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13 best films about lesbian and bi women released in 2017

One of my favorite topics of discussion is lesbian representation in media because I believe it’s important that we see ourselves represented in the media that we consume. It’s why I spend so much time recalling the best female couples from TV or writing about movies that feature lesbian and bi women.

As we approach the end of 2017, I wanted to run through some of the best films about lesbian and bi women that were released this year. Why break the habit of a lifetime?

So grab your best girl and head to your streaming service/movie theatre of choice to watch these fantastic films about women who love women.

  1. The Party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-FuSuWienM

Release Date: 13th October (UK)

Genre: Comedy

This delightful black comedy doesn’t come out in the US until February, but luckily I saw it when it first got released in the UK. Although the lesbian couple in this film is not the main focus of the movie (in the style of Love Actually, this has several interlinking storylines) they are incredibly memorable.

Academic Martha and her newly pregnant partner Jinny are bickering over how radical your feminism should be in 2017 (sound off in the comments below) while a fellow party-goer refers to Martha as “a first-rate lesbian and a second-rate thinker”.

  2. Axolotl Overkill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlknTBcGb7Q

Release Date: 29th June (Germany)

Genre: Thriller

Mifti is young, rich, and beautiful but she craves love that she doesn’t get from her absent father and deceased mother. As a result, she turns to drugs and drinking, and develops an obsession with career criminal Alice.

  3. Women Who Kill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Q8-VoB0II

Release Date: 26th July (US)

Genre: Thriller-Comedy

For a time, after binge listening to Serial, I considered hosting my own true crime podcast but I couldn’t find a local unsolved mystery. This film about true crime podcasters Morgan and Jean demonstrates the reason why my mom objected to my plan: getting caught up in the crime.

The exes host a podcast where they debate topics like “Who’s the hottest female serial killer” until someone close to Morgan’s new girlfriend Simone meets an untimely end. Could Simone be to blame? Is Morgan in danger? Watch behind a cushion or with your head buried in your girlfriend’s shoulder. As a bonus, AfterEllen interviewed the director, which you can find HERE.

  4. Battle of the Sexes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AWP1K7FaFI

Release Date: 22nd September (US)

Genre: Biopic

Tennis legend Billie Jean King is immortalized in this biopic about her infamous fight for equal pay, which culminated in a match against Bobby Riggs who claimed that female players weren’t as good as male ones. It also focuses on her relationship with Marilyn Barnett, which eventually became tabloid fodder. Bonus: Watch an AfterEllen exclusive clip with Emma Stone and Billie Jean King.

  5. The Misandrists https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXuoTe8ma1s

Release Date: 2nd November (Germany)

Genre: Drama

Three words: Lesbian separatist commune. A radical feminist group, operating under the guise of school for wayward girls, is plotting to overthrow the patriarchy and usher in a new (female) world order through lesbian sex. Where do I sign up?

  6. A Million Happy Nows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_R_16PJXvs

Release Date: 15th March (Netherlands)

Genre: Drama

Lainey is a soap opera star with early onset Alzheimer’s who is forced to retire when she can no longer remember her lines and moves to California with her partner Eva. This touching indie drama will pull at your heartstrings and move you to tears.

Want to read more? AE’s Karen Frost did a full review back in May.

  7. Hello Again https://youtu.be/M6AnxzBc_Ec

Release Date: 8th November (US)

Genre: Musical

Like The Party, Hello Again is a series of several love (and lust) tales. Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, these stories- containing characters named The Whore, The Young Wife, The Nurse, and The Politician- span across the 20th Century in New York City; one for each decade.

Sally (The Actress) and Ruth (The Politician) are the beautiful lesbian couple having a secret affair out of the spotlight. 8. Princess Cyd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMHPnO1polw

Release Date: 4th May (US)

Genre: Drama

When I was in my teens, I watched a lot of films where a girl would leave her hometown for July and find true summer love. However, most of these films focused on a male love interest and I would have killed for just one coming-of-age drama where the girl fell in love with a girl.

This coming-of-age drama focuses teenage Cyd, who falls in love with barista Katie, when she visits her aunt in Chicago over the summer. As most teenagers do, she spends the summer exploring her sexuality.

  9. My Days of Mercy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr7MQ7IM_88

Release Date: 8th September (Canada)

Genre: Drama

The death penalty is a massively controversial topic and not typically the basis for a love story, however, My Days of Mercy pulls it off convincingly.

Lucy (played by AE fave Ellen Page) is taking part in a protest against the death penalty when she meets Mercy, a vocal advocate for capital punishment. Although it seems that the pair cannot possibly fall for one another, they agree to meet up at the next protest/counter-protest.

Opposites may attract but can the relationship last when Lucy’s dad is on death row? 10. The Carmilla Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYNMUXcF3P8

Release Date: 26th October (Canada)

Genre: Comedy

Based on the Carmilla web series which debuted in 2014, this charming lesbian-vampire romance film is set five years after the end of the current season where (spoiler alert!) vampire Carmilla stopped the apocalypse and became human with the help of girlfriend Laura.

Now living in downtown Toronto, Carmilla is attempting to adjust to life as a human but is beginning to “re-vamp” by enjoying a bloody treat and accidentally biting. Laura must recruit her old friends to uncover the supernatural threat that threatens her girlfriend and the whole world.

  11. A Worthy Companion/ Allure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI1bAF6tOdE

Release Date: 10th September (Canada)

Genre: Thriller

In this art house drama, a damaged woman forms a close and troubling relationship with a teenage girl.

Laura, 30, struggles to find love after suffering past abuse and several failed relationships but turns her attention to 16-year-old pianist Eva, who has a difficult relationship with her uptight mother. The pair embark on a relationship and Laura soon becomes obsessed, convincing Eva to run away with her after a particularly bad fight with her mother.

Their relationship is toxic but it’s still a remarkably interesting look at Sapphic obsession.

  12. Thelma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgQMHG9SGlU

Release Date: 15th September (Norway)

Genre: Horror

In this supernatural thriller, Norwegian student Thelma moves away from her religious family, falls in love with another girl, Anja, and soon discovers that her feelings trigger inexplicable powers. I’m pretty sure that’s what noted asshat Pat Robertson meant when he said that feminism encourages women to practice witchcraft and become lesbians.

  13. Chavela https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-wxFpPGEno

Release Date: 4th October (US)

Genre: Documentary

Last month, I wrote a piece about lesbian and bi women who need their own biopics. One of the women that I wanted to include was Chavela Vargas- a Latinix singer-songwriter who was a lover of Frida Kahlo.

Little did I realize that Chavela already had a film about her that was released this year. Granted it’s a documentary, not a biopic, but through never-before-seen footage (shot before her death in 2012), this documentary tells the story of an extraordinary woman who overcame parental abandonment and poliomyelitis to begin her career and a 15-year battle with alcoholism to win a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Grammys in 2007.

As always, these movies are my personal faves but I’d love to hear your opinion. What movies on this list did you like? What movies about women who love women have you seen and loved in 2017? Let me know in the comments below!

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