reneé Rapp tried polyamory once but it wasn’t for her; she’s all about monogamy with Towa Bird

+ Rapp also says her house is basically a “lesbian frat house” and that her and her gaggle of queer friends “have an agreement to help protect the most marginalized and vulnerable among them.

+ Clea Duvall reflects on But I’m a Cheerleader 25 years later

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!