Visit the Encyclopedia of Lesbian Cinema
Since I started writing at Autostraddle in 2018, updating and expanding our Best Lesbian Movies list has been one of my primary projects. I’ve watched hundreds of films, seeking out lost hidden gems and keeping up with new films released each year. The updated 100 turned into 200 and as it grew I knew the list needed to split. There were just too many movies to limit to any manageable number. And so The Autostraddle Encyclopedia of Lesbian Cinema was born, a companion to our ranked list.
Last year, that ranked list got a makeover with input from 78 queer writers and artists who submitted ballots. Now it’s time for the Encyclopedia to get a makeover of its own. Even at its former 200 titles, the list was too unwieldy for our regular site. Now it’s expanded to over 375 films and I’m adding more every day. That’s why I’m so excited to announce encyclopedia.autostraddle.com, a site for AF+ members with a sortable collection of the best (and worst!) sapphic cinema.
So how does it work?
If you’re an AF Media or AF+ member, you can just enter the email attached to the account. If you’re not, you can become one for as little as $4 a month. Once you’re in the site, you’ll see all the films listed alphabetically. You can search for a title or a browse via genre, star rating (these ratings are very loose don’t be mad!!), or identity if you only want to search through films with trans main characters or characters of color. You can then add films to either your favorites list or your watchlist.
Each film also has its own page with a short review written by me. And if you want more info either before or after watching, any film that’s been covered by Autostraddle has links to those reviews, essays, and interviews.
Ready? Start exploring!
It’s called The Autostraddle Encyclopedia of Lesbian Cinema, but we’re using the word lesbian in a very expansive 20th century sort of way. This list is inclusive to all women and nonbinary characters romantically or sexually involved with women or nonbinary characters. Unlike past versions of the list, there’s no quality cap. While I prioritized films I like, the site also has some movies I’d include on a worst lesbian movies list. It also includes movies with lesbian subtext when that subtext is widely agreed upon and part of the text — for example, Rebecca (1940) is included, but Bring It On (2000) is not. (Sorry.)
I have my own private list of movies to add as I continue to expand the site, but there’s also a feature where you can make recommendations! It’ll be helpful for me in recommending films I might not know about and in deciding what I should prioritize as adding from my own list.
Okay I think that’s everything! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below. Or just let me know what films you’re excited to watch from your watchlist!
Comments
Wow okay this was a TON of work! Congratulations Drew and everyone who voted and contributed! What a project <3 I’m so excited to be able to add some movies to my to-be-watched.
CONGRATULATIONS DREW!!!!!! nothing NOTHING else exists like this anywhere else but here. i love the sheer size of this project and the voice you bring to it, too <3
This is incredible! I’m so excited to add so many films to my list
Was My First Summer up for consideration?
Ah when I was first watching stuff it wasn’t available but now I see it is! Will definitely watch before next year.
Best list ever! Which were the other ones you wanted to put but weren’t available? I think me siento extraña is on DVD, maybe others are too now, or streaming?
Wow this is really incredible! Thank you!
As someone involved in queer film festivals and screening since more than 3 decades – thank you for your service, Drew!
Ángeles Cruz’ Nudo Mixteco is terribly underseen so if nobody’s been able to catch it I’m not surprised, but it’s a wonderful film I really recommend.
Ooo it’s on HBO Max! Thanks for the rec!
Any love at all for “Blow Dry”? As one can tell from the (poorly-made, IMO) trailer, it doesn’t center it’s lesbian couple (Rachel Griffiths and Natasha Richardson). But their story is very poignant, and in the end, it’s a positive story of blended-family.
https://youtu.be/w0r3TMa4ax4
Ooo I’ve never seen this! Adding to my list!
Thank you for this list, there are plenty of recent and older titles I wasn’t familiar with, and a good reminder of a lot of movies I’ve enjoyed. I also have quite a few titles to submit for consideration which I will come back to do!
It’s on DVD
I watched 8 Femmes on Logo while dog sitting for the gay couple across the street in what feels like a fever dream from 20 years ago. So fun, so entrancing…if anyone knows how I could find this masterpiece my eternal thanks would be yours.
It’s on DVD on Amazon
This is SUCH an amazing labour of love, holy moly. Making a must-watch list from this!
