11 sun-soaked lesbian movies that will put you in the mood for summer

Summer is fast approaching, so we’re breaking out our swimsuits, sandals, sunscreen, and summertime movies to get us in the mood for some fun in the sun.

Whether you’re trying to get in the summer spirit or have plans to hide inside as the temperature rises outside, we’ve got the perfect lesbian summer movie for you.

There are hilarious comedies, melodramatic dramas, and touching coming-of-age stories, all set in the heat of the summer and featuring amazing lesbian characters and queer women falling in love.

So grab an ice-cold margarita or lemonade and get ready to watch lesbians having fun — and occasionally tragedy — in the sun!

Desert Hearts (1986)

Not only does Desert Hearts have one of the best lesbian sex scenes ever put on film, but in the middle of the high desert heat of the summer in 1959. Made in 1986, this sapphic classic is about a woman who travels to Reno, Nevada to get a divorce, but end up starting a passionate love affair with a younger woman.

Where to watch:Max

My First Summer (2020)

My First Summer is a coming-of-age movie about an isolated 16-year-old girl who finds love and connection when she meets a spirited teen in her garden. The movie is so sweet and wholesome it might give you a tooth ache, but it’s also moving and a pastel, sun-kissed dream that will have you believing in young love again.

Where to watch: Rent on Prime Video

My Summer of Love (2004)

Between kissing in rivers and and a sun-drenched scooter ride, this is the perfect movie to start off the summer with. My Summer of Love follows upper-class Tamsin (Emily blunt) and working-class Mona (Natalie Press) who are drawn to each other because while they couldn’t come from more different world, they discover they have a lot in common. It may not have a happy ending, but it’s more than worth the ride.

Where to watch: Rent on Amazon Prime

Hearts Beat Loud (2018)

If you don’t just want a summer movie, but a sweet story about love and family then look no further than Hearts Beat Loud. It’s the feel-good mere lesbian movie everyone needs to see. This heartwarming comedy is about a father (Nick Offerman) and his lesbian daughter (Kiersey Clemons) who become an unlikely songwriting duo during the summer before she leaves for college.

Where to watch:Tubi, PlutoTV, Plex, Roku, Prime Video

Princess Cyd (2017)

Princess Cyd takes place over a single summer as a 16-year-old girl goes to stay with her aunt, where he meets and falls in love with another girl. The sweet love story between the two teens, Cyd (Jessie Pinnick) and Katie (Manic White), even culminates with the two having sex on a beach, making this the perfect summer watch.

Where to watch:Tubi, Plex, Roku, Prime Video

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

While this cult-classic film was straight-washed when compared to the novel it was based on, there is enough sapphic chemistry left to call it a lesbian film. Starring Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary-Louise Parker, and Mary Stuart Masterson, most of Fried Green Tomatoes is set during the summer and is about an older woman (Tandy) recounting the exploits of her free-spirited sister-in-law (Masterson) and her “best friend” Ruth (Parker). The movie might not come right out and say they are lesbian, but we know the real deal.

Where to watch:Prime Video

Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) (2020)

Set in dun-dappled Australia, Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) is a tale of young love which follows Ellie (Sophie Hawkshaw) as she tries to get up the courage to ask her crush, Abbie (Zoe Terakes) to a school dance with the help from her dead aunt who shows up as a ghost to offer dating advice. This light-hearted and silly rom-com film will go down as smooth as a lemonade on a hot summer’s day.

Where to watch:Tubi

Summertime (La Belle Saison) (2015)

The French-Belgian film Summertime (La Belle Saison) is about young lovers Carole and Delphine who fall in love after meeting in Paris, but their love is challenged when they return to the countryside and realize not everyone is accepting of their relationship. The film may tackle complicated themes like being gay in 1970s France, abortion access, and sexual liberation, but the beautiful French summer setting and the fact that every lesbian character gets a happy ending mean that even though there are bittersweet moments, it won’t bum you out.

Where to watch:Strand, rent on YouTube

The Summer of Sangailė (2015)

The Summer of Sangailė is a Lithuanian lesbian coming-of-age movie about a teen girl who falls for a girl who is spending the summer at her family’s lake house. The sun-drenched locales in the film have a dreamy, magical feeling to them, coupled with the achingly beautiful pain of falling in love for the first time, and you’ve got the perfect summertime watch.

Where to watch:Tubi

Intervention (2016)

Intervention is about a group of old friends who go on a weekend getaway that turns out to be a marriage intervention for one of the couples. Not only is the film set during the summer, but it reunites But I’m a Cheerleader stars Clea Duvall (who also directed), Melanie Lynskey, and Natasha Lyonne.

Where to watch:PlutoTV

Rafiki (2018)

Rafiki, a film about two star-crossed Nairobi lesbians, was the first Kenyan film to ever be screened at Cannes and was banned in Kenya for its positive portrayal of homosexuality. The summertime film is full of bright happy colors, while tackling tough topics like two lesbians trying to forge a relationship under the watchful eyes of a judgmental neighborhood.

Where to watch: Tubi