If you follow me on Letterboxd, you probably noticed my creation of The Queer Canon, a list dedicated to chronicling and ranking all of the queer films I’ve watched. For pride month, I wanted to bring that to this site in long form for the second year in a row. Since it is just me creating this list, it is obviously subject to my own bias as a white sapphic person!

This year’s list has 30 movies (up from 15 last year) out of the 60 total queer films I’ve watched. Of these, there is sadly only one non-English language movie on the list, but I plan on trying to watch more for 2025’s list. Unfortunately the few that I have watched over the past year were just not that good!

If I’m missing your favorite, let us know in the comments!

30. The Color Purple (2023)

Director: Blitz Bazawule

Release Date: 2023

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

The first time this movie was adapted, the queerness was completely erased from the narrative. The second time, the relationship between the two main women was made explicit. The Color Purple is a powerful story about struggling to survive and the power of relationships between women.

29. Juniper

Director: Katherine Dudas

Release Date: 2021

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

After her sister dies, a college aged girl goes to her family’s cabin to grieve. Unfortunately for her (and fortunately for the audience) her friends show up as well, ostensibly for “comfort”. What follows is a 90 minute film that takes us deeply into the lives of a friend group where everyone is gay and secrets abound. This film is far more indie than most of the others on the list, and the humor and style aren’t for everyone, but I deeply enjoyed it.

28. Crush

Director: Sammi Cohen

Release Date: 2022

Find the Movie: Letterboxd | Review

Starting the list off strong with a high school era enemies to lovers tale that truly does it like nobody else! And by nobody else, I mean there were rumors that the cast really did hate each other, which only added to the allure of the film itself. Purely judging based off what is onscreen, these are two talented young actors giving an incredible and oftentimes laugh out loud performance.

27. Single All the Way

Director: Michael Mayer

Release Date: 2021

Find the Movie: Letterboxd | Review

I absolutely adore this movie, and it has quickly moved to a yearly re-watch type of film. It’s a classic—a happy friendship duo head to one of their family’s homes for Christmas, and hijinks ensue as they are pushed together (and apart) by their family. It brought me so much happiness!

26. Girl, Interrupted

Director: James Mangold

Release Date: 1999

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

While I absolutely adored Angelina Jolie in this film, the relative lack of explicit queerness on-screen dropped this movie to 9th place. Most of this movie takes place at a mental institution where the main characters are living, so I’d add a strong trigger warning for mental illness—and 1960’s care practices. If you’re a fan of queer undertones and movies that center lesbian characters with lots of odd yearning that pays off in a single kiss, this movie is for you.

25. Challengers

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Release Date: 2024

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Challengers is a gay movie and I refuse to believe otherwise. The boys are in love, and there is more than just subtext to back that up. That being said, I did rank it this low because of the ratio of subtext to genuine queerness and the fact that 1/3 of the characters are definitely straight and only 1/3 of the characters are definitely bi. If you’re looking for a super fucking hot movie about bisexuals who love each other and tennis, go watch Challengers.

24. Disobedience

Director: Sebastián Lelio

Release Date: 2017

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

If you’ve heard of this film, it’s probably because of the famous “spit” scene where one actress named Rachel spits into the mouth of another actress named Rachel. This scene is hot, yes, especially if you’re willing to watch the incredibly long period of yearning to hit this point. It seems that far too many lesbian movies are essentially about unfulfilled desire, and this one is no different.

23. Bodies Bodies Bodies

Director: Halina Reijn

Release Date: 2022

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

This movie was so incredibly good. The horror was well-played, with just enough suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat. While the friend group was criminally unhinged, this was such a great cast that they managed to pull it off. Amandla Stenberg and Rachel Sennott are such talented actors, and I’m fully planning a binge to watch everything they’ve ever been in.