Wow, great thanks for this elaborate and detailed encyclopedia! And I am adding “Jamie and Jesse Are Not Together” (2011) to the list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRqCi4SSgAA
Thank you for this.
I am also adding “Break My Fall” (2011) – it’s on Tubi TV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQm9kgwGrhU
But also a content warning about this movie in regards to intimate partner violence
Following on from the above, these are my fave suggestions to add:
April’s Shower – low budget
and of its time, but sweet
The Baby Formula –
mockumentary, interesting concept
of both women being pregnant at
once, not to mention the “science”
behind it
Being John Malkovich – I’ve seen
Jude Doyle’s read of this as a trans,
rather than lesbian, film but I can’t
recall without a rewatch how it
comes across, certainly a very
original film
Bye Bye Blondie – very
mainstream-style romance with
major French actors
Clouds of Sils Maria – YMMV on
the explicitness of the queer content
but a fantastic film that feels so
queer. I love how Juliette Binoche’s
character traverses the entire gender presentation spectrum like that ‘futch’ meme.
Dual – lovely quiet Slovenian film
about two women who connect
briefly
The Edge of Heaven – classy German-Turkish film with a lovely lesbian couple, though not a happy film at all
A Family Affair – a low-budget
2000s Jewish family coming out
film
French Twist – this film is very French!
The Girl Who Played With Fire
and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – these sequels to the
Swedish film are the better stories
for me and the middle one (at least)
has more explicit queerness.
Ghostbusters – it’s a small part of the movie but Holtzman’s queerness is clear
Girl, Interrupted – the kiss between Winona and Angelina in this movie is my root
Girltrash: All Night Long – I know this didn’t turn out quite the way the director wanted it, but I think it’s such an enjoyable film in a class with DEBS
Henry and June – sexy, serious, literary
Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together – cute musical romcom
Kaboom – it’s a trip
Kinsey – it’s a small role but Lynn Redgrave is so powerful as an older woman with a beautiful “it gets better” story
The Laramie Project – play adaptation with various queer characters
Laurence Anyways – gradually developing love story between a trans and a cis woman
The Monkey’s Mask – I don’t love this film but it’s one of the biggest Australian lesbian films, and an adaptation of an excellent book
The Mountain/Fjellet – slow burn romantic drama
Nathalie… and Chloe – I love the complex screenplay of the original, but I also love the explicit sexiness of the remake so they each have their advantages
The Other Side of the Bed and
The Two Sides of the Bed – Spanish musicals with the tone of 8 Women although I can’t vouch for how they’ve aged. In the first film, one of two male friends thinks his girlfriend is cheating on him with her lesbian friend. In the second, both girlfriends are indeed cheating and in love with each other.
Prey for Rock and Roll – rock music drama with some heavy storylines and a bunch of queer women
The Ring Thing and That’s Not Us
– interesting, low-budget Canadian
talkies. One is about and the other
features a lesbian couple.
Room in Rome – I know many
don’t consider this a good film, but I
find it romantic and sexy and enjoy
the lush hotel and the music
The Spanish Apartment and its
sequels Russian Dolls and Chinese
Puzzle – the lesbian here is never
the main character, but we get to see her love life and her close friendship
with the male character as she grows over the years
Tru Loved (2008) – early and cute
example of a portrayal of lesbian
parents of a teenage kid
Vivere – don’t remember this well
but it was a thoughtful drama
What’s Cooking – an early holiday
movie with lesbian representation
Wild Side – a must-watch for fans
of Bound. Not as good but very very
similar and came out the same year.
A classic Antz/A Bug’s Life
situation!
thank you so much for this, Drew. actually I had been waiting for this sort of thing. <3 merci. I love your passion for cinema, I guess you are partially responsible for my own exploration of cinema
Was thinking about my huge lesbian cinema kick circa 2006 and remembered that I had Hu Die on repeat for a long while. Can only find it on you right now, but that is okay – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2OcTrh4KKg&list=PLt4gkKv37eSCm1ZA6XS7sg51E4gBwNEz7
I also watched Les Filles du Botaniste a few times…. feels like a fever dream that does NOT have a happy ending. Wow things have changed.
https://flashbak.com/a-time-before-netflix-vintage-tv-movie-of-the-week-adverts-365256/
“A triad of lesbian movies aired in the late 1970s: (1) The War Widow (1976), about a woman who falls for another gal while her spouse is off fighting in World War I. (2) This little gem from 1977 starring Barbara Hershey as a lesbian on trial for murdering her blackmailer. And, finally, (3) the 1978 drama A Question of Love which was hugely popular and paved the way for a tidal wave of lesbian TV flicks in the 1980s.”
