Hayley Kiyoko On 'Girls Like Girls' & & Making The Queer Coming-Of-Age Movie She Never Had
Hayley Kiyoko says the film aims to expand queer women and women of color representation, with two Asian leads on the big screen.
- On Friday, June 19, 2026, writer-director Hayley Kiyoko releases her debut feature film, Girls Like Girls, a 95-minute adaptation of her viral 2015 music video and 2023 novel.
- Following a 10-year journey, Kiyoko's project began with the 2015 release of her hit song and viral music video co-directed by Austin S. Winchell, which helped shape sapphic culture before becoming a 2023 bestselling novel.
- Set in 2006, the story follows grieving teenager Coley as she moves to Oregon to live with her estranged father, Curtis , where she meets Sonya and quickly falls in love.
- Period-Specific music ranging from Imogen Heap to Tegan and Sarah grounds the film in early-2000s authenticity, while Kiyoko captures the 'shimmery, shivery feeling of first love' and the 'looseness of teens hanging out' with intimate tenderness.
- Supporters anticipate the film will resonate with older LGBTQ audiences who lacked such normalizing touchstones, while Kiyoko aims to provide space for 'queer women of color,' who represent only 5% of the industry.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Hayley Kiyoko’s 'Girls Like Girls' movie turns a Queer anthem into a heartfelt coming-of-age story - NOW Toronto
This review contains spoilers for Girls Like Girls, the movie. What to know Hayley Kiyoko’s feature-film debut expands the story of her iconic “Girls Like Girls” music video into a full-length coming-of-age drama. Set in 2006, the film follows Coley and Sonya as they navigate grief, friendship, and the complexities of falling in love. Blending sapphic romance with themes of family, loss, and self-discovery, the film delivers an emotional and …
‘Girls Like Girls’ Review: Hayley Kiyoko Makes a Warmly Assured Directorial Debut, Awash in Adolescent Melancholy and Yearning
The adaptation trail of “Girls Like Girls” is an unusual one. In 2015, pop singer Hayley Kiyoko released her hyper-catchy song of the same name, bringing a plainly worded statement of lesbian desire — “girls like girls like boys do” — into the viral mainstream, with an accompanying video laying out a compacted five-minute story […]
'Girls Like Girls' review: Adaptation captures the feeling of first love
Coley (Maya da Costa) is the new girl in a small Oregon town; she’s quiet and introverted, with a fellow teen observing that she has “sad eyes.” Those expressive eyes soon find their way to Sonya (Myra Molloy), a popular girl with an on-and-...
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