For the Girls: 9 Sapphic Filipino Movies That Deserve a Watch

In the ever-growing and evolving world of queer media, LGBTQIA+ stories are no longer relegated to the sidelines. While there is still work to be done, more and more are queer stories take up space, including narratives about queer women. As early as the 1980s, Philippine cinema was already dabbling with themes and stories on queer women, with the most notable example being 1982’s T-Bird at Ako starring Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos that featured a subplot on the growing relationship between two women.

​The past decade, though, has seen even richer and more diverse stories by sapphic films from Filipino filmmakers, some of which have gone on to become fan favorites and highlights of local festivals. Their growing success is proof of the clamor for movies that dive into multi-dimensional portrayals of queer women navigating a world that isn’t always kind to them. From coming-of-age tales to heartfelt romance, check out these sapphic and WLW Filipino movies that touch upon different aspects of the queer experience.

​RELATED: Add These Filipino Movies on Women Empowerment to Your Women’s Month Watchlist

Rookie – Queer Love Meets Sports Drama

This queer sports drama from Samantha Lee follows Ace (Pat Tingjuy), a new student who is asked by her school’s volleyball coach to try out for the team. While Ace initially feels awkward as part of the team, things begin to change when she meets Jana (Aya Fernandez), the team captain, and the two start to form a friendship that turns into something special.

The movie was a standout at the 2023 Cinemalaya Film Festival, where it took home multiple awards, including Best Actress for Pat Tingjuy. It’s take on a school romance storyline with the volleyball setting makes for a tender meet-cute of two young women finding an unexpected connection with each other.

Saan Ako Pinaglihi – The Love of a Queer Family

Written and directed by student filmmaker Rafaela Abucejo, along with her co-writers Sean Romero and Pola Basaya, this short film is about Chinky (Zoey Madison Lim), a curious young girl with two lesbian moms trying to find out how she was conceived.

It was an entry for the Student Short Film Category at the Puregold Cinepanalo Film Festival in 2024, where it went viral on social media for its tackling of parenthood through the lens of two lesbian mothers and their young daughter. Focusing on the Filipino idea of “paglilihi”, the movie explores the life of a non-traditional family and how being queer is not a hindrance when it comes to raising a child.

Open Endings – Adulthood and Friendship With Queer Thirty-Somethings

From director Nigel Santos comes this movie that became the 2025 Cinemalaya Film Festival’s top-grossing film. It tells the story of four queer women, Kit (Klea Pineda), Charlie (Janella Salvador), Hannah (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), and Mihan (Leanne Mamonong), who all dated each other in the past but have managed to become friends as they navigate life, love, and adulthood. Just in time for Pride Month, the movie will be showing in cinemas nationwide on June 10 before it comes to Prime Video later this year.

Billie & Emma – An Unexpected Romance Blossoms  

First love exists in many forms, including between two young women. That’s explored in this 2018 drama about love, teenage years, and the complicated journey toward coming out of one’s shell. Set in the ‘90s, the movie follows Billie (Zar Donato), who is sent to a strict all-girls Catholic school. There, she meets smart, popular Emma (Gabby Padilla), and faces a slew of resistance to their relationship, such as Emma’s unexpected pregnancy. Samantha Lee’s second film is genuine, fun, and unafraid to be honest in representing relevant issues.

A Catholic Schoolgirl – A First Crush Leads to Self-Discovery

A Catholic Schoolgirl is a short film part of the QCShorts Program at the 2023 edition of the QCinema International Film Festival. It’s written and directed by Myra Angeline Soriaso from Iloilo, a Communication and Media Studies graduate from the University of the Philippines Visayas.

Kaya Fuentes (Ora Palencia) is a 15-year-old student in an all-girls Catholic school. It is here that Kaya experiences a major change in her life when she develops a crush on Sister Agnes (Sharon Idone), which is the first time Kaya has had romantic feelings for someone. Less a love story and more a coming-of-age drama, the movie explores how a young woman grapples with feelings she’s unfamiliar with at a time of her life where everything can feel so foreign.

Si Chedeng at Si Apple – A Crazy Journey to Remember

Friendship takes center stage in this irreverent dark comedy from Rae Red and Fatrick Tabada. Starring Gloria Diaz and Elizabeth Oropesa, the movie follows Chedeng (Diaz), a woman in her 60s who decides to come out of the closet during the wake of her husband. Around the same time, Apple (Oropesa), Chedeng’s best friend, chops off the head of her cheating partner. Naturally, the two decide to go on a wild road trip together to find Chedeng’s ex-girlfriend.   

Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita – Love Through the Eyes of a Young Girl

Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s directorial debut is a tale of young love and being enamoured by an older person during your childhood years. Set in Bulacan, Anita (Teri Malvar in her acting debut) is a 12-year-old girl living in a village with her mother. One day, the town is shaken with the arrival of a mysterious woman named Pilar (Angel Aquino), who returns to the community from working in the United Arab Emirates because of her father’s death.

While the town may resent Pilar for her past, Anita doesn’t, and in fact, falls in love with her as the two form a bond. Chronicling pubescent life and the questions that come with understanding your sexuality, the movie shines with its strong performances (Angel Aquino won Best Supporting Actress at the 2014 Gawad Urian) and sweet tale of pre-adolescent lesbian love.

Baka Bukas – When You Have Feelings for Your Best Friend

Samantha Lee has made a name for herself as arguably the most high-profile queer Filipina director working today. Her projects celebrate the women-loving-women community, and her debut feature film, Baka Bukas, set the tone and foundation for what audiences would come to expect from her. In the film, Alex (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) is out to most of the people in her life, except for her childhood best friend Jess (Louise delos Reyes). But when Alex realizes she has feelings for Jess, the two must navigate a world of changes to their relationship.

Rome & Juliet – A Sapphic Forbidden Love

Love, forbidden relationships, and romantic tragedy? All that and more can be found in Rome & Juliet, an award-winning yet underrated queer romantic drama from 2006 starring Andrea Del Rosario and Mylene Dizon. Juliet is about to marry Marc. In the lead-up to the wedding, she hires Rome to be her wedding planner.

Their business relationship quickly turns friendly, and then some, as Rome and Juliet form a deep connection. But when Marc learns about this, he calls off the wedding, leading to a major scandal that forces Rome and Juliet apart. With seemingly the whole world against them, the two still find ways to keep their love for each other going.  

Featured Image: IMDB