compilation of lesbian/sapphic movies for reference to my lesbian cinema studies. not super organized. includes documentaries and short movies.

this is a personal list, not a recommendation list. my letterboxd.

♡: faves / ☆: watched with my girlfriend

• ✔ outlaw (1994, directed by alisa lebow) ♡
• bound (1996, directed by lana wachowski, lilly wachowski)
• ✔ the watermelon woman (1996, directed by cheryl dunye) ♡
• ✔ but i'm a cheerleader (1999, directed by jamie babbit) ☆
• ✔ portrait of a lady on fire (2019, directed by céline sciamma)
• ✔ carol (2015, directed by todd haynes)
• desert hearts (1985, directed by donna deitch)
• ✔ the handmaiden (2016, directed by park chan-wook) ♡ ☆
• saving face (2004, directed by alice wu)
• ✔ bottoms (2023, directed by emma seligman)
• pariah (2011, directed by dee rees)
• d.e.b.s. (2004, directed by angela robinson)
• set it off (1996, directed by f. gary gray)
• ✔ imagine me & you (2005, directed by ol parker) ☆
• born in flames (1983, directed by lizzie borden)
• high art (1998, directed by lisa cholodenko)
• heavenly creatures (1994, directed by peter jackson)
• show me love (1998, directed by lukas moodysson)
• the incredibly true adventure of two girls in love (1995, directed by maria maggenti)
• go fish (1994, directed by rose troche)
• mädchen in uniform (1931, directed by leontine sagan, carl froelich)
• je tu il elle (1974, directed by chantal akerman)
• rafiki (2018, directed by wanuri kahiu)
• the half of it (2020, directed by alice wu)
• mosquita y mari (2012, directed by aurora guerrero)
• circumstance (2011, directed by maryam keshavarz)
• gia (1998, directed by michael cristofer)
• princess cyd (2017, directed by stephen cone)
• the miseducation of cameron post (2018, directed by desiree akhavan)
• bloodsisters: leather, dykes, and sadomasochism (1995, directed by michelle handelman)
• i can’t think straight (2008, directed by shamim sarif)
• working girls (1986, directed by lizzie borden)
• shakedown (2018, directed by leilah weinraub)
• drive-away dolls (2024, directed by ethan coen)
• honey don't! (2025, directed by ethan coen)
• ✔ love lies bleeding (2024, directed by rose glass) ☆
• novitiate (2017, directed by margaret betts)
• water lilies (2007, directed by céline sciamma)
• all over me (1997, directed by alex sichel)
• disobedience (2017, directed by sebastián lelio)
• you can live forever (2022, directed by sarah watts, mark slutsky)
• spider lilies (2007, directed by zero chou)
• coming out (2000, directed by kim jee-woon)
• afternoon breezes (1980, directed by hitoshi yazaki)
• a bride for rip van winkle (2016, directed by shunji iwai)
• my first summer (2020, directed by katie found)
• kamikaze hearts (1986, directed by juliet bashore)
• i care a lot (2020, directed by j blakeson)
• ✔ fear street trilogy (2021, directed by leigh janiak)
• unlock your heart (2021, directed by rin shuto)
• blue (2002, directed by hiroshi ando)
• benedetta (2021, directed by paul verhoeven)
• schoolgirl complex (2013, directed by yûichi onuma)
• ride or die (2021, directed by ryuichi hiroki)
• reaching for the moon (2013, directed by bruno barreto)
• first girl i loved (2016, directed by kerem sanga)
• fire (1996, directed by deepa mehta)
• elisa & marcela (2019, directed by isabel coixet)
• yes or no (2010, directed by saratswadee wongsomphet)
• ✔ alucarda (1977, directed by juan lópez moctezuma) ☆
• vita & virginia (2018, directed by chanya button)
• between the seasons (2018, directed by kim jun-sik)
• light light light (2023, directed by inari niemi)
• swimming in the dark (2022, directed by pin-ru chen)
• a woman like eve (1979, directed by nouchka van brakel)
• heavy snow (2023, directed by yun su-ik)
• therese and isabelle (1968, directed by radley metzger)
• chloe (2009, directed by atom egoyan)
• who’ll stop the rain (2023, directed by i-hsuan su)
• memento mori (1999, directed by min kyu-dong, kim tae-yong)
• butterfly (2004, directed by gorretti mak yan-yan)
• jenny’s wedding (2015, directed by mary agnes donoghue)
• vampyros lesbos (1971, directed by jesús franco)
• tell it to the bees (2018, directed by annabel jankel)
• ✔ the vampire lovers (1970, directed by roy ward baker) ☆
• the world to come (2020, directed by mona fastvold)
• chutney popcorn (1999, directed by nisha ganatra)
• the aggressives (2005, directed by daniel peddle)
• ✔ mom, if i were a vampire (2022, directed by deborah devyn chuang)
• my summer of love (2004, directed by paweł pawlikowski)
• pariah (2011, directed by dee rees)