The Lesbian Film Archive
High school films
In these high school set, coming of age films, teenagers discover who they are and who they want to be. These lesbian high school films range from laugh-out-loud comedies (Booksmart, Fucking Amal) to more sinister plots (Alena, Lost and Delirious), but all traverse the same hallowed halls of high schools.

With a twist that is clear almost immediately, Alena is a horror film that can't hit quite hard enough. Alena (Amalia Holm) is a new girl at an elite boarding school, bullied by the popular girls, when she is continiously saved by her best friend Josefin (Rebecka Nyman). Based on a graphic novel of the same name, Alena is a Swedish attempt at psychological thriller about the horrors of bullying.

Na’ama (Sivan Noam Shimon) is a bored seventeen year old in her sleepy suburb. Her home life is a mess, with absent parents and a rebellious older sister, however when new girl Dana (Hadas Jade Sakori) appears at her school, her life changes. Dana introduces Na’ama to drugs, sex, and other lesbians. As Na’ama meets more people, she realizes her own feelings toward Dana.

It's the day before graduation when Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) realize that they may have missed out on important high school moments while focusing on grades and success alone. Together, they embark on a wild, last ditch effort to have chaotic fun before they graduate.

The film that continues to convince girls that Natasha Lyonne is a lesbian. But I'm a Cheerleader centers on Megan (Natasha Lyonne) and her journey at True Directions, a campy converson camp. While there, Megan meets, and falls for, fellow camper and hottie Graham (Clea DuVall). Come for the incredible silliness of Megan's intervention and the stereotypes on display, stay for the sweet love story between Megan and Graham (a classic hand touching scene!!!)

Coming of age in the 90s in Ireland, just two years after homosexuality was legalized, Eddie (Fionn O'Shea) and Amber (Lola Petticrew) decide to fake date to stop any speculation about their sexuality. A story about queer friendship and figuring out your identity together, Dating Amber is heartfelt, sad, and funny and showcases the ups and downs of queer discovery.

In this sweet, silly, and at times touching film, Ellie (Sophie Hawkshaw) comes out to her mom and wants to ask her crush, Abbie (Zoe Terakes) to the school formal. But as the title implies, Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt) is not just about Ellie and Abbie. As Ellie works up her courage, her dead aunt Tara (Julia Billington) appears from the beyond to give Ellie advice from her own life as an activist lesbian in the 80s.

In The Fallout, a school shooting disrupts the lives of highschoolers forever. While trapped in a bathroom Vada (Jenna Ortega) hides in a stall with Mia (Maddie Ziegler) and Quinton (Niles Fitch). After the trauma of the shooting, Vada becomes withdrawn from her family and friends, but forms new relationships with Mia and Quinton. The Fallout handles grief and trauma beautifully alongside an tradegy that is too common for teens today.

A coming-of-age, lesbian take on Cyrano de Bergerac has straight-A student Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) helping a delightful himbo (Daniel Diemer) write letters to the object of both of their affections, Aster (Alexxis Lemire). Sweet, awkward, and subtle, this film is a lovely return for director Alice Wu, and features one of the best coming of age song of all time (Seventeen by Sharon Van Etten).

A incredibly sweet story of high schoolers finding themselves and falling love. The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love traces the coming of age story of Randy (Laurel Holloman) and Evie (Nicole Parker) as they form an unlikely friendship which blossoms into an even unlikely romance. With a soundtrack that has both Bikini Kill and Mozart, a serious love for Walt Whitman, and a joking engagement with Rubyfruit Jungle, this film is unpretentious in its earnestness.

Lost and Delirious showcases the friendship of three teenagers in a posh, private boarding school. Told from the perspective of Mary (Mischa Barton), she observes her friends Pauline (Piper Perabo) and Victoria (Jessica Paré) secret relationship progress. Dealing with both the light and dark side of friendship and love, the film is an exploration of coming of age when the world is against you.

Coming of age in a small town is equally boring and unsatisfying for popular girl Elin (Alexandra Dahlström) and for outcast and rumored lesbian Agnes (Rebecka Liljeberg). Over the course of Fucking Åmål, Elin and Agnes work through their shared experience of first love, coming out, and the everyday dramas of high school.

A high schooler has her life disrupted when her mother decides to move their family from England to a small town in America, where she spent years as a child. Through a slow love story, two girls in town come together to overcome teenage boredom and the uncertainties of growing up.

To the Stars takes place in 1960 in a rural town in Oklahoma. Iris (Kara Hayward) is a quiet and friendless girl, emotionally abused by her mother. When new girl Maggie (Liana Liberato) comes to town, the girls develop a fast friendship. However, Maggie has secrets of her own, with an abusive father and romantic feelings towards Iris. Through dramatic turns, To the Stars tells a depressing story of abuse and complex friendship.

Set in a French suburb, Water Lillies showcases the teenage angst of discovering one's sexuality and attraction. Marie (Pauline Acquart) becomes interested in Floriane (Adèle Haenel) after observing her swimming compeition, while Anne (Louise Blachère) develops a crush on François (Warren Jacquin) who is currently seeing Floriane. The three girls love lives and friendships entangle with one another as they spend the summer in the swimming pool and in the privacy of the locker room.