12 Lesbian Films Still To Come In 2026 & How To See Them
There’s plenty to look forward to here, and we are officially seated.
Featured image courtesy of Shudder
The future of queer cinema feels a little fraught in the current political climate, but 2026 is still promising a solid lineup of sapphic stories to look forward to this year. From the latest iteration of Hayley Kiyoko’s Girls Like Girls to the third movie from cult favorite director Jane Schoenbrun, here’s our roundup of films centering queer female stories to add to your calendar.
Saccharine
Saccharine is a horror film that slots perfectly into the year 2026, centering around the current weight loss craze, with a ghoulish twist—this diet involves eating human ashes. The movie follows Hana (Midori Francis), a sapphic medical student who is haunted by her crush on a girl at her gym and the ghost of the person whose ashes she has consumed.
Release date: May 22, 2026
The Little Sister
The Little Sister won the Queer Palm at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and is expected to finally hit theaters in the U.S. this summer. This coming-of-age story follows Fatima (Nadia Melliti) as she moves to Paris to study philosophy and finds herself struggling to reconcile her religious upbringing with her newfound freedom and desires.
Release date: June 5, 2026
Girls Like Girls
Girls Like Girls made its pop culture debut as Hayley Kiyoko’s coming out song. She later turned it into a coming-of-age novel set in the aughts, and now that novel is slated to be Lesbian Jesus’s directorial debut. Do we really need to say more?
Release date: June 19, 2026
Heartstopper Forever
In this final chapter (at least in live-action form) of the Heartstopper love story, Nick and Charlie are very much in love and facing the big question of whether first love is really something that can last forever. But theirs aren’t the only stories we’ve become heavily invested in, and of course we need to see what happens between the show’s sapphics, Tara and Darcy, when the film debuts on Netflix in July.
Release date: July 17
Sia Nostalgic for the Present
This star-studded documentary takes you behind the scenes and into the mind of Austrian songstress Sia during her Nostalgic for the Present tour. The film stars Maddie Ziegler, Nicholas Lanzisera, Stephanie Mincone, and Wyatt Rocker, and features Paul Dano, Gaby Hoffmann, Ben Mendelsohn, Tig Notaro, and Kristen Wiig.
Release date: July 23
Her Private Hell
Sophie Thatcher and Havana Rose Liu star as former lovers in this visually lush and bizarre horror film from director Nicolas Winding Refn. Here, Elle (Thatcher) finds herself trapped in a mist- and monster-filled world when she agrees to help a young woman search for her missing father. Things get weird and vibey from there.
Release date: July 24
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
A queer filmmaker (Hannah Einbinder) becomes fixated on a reclusive actress (Gillian Anderson) from the popular slasher franchise she’s been hired to revitalize. This slasher satire from Jane Schoenbrun has already received rave reviews out of the Cannes Film Festival and is expected to hit Mubi later this year.
Release date: August 7, 2026
The Wrong Girls
This movie shot to the top of our must-see list the second it was announced. Directed and written by Dylan Meyer, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat as pot-smoking besties who accidentally gain telepathic powers when a case of mistaken identity and some experimental drugs turn their lives into utter chaos and put them in the crosshairs of some very dangerous rivals. As if that weren’t enough to guarantee we’d be seated, the cast is unbelievable: Kate McKinnon, Geena Davis, Seth Rogen, LaKeith Stanfield, and Kumail Nanjiani, among others.
Release date: August 14
Barbara Forever
Lesbian herstory is one of our passions here at GO, so of course this documentary about lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer is one of our most anticipated films. The film, which leans heavily on archival footage, paints a portrait of Barbara Hammer, who was driven by her passion to document her life and that of her lovers, ensuring that history includes the lives and loves of lesbians.
Release date: September 4
The Education of Jane Cumming
This period piece follows two teachers in 1810 Edinburgh who are accused of being lesbians and is based on the true story that also inspired The Children’s Hour. It hit the festival circuit earlier this year, although U.S. distribution plans have yet to be announced.
Release date: TBA
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Big Girls Don’t Cry is a summer coming-of-age movie that follows 14-year-old Sid (Ani Palmer) as she tries to fit in with an older crowd while also struggling with her own unrequited crush on her sister’s friend. The film just debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2026.
Release date: TBA
The Brittney Griner Story
This documentary, following WNBA star Brittney Griner, dives into her time as an athlete as well as her harrowing Russian detainment that made headlines for months throughout 2022. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January with plans to run on ESPN later this year.
Release date: TBA