22. Booksmart

Director: Olivia Wilde

Release Date: 2019

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Booksmart was well crafted from start to finish. This coming-of-age story wasn’t explicitly focused on romance, but the strength of the friendship between the two main characters was potentially more poignant. This will forever be a classic for straight and queer people alike, and is well worth the watch if you haven’t seen it already.

21. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Director: Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan

Release Date: 2022

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Everything Everywhere All at Once is ranked lower because the queerness is not the central focus of the movie nor the identity of the main character. However, one of the side characters (who gets significant screen-time) is a lesbian, and during one of the many time periods, the main character is as well. In my opinion, that’s enough to consider it queer.

20. NYAD

Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

Release Date: 2023

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

NYAD is the powerful true story of the lesbian long distance swimmer who was determined to do what nobody had ever done before. Well into her 50s, Nyad trained and struggled to accomplish her life’s goal. What’s so great about this movie is the display of queer friendship and chosen family.

19. D.E.B.S.

Director: Angela Robinson

Release Date: 2004

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

In this classic lesbian movie, a group of girls work for a secret undercover spy group. It’s all fun and games until one of them falls in love with the enemy and they end up running off together. As you could probably guess, D.E.B.S. is incredibly camp and incredibly funny.

18. Theater Camp

Director: Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman

Release Date: 2023

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Theater is inherently queer, and that was brought to the forefront in Theater Camp. While only one of the two main characters were explicitly gay, there was enough LGBTQ+ content in this to make it deserve its place on the list. When a theater camp is in danger of shutting down, two campers-turned-counselors do everything in their power to save it.

17. Vita & Virginia

Director: Chanya Button

Release Date: 2018

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

I am not a big fan of period pieces, but I did enjoy this one. Vita & Virginia is deeply sapphic and filled with all of the longing you would expect out of a movie where women are forced to wear dresses and corsets.

16. Blue Jean

Director: Georgia Oakley

Release Date: 2022

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

While this movie isn’t exactly “feel good”, it is one of my favorite movies. Set in the UK during a recent period of homosexual backlash, Jean must figure out who she wants to be and what she wants to show to the world. Fearful of losing her job if people find out she’s queer, the physical education teacher ends up hurting one of her (also queer) students on her journey to finding herself.

15. Love Lies Bleeding

Director: Rose Glass

Release Date: 2024

Find the Movie: Letterboxd | Review

Love Lies Bleeding is Kristen Stewart’s dramatic romance filled with steroids, criminal enterprise, and toxic relationships. I love when there’s queer romances that don’t center around the people being queer—the fact that they were lesbians felt mostly irrelevant to the plot as a whole while still feeling authentically gay. This movie was gruesome and not for the faint of heart, but the romance and sex was hot nonetheless.

14. Shiva Baby

Director: Emma Seligman

Release Date: 2020

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

If you’re okay with watching a movie that will make you anxious the entire time, go watch Shiva Baby. This film was incredibly anxiety inducing, but it worked to capture the headspace of our main character as she navigates a Shiva in the presence of her family, her sugar daddy, and her ex-girlfriend. Spicy!

13. Loving Annabelle

Director: Katherine Brooks

Release Date: 2006

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

I know this movie is controversial! Teachers and students should not date! That being said, this movie does have a place in the lesbian canon both because of what an enjoyable watch it is and because of when it came out. A Catholic teacher has to handle coming out both to herself and other people while her student, Annabelle, is confidently queer.

12. The Half of It

Director: Alice Wu

Release Date: 2020

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

I know I’m not alone in hoping that The Half of It eventually gets a sequel. This was such a heartwarming teen movie about a girl who’s deeply and impossibly in love with another girl. Anyone who’s had an unrequited high school crush will relate to the emotions that Leah Lewis portrays through her character, Ellie. It’s part of the quintessential queer kid experience.