In (2) Barbara Hershey and Diana Scarwid have a sizzling jail scene in “In the Glitter Palace/ A Woman Accused.” As a reviewer noted, “I had to give it two stars just because it was so much fun to see Chad Everett get tromped by misanthropic lesbians in a bar.” There’s also also a corrupt closeted lesbian judge.
Sadly the transfer for VHS/DVD has trash audio. Hopefully someday it will get a proper release.
This is truly amazing. Also, I knew I could count on you to have the list on Letterboxed. I’ve only seen 47 out of 250, clearly I have some films to watch!
This is so cool, if you haven’t seen these lesbian movies you should definitely watch them and possibly add them to this list as well. Elisa y Marcela (2019), amazing movie, and then Desire (AKA “Q”, 2011), only certain parts of that one were amazing if you know what I mean.
Ok but the Perfection is actually a wicked good film…. the twists are stellar?? Yes some content is hard to swallow but please tell me why it’s bad? It’s artful, twisty, edgy…
It is an online gambling website that has the most members. Because it is a gambling website that has been trusted by a large number of people, there are many service users and there is also a fast service that makes users with us impressed and trusting us.
You can enjoy Les Biches at the LGBTV recycle site https://fero.tips/videos/movies/les-biches-aka-bad-girls-1968/
I add “Leading Ladies” (2010) – another queer movie und very different to the film with the same name from 2021 named in the encyclopedia. It ia about dance and changing family dynamics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiwCYPiNX4w
This list is absolutely wonderful- without it, my DVD cabinet would be sadly devoid of anything sapphic. I know you are very busy, but when you can, could you maybe say what the films were that you couldn’t access to watch, apart from ‘me siento extrana’?
Awesome, thanks so much Drew! I don’t know how I missed this when you first launched it
Thank you for reminding me that this exists, as I never got around to making use of it the first time it was posted!!! Great collection here, and I’m so impressed at how many movies you’ve watched, and I can’t wait to watch a bunch of these movies! I have a question about the title system. Is there a certain rule for when the original title of a film is shown and when the English translation (and is there a reason that sometimes it’s both)? Would it be possible to always have both in a set order? Also, do you think it’s technically possible to navigate by first letter (or at least by numbered pages instead of only one giant scroll)? I just wanted to look through the whole catalogue and it was a pain in the butt that every time something went wrong or I exited out I needed to click “see more” a bazillion times to get to where I was before. Love the watchlist function and I love that the entries link to Autostraddle reviews where possible :) Amazing work!
Thank you!!! This feedback is so helpful. I’d also noticed the “see more” issue and will definitely pass that along to the designers.
And the English translation vs. original titles was basically done by what they’re known as/advertised as? (Like Je Tu Il Elle is almost never I You He She, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire is known as that.) But it isn’t always consistent, so I’ll do a pass to try to keep that clearer.
Thanks again!
SO HYPE ABOUT THISSSSS
hillo
It won’t let me login :( Just leads me to the AF+ sign up page.
Oh no! Thank you for letting me know, I’ll look into it for you.
I’m having the same exact issue! I use Brave so I wasn’t sure if it was due to my privacy settings so I switched to Safari (default settings) but the issue persisted. Same thing when I tried to log in on my phone (initially used my computer). Just in case, I tried entering my other email addresses but none of them worked so I don’t think the issue is that I am misremembering which email is associated with AS.
Fwiw I am an AF media member but not an AF+ member.
Hoping this gets fixed soon bc I am taking a break from grad school and have so much time on my hands to watch some queer film :) Thank you Drew for compiling this resource!
well that is not good, i will look into this for you! it should definitely be working with an AF Media membership
ok! i wasn’t sure which email your af+ account was under, but the email that this comment is under (it’s @ miami dot edu), should work now to get into the encyclopedia. let me know if you still have any problems with it!
Thank you, Drew! Giving the link to all my friends and family (the ones I like anyway). You do excellent work.
Amazing! How did I not know about this?!?!? Would it be possible to put in a filter by streaming platform option?