The year is almost over, but this incredible bit of news will remind you that it truly was 20GayTeen. According to a Variety report that made the dreams of lesbians everywhere come true, Kristen Stewart is set to play one of two leads in the upcoming lesbian romantic comedy, Happiest Season.
The film centers a young woman who’s planned a marriage proposal to her girlfriend at her family’s holiday party, but her plans are thwarted upon discovering that her girlfriend hasn’t come out to her conservative parents.
To top it off, Happiest Season — which major studio TriStar has acquired the rights to — is directed by lesbian icon Clea DuVall, who you all remember from the ‘90s classic But I’m a Cheerleader. The upcoming movie marks her second directorial feature, with her first being 2016’s The Intervention. As well as directing, she is also the co-writer of Happiest Season alongside Mary Holland. With Stewart and DuVall being members of the LGBTQ community, this film delivers the authenticity we’ve been craving both in front of the camera and behind it.
The upcoming comedy won’t be Stewart’s first foray into LGBTQ media either. Not only did she play Chloë Sevigny’s lover in this year’s biographical thriller Lizzie (which arrives on DVD/digital in early December), but she also announced her first directorial feature The Chronology of Water, which focuses on a woman’s bisexuality. With that in mind, it’s clear that Stewart is making a conscious effort to create and be involved in sapphic cinema. It’s extremely important as she’s not just actively representing us, but is doing so as one of us.
2018 has witnessed a rom-com renaissance with films like Crazy Rich Asians, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Love, Simon. Though as the latter deals with a gay teenage boy’s coming-out experience — and was released by a major distributor — many lesbians continue to wonder, when will we get a mainstream rom-com of our own? Luckily, we did receive the amazing indie comedy Lez Bomb earlier this month, but it’s vital for lesbian narratives to be widely accessible, just like the films of their gay male counterparts. But thanks to the upcoming release of Happiest Season, it looks like our wishes might finally be granted.
Are you as excited for Happiest Season as we are? Which actress do you think should play Kristen Stewart’s girlfriend in the film? Let us know in the comments!
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