11. Happiest Season

Director: Clea DuVall

Release Date: 2020

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Widely criticized for having one of the most insufferable love interests of all time, Happiest Season is a mainstream lesbian entry into the Christmas romance genre directed by a true lesbian icon. Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza star in this lighthearted film about coming out to your family and finding ways to celebrate the holidays in a somewhat dysfunctional (yet ultimately loving) environment. Did I mention that Aubrey Plaza is an incredibly hot lesbian?

10. Do Revenge

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Release Date: 2022

Find the Movie: Letterboxd | Review

While I wasn’t initially expecting much from this Netflix original, I absolutely adored it. It was such a hilarious return comedic content and romance. There was drama, scandal, and more. High school movie fans will love this, and even if it’s not your normal cup of tea, the plot twists and betrayal will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

9. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Director: Desiree Akhavan

Release Date: 2018

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is just so good. While it takes place at a conversion camp, the emotion and love is so beautifully displayed in this adaption of the book by the same name. I still haven’t read the book but I love the movie so much.

8. Edge of Seventeen

Director: David Moreton

Release Date: 1998

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Not to be confused with the much more recent Edge of Seventeen (2016) starring Hailee Steinfeld, this coming of age movie is about coming out, but it’s also about finding yourself. It was delightful and emotionally gut wrenching all at the same time. Plus, I’m living for Eric’s style evolution over the course of the two hours. This is the type of movie that leaves you crying and screaming at the screen while simultaneously understanding each character’s actions.

7. Saving Face

Director: Alice Wu

Release Date: 2004

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

Part of what made this movie so fun was the fact that we got a romantic story from both mother and daughter. A Chinese-American woman is dealing with her forbidden romance at the same time her mother is secretly dating someone herself. This movie was so funny while being emotionally resonant at the same time.

6. But I’m a Cheerleader

Director: Jamie Babbit

Release Date: 1999

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

This is potentially the most well-known lesbian movie of all time, at least among lesbians. Featuring absolute icons Clea Duvall, Natasha Lyonne, and Melanie Lynskey, this campy conversion camp classic is an absolute must watch for a mix of comedy and tears.

5. Carol

Director: Todd Haynes

Release Date: 2015

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

I finally got around to watching Carol, and now it’s near the top of this list. In the 1950s, a department-store clerk falls in love with an older woman who desperately wants to escape her current life. Even as someone who doesn’t love period pieces, this one was sexy and fun and there was enough true romance to back up the yearning.

4. Bottoms

Director: Emma Seligman

Release Date: 2023

Find the Movie: Letterboxd | Review

Bottoms is an incredibly camp high school comedy about two best friends, Josie and PJ, who start a fight club to attract girls. There’s absolutely no realism in this movie, so don’t expect it, but there are cute romantic arcs and an adorable lesbian best friendship.

3. Housekeeping for Beginners

Director: Goran Stolevski

Release Date: 2023

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

I had no idea what to expect when I saw this movie in theaters, but it exceeded all of my expectations. When Dita’s girlfriend dies, she finds herself raising her girlfriend’s two daughters, and managing the community space that they house had become. This Macedonian film was a beautiful story of found family that left me crying at multiple points.

2. Imagine Me & You

Director: Ol Parker

Release Date: 2005

Find the Movie: Letterboxd

If you’re a fan of classic early aughts rom-coms, then you’ll absolutely love Imagine Me & You. It’s built to that model, but with a lesbian twist! I was yelling screaming and cheering for the protagonists to succeed throughout the entirety of the film. Plus, the chemistry between the leads is incredible!

1. Fire Island

Director: Andrew Ahn

Release Date: 2022

Find the Movie: Letterboxd | Review

This was one of my favorite movies of last year, and with good reason. Fire Island is based on Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, but centering a cast of gay Asian men on their annual trip to Fire Island. Enemies to lovers is a soft spot of mine, but what really made this movie great was the friendships between the main characters and the conversations they had that made them feel real. It’s hard to be funny and deep at the same time, but this cast pulled it off!

What are your favorite queer movies?